Contestant list released for Stampede

By Tyler Lowey, Times Reporter

Contestants vying in the annual Strathmore Stampede Rodeo were announced last week and the list features plenty of local talent with many of the season’s best from the world of rodeo.
The third-largest Canadian Stampede will feature cowboys and cowgirls from the Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association (PRCA) and the Canadian Professional Rodeo Association (CPRA), as they compete for the $20,000 prize.
After announcing his retirement during the Calgary Stampede, local product and national bull riding icon Scott Schiffner will be making his final appearance at the Strathmore Stampede Aug. 6.
Schiffner announced his retirement in July but said there were a few more rodeos he was still planning on attending. Fans from all over will get the chance to see Schiffner compete one last time on the final day of competition when he tries to cover a bull named Compton Bound.
Schiffner’s ride on the final day will be the only time the rodeo starts at 3 p.m. During the first three days of competition, the rodeo starts at 1 p.m.
Riding in the same group as Schiffner will be the current CPRA season-leader Jared Parsonage. He is in first with 440 points. Behind him with 375 points and riding Aug. 3 is Cody Lee Coverchuck.
The current PRCA season-leader Sage Kimzey rides Aug. 5. Kimzey, an Oklahoma cowboy, has won over $200,000 this season.
Denver Johnson makes his return to Strathmore as the No. 1 ranked header in the CPRA for the team-roping event. He and team-roping partner Tristin Woolsey of Nanton are leading the pack with 392.5 points and are scheduled to ride Aug. 5.
“We started off this year really good and kept it going. We hit a little bit of a bump midway through but we have found our groove again,” said Johnson. “We just get along really well, (we) work hard every day at it. That’s been the biggest difference from this year to last year.”
Riley Roy and his team-roping partner from Moose Jaw, Sask., are coming off their first trip to the Canadian Finals Rodeo (CFR) last fall and will be riding Aug. 6 in the team roping event.
Tate Hartell returns to the Stampede and will be the first local athlete to ride at Strathmore. He is in the first group in the bareback event on Aug. 3. He will be trying to stay on a horse named Saturn Rocket for the mandatory eight seconds.
The bareback event also features two-time defending Calgary Stampede champion Richmond Champion. He currently sits third in the CPRA with 315 points and is scheduled to ride Aug. 6.
Airdrie’s Jake Vold rides on the same day as Champion and sits in second in the CPRA with 385 points.
In tie-down roping, Dawson Johnson is scheduled to compete on the second day in an all-Alberta draw on Aug. 4
Nearby product Shawn Miller of Dalemead is set to go Aug. 4 in the tie-down roping.
The current CPRA leader in the tie-down is Blair Smith, of Wimborne. He rides in the slack performance Aug. 3, which starts at 9:30 a.m. Tyson Duffery of Weatherford, Texas is the current PRCA leader with $90,312.05. He is scheduled to compete Aug. 6.
Langdon’s Jeremy Krywcun will ride in the slack Aug. 3 at 9:30 a.m. in the steer riding. There aren’t any locals during the main steer wrestling runs, but the final day of competition boasts some of the biggest names in the sport in Tanner and Straw Milan from Cochrane, along with Curtis Cassidy, who is second in the PRCA with $72,495.10. All three compete Aug. 6, while the CPRA leader Stephen Culling goes Aug. 5.
A pair of local products will be competing in the ladies’ barrel racing, as Strathmore’s Kirsten Gjerde rides Aug. 4, with Gleichen’s Marci Wilson on the fourth day alongside current CPRA leader Carman Pozzobon.
Joining Pozzobon and the locals in the barrels will be Dalemead’s Rebecca Miller, who rides Aug. 4.
Chestermere’s Zach Gladu is the only nearby product in the steer riding Aug. 4.
The nearby town of Arrowwood will also feature a small grouping of athletes.
Kole Ashbacher rides in the saddle bronc Aug. 3, Beau Gardner goes Aug. 5 in the steer riding, Doug Wilkinson rides Aug. 3 in the team roping with Tanner Milan and Jeremy Buhler will go Aug. 6 in team roping with his partner Levi Simpson,
There might not be any local talent in the saddle bronc, but fans will get the chance to see the currently ranked No. 1 rider in the CPRA standings in Brody Cress.
The Hillsdale, Wyo. cowboy rides Aug. 6, while the No. 2 rider in the CPRA, Zeke Thurston, goes one day earlier Aug. 5. Thurston recently finished second at the Calgary Stampede.