The richest Ponoka Stampede ever was a game changer for the champions who rode away July first with the lion’s share of the rodeo cash.
One cowboy who’s been scooping up a whole lot of loonies over the Cowboy Christmas run is Rocker Steiner. The flashy bareback rider came back to the Ponoka Stampede Finals to ride American Thumper to 88.25 points. Then in the sudden death Showdown Round, the Texas cowboy drew just the horse he wanted of the four.
“I knew I was going to have (Calgary Stampede’s) Disco Party, for some reason. The chips just fell perfectly,” grinned Steiner. “Some say I am kind of a disco party!”
“I’m a little guy – that’s a huge horse. It bails up in the air. It’s one of the most electric horses going. I might be a little over confident. But I just believe in myself so much, and when I pulled in here for the first day, I just kind of knew I was going to win it.”
Steiner collected more than $20,000 from his time in Ponoka, adding to what he calculates to be an awfully rich string of rodeos, that could put him in the number one spot for the world race.
“We’ve had a very good run so far,” says Steiner. “I should be sneaking up on over $145 thousand won. It’s the best year I’ve ever had, so we’re going to go after the record.”
Damian Brennan was the saddle bronc rider to leave town with the Ponoka Stampede buckle and jacket, after he rode Calgary’s Exotic Warrior to an impressive 92.25 points.
“That’s a bucket list horse,” explains Brennan. “I got to win The American on that horse earlier in the year, so I was really excited to have that one. He just bails out there and doesn’t go very far, and jumps and kicks really hard. That’s what us bronc riders look for, so we can show off and do our job.”
Brennan rodeos out of the U.S. these days, but Australia is his homeland. He was happy to have some Aussie company at Ponoka.
“David Kelly was here. He pulled me down on both horses. He won it here in ’95 and it was pretty cool he was here and got to watch me win it in 2025, thirty years later.”
“I’ve been watching this rodeo since I was a kid, and to be here, competing against the best guys in the world, and coming away with the win is pretty special.”
Brennan’s Ponoka haul was $20,938. Nicholas Patterson of Rocky Mountain House, actually collected $21,974 through the rounds and as runner-up in the Showdown.
Steer wrestler Ryan Shuckburgh gave local fans plenty to cheer about, as the Innisfail cowboy topped the Showdown Round of the Stampede with a time of 5.2 seconds. His Ponoka payout was $18,279, well worth the nerves he felt before the run.
“A guy puts a lot of work in, so you want it to go good,” Schuckburgh says, about the stress he felt. “There’s a lot of variables at this rodeo and it doesn’t necessarily have to go your way. I’m just pretty happy with how it turned out.”
It was Shuckburgh’s first appearance in the Showdown, although he usually would at least get some go-round money in previous years.
“I only ever caught one steer, so it was good this year I could get four of them tangled up.”
As a second-generation rodeo competitor, Shuckburgh knows Ponoka well.
“I’ve been coming here my whole life, and it’s some of my earliest memories and one of my favorite rodeos, and I’m super excited. The money is huge for the world standings, and I should have the Canadian Finals made now so that takes a lot of pressure off. We don’t have to come to as many up here, so we can focus down south and make a go for the NFR.”
The tie-down roping title went to a Louisiana looper by the name of Zack Jongbloed. He was the first of the four finalists to nod his head, setting the pace with an 8.1 second run, to earn $12,263.
“I don’t mind being first, setting the bar, and letting the guys go after me. Either way, first or last, you’ve just got to do your job.”
Jongbloed actually drew the same calf he’d had earlier in the week, which game him some valuable insight.
“I knew he ran, so I needed to be on the barrier to have a chance. The score here is very tricky. If you’re off the barrier, you’re not going to win much.”
Jongbloed typically travels the rodeo trail with last year’s Ponoka champion, Haven Meged. Meged just suffered some back problems so has had to stay home and heal, meaning Jongbloed had to adjust his plans.
“We were entered up to where we needed both of us driving and helping. I was lucky enough to have my parents come out and help me. My Dad’s a good driver. He’s never been to Canada, and it’s his first time to Ponoka, obviously. You don’t go very many places and see this kind of grandstand and a packed house every time. It’s awesome,” smiles Jongbloed.
A Colorado cowgirl became the first ever breakaway roping champion at the Ponoka Stampede. But Amanda Terrell roped like she was right at home. She dominated from the pre-Stampede jackpot where the girls had a chance to give the famous Ponoka Stampede long score a try. Terrell then won first in the average, roping three calves in just 10.7 seconds. In an impressive Showdown Round, where all four finalists were fast, Terrell was the fastest at 3.1 seconds, to collect more than $8000.
