Some first-time visitors to the Ponoka Stampede find themselves sticking around for at least another day, after the sixth performance of rodeo Tuesday afternoon. This was the last set of rodeo contestants who had a chance to earn their way into the top twelve scores or times, which come back for the July first Finals of the Stampede.
One of the surprising leaderboard changes came in the barrel racing, where there hadn’t been a fast enough time to crack twelve fastest lineup for two days. It wasn’t surprising given some sloppy and then sticky conditions for the horses. But then a first time Stampede participant blew through the pattern in 17.58 seconds, to be second fastest overall.
Michelle Alley is from just across the line in South Dakota, but she’d never rodeoed in Canada before.
“My brother loves Canada. He’s a bareback rider, and he has told me for years I should come up here. I’ve just kind of been a wimp, but I’m glad I did now,” says Alley.
Alley’s horse is only six years old, which is young in the barrel racing game.
“I raised and trained her, and my best friend owns her. She’s been a superstar.”
Alley’s main business is raising and training barrel horses out of Texas, but when one like Stiletto comes along, it’s time to hit the road.
“She’s not prissy, because she’s very gritty. But she’s very girly, so we had to have a girly name, and what better than Lipstick and Stilettos?,” smiles Alley, who’s inside the top ten ion the world standings.
“Our goal is to get her to the NFR. That’s the only thing she lacks on her resume yet.”
The fast run was surprising to many because the sun had come out, turning the wet track into a sticky one.
“I’m not going to lie – I was very worried,” concedes Alley about her pre-race mindset. “I knew she could handle herself but I just didn’t know if we could clock. Obviously she did. But I think we took the paint off all the barrels. I don’t think we could’ve turned any tighter. She keeps one solid motion. They always say smooth is fast, and that’s true. I was ecstatic. “
Impressed by the horses, money and the look of the Ponoka Stampede on the Cowboy Channel, saddle bronc rider Rusty Wright decided to make the trip north, driving up from his home in Utah with his son.
“It’s been a rodeo I’ve always wanted to come to, but just wasn’t able to make it work. This year I was lucky enough to get things lined up right, and I got my day here so everything worked out perfect. It was meant to be. I’m super excited to be here,” says the five-time NFR qualifier, who is part of the legendary Wright family of bronc riders.
Wright came to Ponoka for a matchup with a Prime Time Stock horse called Good Vibrations, and Wright was feeling all of that eight seconds, and 86 points, later.
“I found some videos on Facebook and watched them, and I knew that horse would fit my style. He bucks a lot like the old Bar T horses do down in Utah – takes a pile of rein and hops real good, and gets a lot of air. I knew that he was going to fit me if I stayed back and did my job.”
“My brothers and family kind of give me the nickname Prime Time, so I have it on the swells of my saddle, it was just prime time today all the way around. The stars aligned… and it didn’t rain,” he chuckled.
The ride was enough to earn him a berth back on Canada Day in an event where it took 85.50 points to qualify. Now Wright is looking forward to potentially two more horses in Ponoka.
“I live to ride rank broncs against rank bronc riders. I’m super excited. Hopefully they bring the heat, because I’m gonna!”
The 2024 champions at the Ponoka Stampede, renowned team ropers Kaleb Driggers and Junior Nogueira, made the most of their choice to make the journey north of the border again this year. Their combined time Tuesday of 12.1 seconds bumped down former leaders Brett Buss and Joey Romo II (12.2), to be the fast time heading to the Finals.
“The added money is so good here. There’s not very many rodeos we can go to throughout the year that gives us the chance to win $20,000, so that’s one of the main reasons we make the trip up,” says Driggers, a two-time World Champion Header.
“Honestly, we were a little bit on the fence, watching it throughout and looking at the forecast. But the added money prevailed and we decided to go ahead and come on up.”
“We had a really good steer. We knew him from this morning. That was my biggest concern was to not get in too big of a hurry, just stay behind the barrier and just make the best run we could. We pretty much did exactly what we were planning on.”
Junior Nogueira, a three-time World Champion heeler, has been down the long score at Ponoka and Pendleton before, but admits it is always a little intimidating.
“It’s exciting,” says the Brazilian. “My horse, he’s getting a little old but he’s really fast and easy. He can play down the fence exactly where we want to be, and stay hooked with the steer. We’re getting a little older now, but I still get nervous, but way more calm than when we started.”
The veterans of the team roping game are at the point in their careers where they’re being a little choosier on which rodeos they enter.
“Our travels are trying to be a little bit more restricted. We’ve got kids at home and are trying to be there as much as we can, but still have to provide for them as well. So a win here could be huge for our season, and mean we get to spend a little more time at home with our kids.”
The last man out in the tie-down roping Tuesday turned out to be the fastest of the afternoon. Ty Harris, the 2023 Ponoka winner, wrapped up his calf in 8.3 seconds. He did take a shortcut, using only a single wrap in his tie.
“The Final Four is such a huge thing out here. Obviously you want to make it to tomorrow, but also you want to give yourself an opportunity to make a move and make it back to that Final Four,” says Harris. “Also, in the mud, two wraps gets real slow. When that string gets sticky and slower, then it’s almost half a second longer than two-tenths longer. I thought it was worth the gamble.”
Harris joins his brother Joel in the Finals, who was fastest overall. Both rode the famous Logan Bird horse Peso, along with Shane Hanchey, who also will rope in the Finals.
Bareback rider Colton Clemens was the high score of the day in his event, with an 86 on Legend Rodeo’s Frog Walker, which gave him a place in Wednesday’s Finals. Breakaway roper Addison Kenser of Texas made the cut in her event Tuesday, with a combined time of 7.4 seconds. None of the Tuesday steer wrestlers were able to hit the mark and make the Finals, leaving Scott Guenthner the leader heading into the Finals. When the bull riding finished Tuesday, there were twelve qualified rides to fill out the Finals roster. The highest mark, an 86, came from young gun Holden Atkinson of Black Diamond, for his trip on the Legends Bull A List.
Tuesday afternoon the top twelve in each event will be whittled down to the best four, who will return for the Canada Day Showdown Round in the evening. To celebrate the 90th anniversary of the Ponoka Stampede, all champions will receive a trophy saddle as well.