Calgary Crowns $50,000 Champions Even After Confusion

Championship Sunday has come and gone in Calgary and the rodeo comes to a close with the champions walking away with a $50,000 bonus.

The crowd enjoying the Calgary Stampede. / Unsplash

The Calgary Stampede, often dubbed "The Greatest Outdoor Show on Earth," is an iconic annual event held every July in Calgary, Alberta. This ten-day festival is a celebration of western heritage, culture, and community spirit, drawing over a million visitors from around the world.

At the heart of the Stampede is the 10-day rodeo sanctioned by the Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association and the Canadian Pro Rodeo Association.

The contestants are divided into three pools that each get three complete rounds. After they have completed their three runs, the top four contestants move on to Championship Sunday where the contestant are in a showdown format.

The twleve contestants compete against each other in the first round of competition on Championship Sunday to determine the top four. Those move on to the Bonus Round where the champion is awarded a $50,000 bonus.

This is certainly season changing money and often times leads to determining the World Champion.

Bareback Riding

The top four headed into the Bonus Round were Leighton Berry, Orin Larsen, Rocker Steiner and RC Landingham.

The man dressed in red, Rocker Steiner didn't disappoint the crowd when he rode Calgary Stampede's Yipee Kibitz for 90.5 points. But, it was the Castle, Calif. cowboy RC Landingham who saw the top spot and earned the $50,000 check. He rode the famous bucking horse Virgil branded C5 F13 for 94-points and an ovation from the excited crowd.

"I don't know of any horses out there like Virgil. I knew that if I got to the buzzer I was going to win first. I just kept gassing it and it worked out," Landingham said when ask about his draw.

Barrel Racing

The duo of Hailey Kinsel and Sister were outstanding all week. Each time they ran through the gate they absolutely smoked a run. The same held true in the Bonus Round. Sitting on the top of the leaderboard with 16.986 run, things were looking good for Kinsel to be the champion.

Then, Leslie Smalygo and her amazing horse Gus came through the gate running as hard as they could to the first barrel - flawless. Second barrel - flawless. Third barrel - flawless. The result was a 16.94 and another $50,000 bonus for the duo. The nearly unbeatable team also won the $50,000 at Rodeo Houston.

"I just couldn't, in my wildest dreams imagine that this could happen. This horse has made my dreams come true," Smalygo said.

"This crowd is legendary and has made Calgary all that it is."

Tie-Down Roping

Coming into the Bonus Round were Haven Meged, Kincade Henry, Macon Murphy and John Douch. Talk about a stack line-up of cowboys and stellar horses.

Haven Meged seemed to be on a mission at the start of Championship Sunday. The Miles City, Montana cowboy knew it was the time to be fast and make great runs. He understood the assignment. In the finals round he was 6.9 to lead the field of 12 cowboys.

In the Bonus Round he had earned the chance to go last. Macon Murphy had tied one in 7.1 seconds and Meged knew he had to perform.

"You know I thought since we stumbled coming out, I thought I was too long. I looked up at the clock and I guess it just all worked out. I was going to take my slack to the outside and right at the last minute decided to go to the inside. It just worked out!" Meged said of his run.

His run did "just work out". In fact it worked out in 6.7-seconds.

Saddle Bronc Riding

The Calgary crowd had plenty to cheer about in the saddle bronc riding. Three of the four cowboys that qualified for the Bonus Round were from Canada. World Champion Zeke Thurston, Layton Green and Ben Anderson all represented Canada in the round. Kade Bruno was the only United States cowboy to be representing.

The excitement was just off the charts when the saddle bronc riding finished because there was a tie. Both Kade Bruno and Zeke Thurston rode their horses for 92-points. The announcers explained the tie breaker process and decided that there would be a ride off. Each one picked from the chips available and drew horses to ride to determine the champion.

The ride off ensued with both Bruno and Thurston making incredible rides. The announcers called it right when they said, "I don't think I've ever seen a horse buck that hard," when Thurston went. Bruno made a textbook beautiful ride. The judges determined Thurston was a 90.5 and Bruno was a 92.

Bruno was the champion! He went jogging across the arena to the stage to receive his awards and check. WAIT. Stop. That's not right. The additon on the judges sheets was wrong. Bruno scored a 90.

At that point, Thurston was told and he went across the arena to the stage to be joined by his kids and accept the bronze and the check. A full interview occured with Thurston clearly enjoying his fourth championship at Calgary.

Bruno really handled this well. The two met in the arena as Bruno headed back to the chutes as the Reserve Champion and Thurston went to accept his awards.

There, at least that was settled. Or was it? The check was awarded, the bronze given, the interview happend, the kids celebrated. No, the story is not over. They changed it again. Now it was announced that the original scores were correct and Kade Bruno was the champion.

So, after some amount of debacle, Kade Bruno is the 2024 Calgary Stampede Saddle Bronc Champion.

Steer Wrestling

There were two World Champions in the Bonus round and certainly two others who are very capable. World Champions Tyler Pearson and Ty Erickson were up against Don Payne and Stetson Jorgensen in the final four round.

Erickson was making his comeback from being injured and off the rodeo trail. Calgary was his first rodeo back. Don Payne is on the hunt for his second straight National Finals Qualification. The big man from Atoka, Okla., Tyler Pearson is currently sitting number eight in the World Standings. Stetson Jorgensen is making a bid for his first world title as he currently rests at number three in the standings.

Each one had plenty to gain by coming out on top. In the end whe the last steer was thrown, it was the comeback man, Ty Erickson who bested the field. The Helena, Mont. steer wrestler found his groove again regardless of being hurt.

Bull Riding

It is safe to say that the bull riders had their hands full in Calgary. Every round of every Pool ended with several buck offs. In the end, there were only two men standing for the Bonus Round.

Jeff Askey and Chase Dougherty found their way to the Bonus Round where they would go head-to-head to determine the champion.

Askey was paired up ith the bull branded V 950 named "Chosen". The result was a short time buck off with Askey taking a pretty good hit from the bull and then being thrown into the chutes violently.

Dougherty found the same result. He lasted a little longer on his bull, O 88 called "Blue Magic" but in the end he was bucked off and then had to receive help to get out of the arena. That was enough. Both men said, enough.

Neither really appeared that they would be able to get on another bull regardless. So, they tied. Each would receive $43,750