Tanned rider from Alberta sets new world record

“You can choose your horse for the final four based on the high score, so I have to choose first,” he noted. “She was the one all the guys in the final would have chosen. Zeke (Thurston) was 93 on her to win last year and she’s the highest ranking horse I’ve ever seen.

Xplosive Skies is a 12-year-old mare in the Calgary Stampede’s Born to Buck program and is also proficient in the bronc saddle and bareback riding, as evidenced by her 2021 PRCA Bareback Horse of the Year award.

“With a horse like her, it’s going to work maybe 50% of the time and the other 50% you’re going to hit the ground and you don’t even know what you did wrong,” Hay pointed out. “I didn’t know from about the second jump whether I was going to do another jump or not. It was a fight the whole way, and I honestly didn’t know what it was like. But she was fast and electric, just a great racehorse and I figured we were going to be a bunch. I guess it must have looked pretty good.

The eldest of the Hay brothers’ brilliant combination knew he’d eclipsed the previous record as soon as he heard the score.

“I was there when my brother (Dawson) tied the record, so yeah, I knew that. I was shocked at first and still haven’t fully understood it, but it’s cool to be a part of it. history and I’m proud for sure.

As for what the victory and remarkable success in July means for Canadian talent, it was very clear.

“It’s relaxing to know that I’ve probably made both finals (CFR and WNFR), so it’s going to be fun for the rest of the season, but my plan doesn’t really change. I’m home for a day and then I hit the road again, maybe I could take a week or so in the fall to do some hunting, but other than that, I’ll go hard until the end of the year.

In a weekend that saw major ranking changes in virtually every event, another Canadian cowboy who took a big step forward was Stettler, Alta. tie-roper Beau Cooper . The second-generation medical event man, who worked alongside and under the tutelage of 2013 world champion and four-time Canadian champion, Shane Hanchey, hit the payout window at all three Canadian stops in the weekend’s rodeo schedule -end.

Two of these rodeos, the Medicine Hat Stampede and the Strathmore Stampede, are part of the SMS Equipment Pro Rodeo Tour. Cooper clocked an 8.0-second run for the win at Medicine Hat and $2,952 and followed it up with an 8.4 to top the field at the historic Bruce Stampede for another $1,664. He matched that 8.4 at the iconic (and lucrative) Strathmore event to add a fourth-place check for $4,318, to take his weekend to $8,934. Cooper entered the weekend in 25th place in the Canadian rankings, but will see his name in the top 10 of the updated standings thanks to his productive successes in late July.

Head to rodeocanada.com to see the latest results and standings.

This week’s CPRA action will bring rodeo athletes to Regina, Saskatchewan (SMS Equipment Pro Tour Rodeo) August 5-6, Grimshaw, AB August 6-7, and La Crete, AB August 9-6. August 10.

* The Pile ‘O Bones Regina Pro Tour event will be streamed live on FloRodeo.com.