Pascal Isabelle Wins Greeley Stampede on First Try
By Mike Donnell
Greeley, Colo. – Immediately after winning the bareback riding Saturday night in his first appearance at the Greeley Stampede, Canadian Pascal Isabelle headed to Denver International Airport to catch a flight to Oregon to continue his Cowboy Christmas run.
Isabelle posted a 90-point ride on Beutler and Son Rodeo’s Bad Influence to win the final round and the average at the Stampede, taking home $6,999.
“It means a lot to me,” Isabelle said while in the security line at the airport. “I’ve been riding well, but I’m pretty happy because I had the horse here to earn my first big, PRCA rodeo win.”
Isabelle is hoping his 81-point ride in Cody, Wyo., also will add to his rodeo earnings, much like his 78-point ride at the Roughrider Days rodeo in Dickinson, N.D.
Isabelle wasn’t sure how much money he earned in Greeley, but he wasn’t worried about it while waiting to catch his flight.
“I don’t look at that stuff,” he said. “I just do my job and then check my bank account.”
The next time he looks at his bank account, he will find a healthy increase from Greeley. He earned $1,234 for splitting fourth place in the first round after his 84.5-point ride, then added another $1,650 for winning the final round. Winning the average totaled his earning in Greeley to nearly $7,000.
Holding down the 21st spot in the PRCA | RAM World Standings with $26,898 before cashing in at Greeley, Isabelle’s goal this season is to make the Wrangler National Finals Rodeo in December. That dream will get a big boost after his Greeley performance.
While some ProRodeo contestants start learning their craft shortly after learning to walk, Isabelle got a later start. When he was 16, he went to his first rodeo to watch his brother ride bulls. That’s when Isabelle got hooked on bareback riding and started going to rodeo schools. He hasn’t looked back since.
Other winners at the $333,349 rodeo were all-around cowboy Steven Dent ($2,963, bareback riding and saddle bronc riding); steer wrestler Dakota Eldridge (11.9 seconds on three head); team ropers Clay Smith/Jade Corkill (17.4 seconds on three head); saddle bronc rider Ryder Wright (172.5 points on two head); tie-down roper Caleb Smidt (17.8 seconds on two head); barrel racers Hallie Hanssen and Shali Lord (34.77 seconds on two runs each); and bull rider Tyler Bingham (90 points on one head – no bull riders made a qualified ride in the final round).
For more coverage of the Greeley Stampede, check out the July 12 edition of ProRodeo Sports News.
Courtesy of PRCA