Bareback Rider Kade Sonnier Experiences Winning Side in Calgary
The Calgary Stampede can be a blast if you’re winning, but not so much, if you’re not.
Kade Sonnier finally got to see the bright side of the Stampede Saturday, just in the nick of time. In a bareback section where a mere three points separated top from bottom, the Louisiana cowboy found his name at the top with an 86-point ride on Calgary Stampede’s Unfortunate Carma.
His first Calgary payday of $7,000 for first place was enough to give him the edge in a three-way tie-breaker for Pool C qualifiers, allowing him to advance to Sunday’s finals.
“Today was kind of like a ‘do or die’ situation,” Sonnier said. “You come in here, and don’t have the best luck. I felt like I’d been riding pretty good. Made a couple mistakes here and there that I didn’t think would cost me as much as it did. It kind of ruins your confidence a little bit.”
That’s where hanging with the right crowd can make a difference. Rather than stay in the heart of the bustling downtown in a big city, a number of the cowboys have taken their campers out to a scenic campground near the Strathmore Rodeo Grounds, about 30 miles out of town.
“Having Kaycee Feild and Richmond Champion and all these guys around me out there in Strathmore at the campsite helps,” Sonnier said. “Man, they have so much faith in me – more than I have in myself. It means a lot, and helps you keep going.
“We get to hang out and cook, and sit around a campfire and talk. Just hang out with the boys. It’s a good time.”
Unfortunate Carma, the Calgary horse Sonnier had drawn, was well known around the campfire as a veteran horse.
“They were like, ‘man, it’s a chance. It’s the best chance you’ve had all week,” Sonnier said. “Capitalize on it, and do your job, and let God take care of the rest’. “Right out of there, she bucked. She had a left and a right and hit me in the back. After that, she felt like a dream, with a lot of hang time, a lot of time for you to do your job and do it correctly.”
It’s amazing how eight seconds can change your perspective on a place.
“I haven’t been able to say ‘it’s a dream come true’ until now,” he said. “It’s not always fun… well, it’s a little bit more fun whenever you win. When I found out what pen I was in, and who was there, I was like ‘that’s a pretty wolfy pen’. My Dad said ‘well, you’re one of the wolves now, so go prove it.”
The other qualifiers from Pool C in the bareback riding are Kaycee Feild and Kody Lamb ($12,000 each), along with Richmond Champion ($10,750). Dawson Hay put his pain away again Saturday, claiming saddle bronc in his second straight round with an 89-point trip on Wayne Vold Rodeo’s One More Reason. He advances with $14,000, along with Ben Anderson and Lucas Macza ($12,000 each), plus Logan Cook ($8,375).
Tie-down roper Shane Hanchey claimed his second bronze of the week for a 7.3-second run, putting him through to Sunday with $14,000, along with Blane Cox ($13,750), Ty Harris ($12,750) and Kyle Lucas ($10,000). There was only one complete eight second bull ride Saturday, an 86-point ride from Trey Kimzey on Out Work’m, so he collected the whole payoff for the round in ground money, collecting a whopping $26,500 from Pool C. Joining him Sunday from the Pool are Josh Frost ($16,125), Stetson Wright ($13,625) and Creek Young ($7,000).
Steer wrestling was split Saturday between Stephen Culling and Hunter Cure, both with 3.9 second runs. The share of first was a big enough cheque to give Cure the advantage in a tie-breaker, so he qualified with $8,250, along with Jesse Brown ($12,500), Culling ($11,750) and JD Struxness ($10,875).
Molly Otto had the fastest barrel racing time at 17.07 seconds, which paved her way to Sunday ($10,250), beside Brittany Pozzi Tonozzi ($16,000), Leslie Smalygo ($13,500) and Jordan Briggs ($12,000).
The 12 pool qualifiers compete Sunday in Calgary with the four best in each event going to the Showdown Final, with the winner receiving a $50,000 check.
Courtesy of PRCA