The annual battle between human and beast at the Rainmaker Rodeo had a new element thrown into the mix this year – lots of mud.
Over the course of the weekend, the rodeo arena turned into a mud pit, making riding, roping and wrestling a slippery enterprise for the cowboys who took part.
Scott Lawson, a bull rider from Tofield, said it was the muddiest rodeo he's ever been to, and was coated in the stuff when he fell off Bonanza during the bull riding competition on Sunday. Although the mud made for a soft landing, Lawson said it was his position on the bull and not the mud that caused his fall.
"It felt good at first, but I got tipped off the side and thrown off," he said, adding that Bonanza is a strong bull he rode before, with one success and one fall in the past.
For fellow bull rider Michael Eaves, who won the bull riding competition on the infamous Walking Tall with a score of 74, the ride was a fun one that elicited a cartwheel in the middle of the muddy field after his ride. He later said he was happy to ride the bucking bull, adding that he felt it was the right animal to draw if you want to win.
"It's more like a dance than a ride," said Eaves, who lives outside Morinville but is originally from Fairlie, on the south island of New Zealand.
"He's fun to ride … the bull is going to buck the same, wet or dry."
Just behind him was Troy Robinson of Big Valley, with a score of 73 in the bull riding competition.
In the saddle bronc riding contest Mark O'Dempsey, who won last year's bareback riding contest, came first with a score of 71, while Clinton Cox took second with 70 points. Tying with Cox was Garrick Scally, who rode War Chief to a third-place finish.
Scally, also a native of New Zealand who currently lives in Botha, said he decided to come to Alberta for rodeo training because he felt there were some of the best people and animals to learn from in the world. Now in his second Alberta rodeo season, Scally said he's learned a lot to take back for the rodeo season in New Zealand later this year.
"I'm here this time more to compete," he said. "You've got to go at them and hang on. If not, you'll fall off pretty quick."
Roll in the mud
Many of the steer wrestlers took a roll in the mud to get their points, with Justin Miller taking the lead with 4.6 seconds, and Derek Frank coming in second with 5.3 seconds. For the tie-down roping, Steve Horricks won with a time of 9.8 seconds and Riley Warren took 10.6 seconds to get his calf down.
Travis Merchant took home first prize for the bareback riders with a score of 73, while Chad Randle took second with a total of 70 points. In junior bull riding, it was a close run between Jake Stemo, with 69 points, and Joe Guze at 68 points. It was also a close finish for the team roping, with the team of Clay Ullery and Kasper Roy taking 6.9 seconds to rope down their calf. Darwin Routhier and Danny Ploufe came second with a time of 7.1 seconds.
For the ladies' barrel racing, Coraleen LeClercq took home first prize with a score of 15.799, while Carlee Jo Edge came in second.
