Patience pays off for LaValley
Laurence Heinen
Times Contributor
Dusty LaValley saved his best for last in the bareback competition at the 2011 Strathmore Heritage Days Stampede.
As the last of 41 competitors over five days of action from July 28 to Aug. 1, LaValley had nothing to lose, and he impressed the judges with a spectacular ride on Centennial.
“I’ve been on that horse a couple times before,” said LaValley, who hails from Bezanson, Alta. “I knew what to expect and he did his job. It felt good. I’ve really been waiting for a good horse here lately. The last couple, three weeks have been a little bit slow for me. I just had to be patient waiting for a good horse to have a good chance.”
Judges awarded LaValley an 85.5 ride, which was good enough for top spot and a cheque for $5,922.
“This is such a good rodeo,” LaValley said. “It pays so good. It’s one of the best ones in Canada. I love being here. It’s awesome.
“To come out and have a good horse and a good ride and win, it just couldn’t get any better.”
Bobby Mote of Culver, Oregon, placed second with a ride of 84.5, while Steven Dent of Mullen, New England finished third at 84.25.
Rodeo and chuckwagon chairman Pascal Del Guercio declared the five-day event a success.
“It was excellent,” Del Guercio said. “We had world champions here, we had Canadian champions here. The stock was incredible every performance. This was as good as it gets.”
Last year, Jesse Torkelson of Warburg, Alta., finished tied for first with two other competitors in bull riding. This year, Torkelson rode Bananas for 87 points on Sunday, and the score held up to earn him the first place prize of $6,542.40 and a shiny new belt buckle from the event sponsored by the Strathmore Times.
Tyler Willis of Wheatland, Wyoming, finished in second spot with a score of 86.5, while Tanner Byrne of Prince Albert, Sask., wound up in third at 85.
In ladies barrel racing, Sherry Cervi of Marana, Arizona, set the pace with a time of 17.23 seconds to finish first and earn $7275 in prize money. Trula Churchill’s time of 17.40 was good enough for second, while Joleen Seitz of Savana, B.C. finished third in 17.49.
Rowdy Hays of Rocky Mountain House, Alta., set a blistering pace in steer wrestling with a time of 3.4 seconds during Saturday’s performance and it held up to earn him the top prize of $7,144. Trevor Knowles of Mt. Vernon, Oregon, recorded a great time of 3.5 but had to settle for second spot, while Stan Branco of Chowchilla, California, finished third just .2 seconds behind Hays.
In tie-down roping, Cory Solomon of Prairie View, Texas, finished first with a time of 7.3 seconds to win $5,804.50. Tyson Durfey of Colbert, Washington, and Logan Hofer of Magrath, Alta., finished tied for second at 7.7.
In the team roping competition, Matt Fawcett of Stettler, Alta., and Brett Buss of Ponoka, Alta., took home $2,812.95 each in prize money by finishing first with a time of 5.5 seconds. Three teams finished tied for second at 5.8.
Wade Sundell of Boxholm, Iowa, won the saddle bronc competition and the top prize of $6,260.40 with a ride of 85.5 points. Ponoka’s Luke Butterfield and Taos Muncy of Corona, New Mexico, finished tied for second at 82.25.
“This is a tough rodeo,” Muncy said. “There are a bunch of good horses, so if you can place here it’s pretty good. This is the first time I’ve ever been and it’s an awesome rodeo.
“It’s fun. They’ve got a lot of excitement. I like watching the novice bronc riding, the bareback riding and the cow riding. They don’t do that down south. It’s pretty cool those kids get to ride. They kind of fire you up.”
Tyler Wilson of Meadow Lake, Sask., won the novice saddle bronc event with a ride of 76.5 points. Cole Jamieson of Innisfail, Alta., finished atop the novice bareback standings with a ride of 77, while Rocky Mountain House’s Cylas Bigchild won the boys steer riding competition with a two-ride total of 149.
“I just tried my best,” said Bigchild, who proudly showed off his shiny new belt buckle. “This was the first pro rodeo I won. It’s a good feeling. It’s one of the biggest rodeos for steer riding.”
Tyrel Ward won Saturday’s miniature bull riding event, while Casey Scout placed second. Ward and Scout were the lone competitors with qualified rides.
In the final rodeo event of the Stampede on Heritage Day, the trio of Brodie Stumpf, Jeremy Haut and Casey Fink of Calgary won the Wild Horse Race.
For Stumpf, it was his first win in Strathmore in his fourth straight year competing at the Heritage Days Stampede.
“I love it,” Stumpf said. “I’ll keep doing it for a long time.”