CALGARY – Maybe it was the smell of money. Maybe it was his simple approach. Somehow, Canadian Straws Milan fought his way up from a low seed to take the $100,000 steer wrestling title at the Calgary Stampede on Sunday.
The native of Cochrane, Alta., blazed a time of 3.6 seconds in the final round, capping an unlikely ascent to the title that seemed in doubt after he finished eighth in the Pool B standings.
Milan rebounded by posting the second-fastest time in Saturday’s wild card event to advance to the top ten, then posted the fastest time of 3.5 seconds to earn a spot in Sunday’s final four.
After the two competitors had no-times and another posted 13.3 seconds, Milan sensed he had a chance.
“I knew I had to get (the steer) caught, still throw him down and not break the barrier,” Milan said.
Milan felt especially good going into the money round after drawing a steer he had run earlier last week.
“He was actually one of my picks when I seen him at the final four steers … I said I wanted (steer) 86 or 39 and I got 86 so I was pretty excited about that.”
But with no sponsors paying his bills, he’ll be leaving his Stampede earnings in the bank for now.
“That hundred thousand’s going to help out a lot for sure,” he said.
Fellow Canadian Lindsay Sears of Nanton, Alta., also came close to clinching a $100,000 payday in barrel racing but ended up five-hundredths of a second behind phenom newcomer Sydni Blanchard of Albuquerque, N.M., who blazed her fastest time of the week in 17.21 seconds atop her horse Shotgun.
The $100,000 may be a nice incentive, but Blanchard is more grateful to even be here competing after a tailbone injury a few months back left her off her feet, and off her horse for 10 days. After making Stampede history by winning all four of her Pool B draws and walking away with the hefty cheque, Blanchard looks at her injury as a “blessing in disguise” as she hopes to take her experience in recovering into a sport psychology education.
“It’s the one thing I didn’t understand, how to come back from an injury” said the petite Blanchard, “And now I do.”
In bareback competition, Texan Clint Cannon rode Street Dance to an impressive 92 points, edging out Utah’s Kaycee Field’s 91 total atop Stampede Warrior.
“Whenever you see 91 on the board your like ‘oh man’ this is going to be tough to beat,” Cannon said. “Kaycee’s an awesome rider … I said ‘my horse is going to buck and I’m going to do better.'”
Cannon described the roaring crowd as he was crowned Stampede Champion as “the greatest feeling on Earth.”
“It can be pouring down rain and the fans are still sitting up there,” he said.
Brothers Tuf and Clif Cooper from Decatur, Texas, went one and two respectively in the final tie-down roping action.
Asked what he was thinking before his winning run of 6.3 seconds ahead of Clif’s 8.6, Tuf said: “Go fast. Go real, real fast.”
Bull rider Tyler Thomson of Black Diamond, Alta., bettered his previous three trips into the Stampede by advancing to the final four for the first time.
After snagging one of the two last spots up for grabs on Saturday’s wild card competition, Thompson rode to a third-place finish in the top ten but got bucked off by snorting bull Slash in the final. Mooresville, N.C., cowboy Shane Proctor claimed the title with 91 points.
In the saddle bronc, American Chad Ferley took the top spot with 92.5 points aboard Get Smart while Luke Butterfield of Ponoka, Alta., was second with 90 points aboard Spring Planting.
Meanwhile, local Strathmore, Alta., bullrider Scott Schiffner may not have advanced into a final Sunday but he was awarded the prestigious Guy Weadick Memorial award that recognizes the contestant who combines accomplishments in rodeo with personality, sportsmanship and appearance.
“I love rodeo and I want to make it better, and when you get an honour like this you realize why you do it all,” said Schiffner, who sits on the board of directors for the Canadian Professional Rodeo Association. “I’ve been fortunate and won quite a bit, but this is how other people look at you, it’s not how good you rode. … (It) will always have a special place in my heart.”
Note to readers: This is a corrected story. A previous version stated Chad Ferley scored 91 points instead of 92.5.
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