Schiffner Does It Again

Medicine Hat, Alberta – In a sport in which the athletes traditionally have relatively short career spans, Scott Schiffner is re-writing the rules of nature.

The two time Canadian bull riding champion rolled into Medicine Hat on Saturday night and rolled out a few hours later with an 89.5 point ride on a Kesler Rodeo outlaw called Rock This Way to take top honours at the weekend’s Broncs and Honky Tonks event and a tidy $1417 pay cheque. The win propelled Schiffner to a customary spot in the top five of the Canadian bull riding standings.

After his first bull fell, Schiffner climbed aboard Rock This Way, a black bull he’d seen before but never met up close and personal. “He was really nice,” Schiffner stated. “He spun to the right into my hand and jumped out of it and back the other way right at the whistle.”

After the ride, Schiffner reflected on where he’s at in what has been a memorable career. “It’s simple really,” he noted. “I probably enjoy putting my hand in that rope and nodding my head to ride as much as I ever have. Some of the other stuff—the travel and having to be away—that part’s a lot harder than it was when I was starting out.”

But even the challenges of the miles on the road have been more than offset by the fact that Schiffner often has at least one family member at his side on those journeys to distant cities and towns. This weekend it was middle daughter Hadley who joined Dad for the journey down the Trans Canada to the annual Medicine Hat spring rodeo stop.

“What’s really special for me,” the 2012 Cowboy of the Year commented, “is not only that I love the sport but that my kids are getting to the age where they really understand it and love it as much as I do. That’s definitely one of the benefits of being able to ride as long as I have.”

The Strathmore bull rider/rancher/family man, who celebrated his 37th birthday just a week before Medicine Hat’s spring rodeo, holds the record for CFR qualifications in his event with fifteen (and counting). And while there’s an old adage that says “every record is meant to be broken”, this is one that will likely remain in the record books for a very long time. Particularly when you realize the ageless Schiffner may add a few more CFR appearances to that number before his amazing career wraps up and the next closest man is the now retired Stephen Turner with 10 qualifications.

Other Medicine Hat winners included Seth Hardwick, who got along with Kesler’s ten year-old buckskin stallion, Copper Cat, to the tune of 87 points to earn the Wyoming bareback rider $1276; PRCA Rookie SW of the Year, Stephen Culling and Consort, Alberta’s Scott Guenthner who shared top spot in the steer wrestling with identical 3.8 second runs, earning each man $1697; Texas barrel racer Kellie Collier whose 12.839 second run was good for $1751 and team ropers Cole Bevans and Ty Cahoon who spun one in 4.6 seconds for $1221 per man. The tie down roping title was shared by Nanton’s Logan Bird and the reining Canadian high point champion, Morgan Grant—both men got the job done in 8.7 seconds for $1657 apiece while in the saddle bronc riding, Meeting Creek, Alberta’s Layton Green, rode Kesler Rodeo’s Country Trail for 86.5 points and $1303. In the junior steer riding, it was the northern Alberta cowboy Jett Lambert, posting a solid 79.5 to collect $300.00

Next CPRA action will be the Bull Bash at Tofield, Alberta on April 15.

About the Canadian Professional Rodeo Association
The Canadian Professional Rodeo Association (CPRA) with headquarters in Airdrie, Alta. is the sanctioning body for professional rodeo in Canada. The CPRA approves over 50 events annually with a total payout exceeding $5.1 million. Join us for our premiere event – the Canadian Finals Rodeo (CFR) November 8-12, 2017 at Northlands Coliseum in Edmonton, Alberta. Follow us on Twitter, Instagram and Snapchat at @prorodeocanada, like Canadian Professional Rodeo Association on Facebook, or online at RodeoCanada.com.

Courtesy of CPRA