“I’ve had such a good feeling about this rodeo,” says Terrell. “I feel like God has given me so much peace about this. I knew He was going to give me an opportunity to glorify Him. It’s not about what I win in the arena and worldly things. It’s a lot bigger than me. He’s using me for something bigger. I’m just grateful to be the person to do it.”
Terrell came to Canada to travel and rope with Jenna Dallyn of Nanton, who leads the Canadian standings.
“I thought I was just going to hit a few, and I was like ‘we’ll see how it goes’, if I want to go hard to make the Canadian Finals. I knew Ponoka was going to be my marker. Obviously, I’m hoping to make the Canadian Finals now for sure!”
“I think I can speak on behalf of all breakaway ropers that we are just eternally grateful for all these opportunities that we’re given. I want to say kudos to Canada for being the ones to really be making it happen for us.”
It was beginning to look like the bulls might better the cowboys once again this year at Ponoka. Ednelson Martins of Brazil was the only cowboy to stay on board his bull for eight seconds in the afternoon session Tuesday, so they went back to best on one bull to get four Showdown qualifiers. Then they were all falling like flies, but turns out, Hayes Weight came down because his bull stumbled, so he was awarded a reride. The Utah cowboy actually had also gotten a reride in the afternoon. But it was ‘four times a charm’ for Weight, as he stayed on Calgary’s Tactical Error for all eight seconds, and wound up with a whopping $41,106 payday from Ponoka, for the only qualified ride of the Showdown. (The bull riding purse was bigger because $15,000 had been carried over from 2024, when there were no qualified rides in the Showdown.)
“I was borderline not going to get on him,” admits Weight, as his first bull had hit him in the face. “I was kind of in and out. Then I realized sometimes you’ve got to be cowboy, and it’s Ponoka, so you’ve gotta go.”
“They told me he was good, so I told them to run him in. I didn’t come here to fall off.”
Weight’s world looks a lot different with that kind of cash injection.
“It makes a huge difference. It takes me from barely being inside the top fifteen in the world to moving up, so I can a bit more comfortable and relax.”
“This spring I was having a hard time getting some rode and really just putting myself in a slump. I just really started rededicating myself to God and to the craft He blessed me with. I’ve been picking up momentum as the summer run’s taking off.”
“I’m thankful I took that reride.”
Jennifer Neudorf didn’t have to make long miles to get to the Ponoka Stampede, as she lives just east of town at Bluffton. She turned in a blistering 17.24 second run in the Showdown Round, fastest time of the week, to take top spot, and earn $19,133 from her time at Ponoka.
“He’s been such an amazing, fun horse to run,” Neudorf says of Fernando, a horse her friend Mikayla Lundy let her run when Neudorf’s own horse got hurt. Ironically, the horse was bred and raised by Neudorf’s mother.
After the first fast run the two made, Neudorf caught a glimpse of the horse’s potential at Ponoka.
“It’s hard to explain, but I knew he was going to be fun, so just go in and let him work. He does amazing every time.”
“This means so much. I’ve always loved the Ponoka rodeo, I’ve always watched it. Every year before the season starts, I just think when I’m driving, ‘oh, I want to win Ponoka so bad’. It was one of my biggest bucket lists. I’m so happy to be able to do it.”
Header Kolton Schmidt was able to add a third Ponoka Stampede buckle to his personal collection, but he’s done it with three different partners. This season he’s teamed up with heeler Sid Sporer. They won the team roping average on three steers, and then came back to take the Showdown with a 6.2 second run, for a total of $28,935 each.
“It’s been a while since I’ve had success here,” says Schmidt, who hails from Barrhead. “2016 was the last time I won, so I was kind of forgetting what the four-man felt like, but I was sure happy to experience it again, and very happy that it went our way.”
But it was a first Stampede buckle for Sporer, who’s from Wyoming.
“It feels unreal,” says Sporer. “I’m still kind of in shock. It’s a huge deal for us. It’s such a good rodeo, and they do such a good job. They treat us well, especially at this busy time of the year, trying to make it everywhere.”
“We’ve been scattered all over the world the last two or three weeks. It’s been hectic – lots of no sleep and lots of driving. But this is a good way to start our fourth of July. The money we won here is going to boost us both in the world standings and in Canada.”
The All Around honors for the Ponoka Stampede went to Sawyer Eirikson, while Wacey Schalla took the High Point award.
Taking the All Pro Canadian Chuckwagon Championship for the first time was Curtis Wood of Saddle Lake, with his ponies coming across the track in 1:11:48.