Milan Stays Hot at Snake River Stampede
NAMPA, Idaho – Steer wrestler Tanner Milan knocked the rattles off of the Snake River Stampede, as his 6.9-second two-head average was plenty enough to ride out of Idaho as champion.
Milan laid the groundwork in Nampa with a first round run of 3.4 seconds, tying Kody Woodward atop the leader board heading into Saturday night’s short round. Maintaining the same vigor and cowboy muster, Milan claimed the final round with yet another stellar 3.5-second run to clinch the win, while adding a monstrous $11,108 to an expanding wallet.
“I had a couple great runs there,” Milan said. “It doesn’t get any better than that.”
Despite focusing his attention towards the heat of the competition, Milan relished the attitude of the arena.
“The whole building was packed solid,” Milan said. “It’s pretty electric in there, and we couldn’t have asked for a better crowd. The atmosphere was just amazing. It’s quite the feeling.”
The 33-year-old Milan cites the quality of the steers that were presented to him as reason for such a dominating week in Nampa, with due diligence going toward his hazer.
“My first steer, I got some really good information on him,” said Milan. “I talked to a couple of guys about him and he was slower than some of the other ones. So actually, I had to let him out just a little bit more and I got a heck of a good start.
“The steer was really good on the ground and I couldn’t have asked for a better steer. I had Tyler Pearson hazing for me, and he did a heck of a job.”
Milan entered this week ranked sixth among steer wrestlers in the WEATHER GUARD® PRCA World Standings, and after a dominating Cowboy Christmas run, the Canadian cowboy is still attempting to decipher whether this surging season is currently his reality.
“It’s been amazing,” Milan explained. “It’s been a dream season so far. I can’t complain about anything that’s gone on this year. It’s been absolutely excellent and I just hope to keep it going.”
After his first Wrangler National Finals Rodeo presented by Polaris RANGER qualification in 2015, Milan’s follow up campaign a season ago didn’t go as planned, as the Calgary native finished 27th in 2016. However, with a tidal wave of momentum still carrying the current, Milan had nothing but praise for his support system.
“Everything just seems to be falling in place,” he said. “My family has been very supportive and they’re behind me. All my friends, they’re cheering for me, and my traveling partners have been great. Everyone has their spirits up, and my whole traveling group is in my corner.”
Other winners at the $379,717 rodeo were all-around cowboy Rhen Richard ($8,538 in tie-down roping and team roping), bareback riders Ty Breuer and Caleb Bennett (167.5 points on two head each), team ropers Kaleb Driggers/Junior Nogueira (16.7 seconds on three head), saddle bronc rider Layton Green (169 points on two head), tie-down roper Matt Shiozawa (26.7 seconds on three head), barrel racer Kassie Mowry (32.09 seconds on two runs) and bull rider Ty Wallace (170 points on two head).
For more coverage of the Snake River Stampede, check out the August 4 issue of ProRodeo Sports News.
Courtesy of PRCA