Ty Taypotat knows what it’s like to be close to a Ponoka Stampede championship. But the talented bareback rider from Saskatchewan, who now calls Nanton home, has never quite been able to strap on the cherished buckle. His 2025 quest to get the job done took an important step forward Friday, as Taypotat made an 84-point ride, to put himself in third place in the standings.

“That’s a great, great horse of Duane Kesler’s called Sleeping Giant,” says Taypotat. “I was pretty tickled to have that one.”

What’s even better is that the 2022 Canadian Champion is feeling great… finally.

There’s no doubt bareback riding is one of the toughest rodeo events physically. Taypotat rode his last horse at the CFR in Edmonton last October, and decided it was time to give his beat-up body the healing time it needed. So he didn’t enter a rodeo until May, where he had a horse get him down and step on his back. That required more time off, so Ponoka is just his fifth rodeo back in action.

“I was hurt all last year and nothing wanted to heal up. I was riding sore, and pretty soon a guy’s not really wanting to ride. Then a person starts fighting their head a bit. So glad to be feeling healthy again – mind’s back, and body’s back.”

Taypotat credits plenty of working out, plus a regime of sauna, then cold tub time, and lots of hours on his spur board. Now he’s craving the buckers, and can’t wait for his next one, even hoping he could pluck Agent Lynx in the Showdown round.

He’s been there five times in the past, finishing second once, and missing another time by a half point.

“We’ll see how the luck goes, I guess. Draw some good ones and see what happens. I’m feeling healthy, so anything is possible.”

A trio of saddle bronc riders is wondering if it’s possible they’ll be able to make it back to the July first Finals, after they all turned in identical marks of 83.25. Young gun Sawyer Eirikson of Okotoks earned his on the Kesler horse named Boss Feeds Miscrient; Layton Green of Millarville got his on Ice Man, and Isaac Diaz matched them both on Bail Bond. That means they share a split of 7-8-9, and they take twelve to the Finals, with three more sections of bronc riders to come.

Diaz, from Texas, has been rodeoing for two decades now, notching seven NFR qualifications. At 38, he’s taking a little easier pace during this busy summer run – just one rodeo a day.

“I’ve started to realize that it doesn’t really pay off to be tired everywhere,” smiles the veteran. “It’s about capitalizing on good horses.”

“This was definitely a nice horse. I don’t know that that (score) will make it back, but I felt like I came and did my job.”

With a young daughter, Diaz doesn’t venture this far from home as much these days, but the big purse at Ponoka and his love for Canadian rodoes brought him back.

He’ll never forget his first trip to Ponoka in 2010, when he actually won the saddl bronc championship.

“That’s probably the worst drive I’ve ever done. All my traveling partners went to Greeley (CO) that day. We’d been in St. Paul (OR) the night before, driving all the way. It was stupid. I should’ve just flown. But back in those days, we didn’t believe in doing that. So I was by myself and I drove as fast as I could drive from 7:30 that night until I got here. I had Frost Bite of Franklin’s, and he was standing in the chute when I got here. I could barely hold my eyes open. It was a stressful trip. As soon as I got off my horse, I went and took a nap,” chuckles Diaz. “But it worked out great. I had Fearless Warrior the next day in the short round, so it made it so much worth it.”

With the breakaway roping making its debut at the Ponoka Stampede, and with the challenge of the long score run, no one was quite sure if the super-fast speeds the girls are known for would be possible. But eighteen-year-old Aubrey Ross showed them how on Friday, with an impressive 2.3 second run.

“I knew it would be possible, but I didn’t know if it would be me or not,” says Ross, from Botha. “I just scored really good, my horse fired really hard. I was able to see where my calf was the whole time, and it just worked out.”

“I’m just so happy to be here. It’s so awesome. I speak for every breakaway roper that we’re so thankful to be here.”

While Ross broke the barrier on her first calf, she’s still sixth overall with her 15.7 second total, and has a chance to return on Tuesday. Brooke Pomeranz of Alix took over third place in the aggregate race with 8.9 seconds.

Texan Trevor Hale made the fastest tie-down roping run of this year’s Stampede at 7.8 seconds. But he’ll only get go-round cash as he was no-time on his first run. Stettler’s own Beau Cooper notched his name into third place in the overall standings with a 20.4 second total on two runs.

“The long score here is like no other,” says Cooper. “It’s pretty fun, but that horse makes it easy. He’s fast. It’s fun riding him here.”

That horse is one Cooper calls Seven, that helped him get to the NFR in 2023. But he’s had some soundness issues the last several years that have forced Cooper to turn to him only occasionally, and only close to home.

“They’ve got to be kind of tough and gritty to run here, and he’s all of those things and more. He loves his job and when they love their job, just like us, they’ll fight through some things. He’s been really good.”

Ponoka has been favorable to the second-generation roper. He’s placed every year he’s roped here, and wound up second in 2023.

“I’m getting back to that final four, and winning it,” grins Cooper.

But before Tuesday’s opportunity, Cooper will be flying to Williams Lake to rope; then drive to Prineville, OR; then he’ll fly back for Airdrie Sunday night; make a quick stop in Livingston, MT before returning to Ponoka.

“For the love of the game,” he adds.

In the steer wrestling, Harley Cole was fast man of the afternoon with a time of five seconds flat, but missed his first steer. Landon Beardsworth now sits fourth overall with his total of 12.9 seconds. There are some new faces on top of the team roping leaderboard as Texans Clay Smith and Nicky Northcott were fastest in the performance at 5.2 seconds, but now are also fastest on two runs with an 11.9 second total. Ferrah Fogg was a last-minute replacement in barrel racing, but the Saskatchewan cowgirl made a bid to return to Ponoka Tuesday, with her 17.67 second run, good enough for third place.

There were four more qualified bull rides out of the third Ponoka performance. Hayes Weight of Utah made an 85.75 point ride on Kesler’s Boss Feeds Smoke Show to take over second place so far.