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The rodeo circuit continued to prosper over Christmas at the 15th Cowboy Christmas Rodeo in the Panee Memorial Multiplex in Hobbema. This years four-show event had the best attendance ever for one of the few rodeos held in Canada's rodeo "off season." And the crowds went home happy, having witnessed some of the country's best in top form.
The rodeo opened with an afternoon and evening show on Boxing Day, then evening shows over the next two days. Each entrant rode or roped only once.
One of the top performers continues to be 23-year-old barrel racer, Dawn Rude from La Glace, Alberta. Rude won the Canadian title at the 1994 Canadian Finals Rodeo and regained her form in Hobbema, taking first, after knocking over a barrel in Regina at the end of November. As you read this, she's in the U.S. (Colorado, South Dakota, then Texas), trying to build up some earnings while the Canadian circuit is down.
"I don't do it for the money," she said, explaining her earnings of about $24,000 in 1994 don't cover all her travel and horse expenses for the year.
"You really need a supportive family or a really good job to be able to do this. The Canadian title was the biggest thing that's ever happened to me, and we're worried about the money more because it gets us into the CFR and, maybe, the NFR (National Finals Rodeo.)"
Rodeo earnings are used to qualify for big events, as if the dollars are points.
"I enjoyed the run in Hobbema," Rude continued. "It's one of the nicest indoor arenas around. It's a gorgeous arena and a good rodeo."
She attributes her recent success to luck, mostly, and a run of good co-operation between her and her horse, a nine-year old mare called Movin' Mint, nicknamed M&M.
"You need a good rider and a good horse, but that's not enough," she said. "You need to be working together."
Barrel racing is technically very difficult, as only hundredths of a second separate the best from the rest.
"It used to be that you could get by with a fast horse or a good turner," said Rude. "But now, with all the good competitors out there, you need a combination of the two."
She explains what she demands from her horse.
"I want M&M to go in hard, to leave just enough of a pocket so I don't knock over a barrel, then I want her to sit, so that we can get away fast. But mainly I want her to set before we start to run."
There's little room for error. The courses vary in length indoors, because of the limitations of arena size, but there are standard dimensions outdoors. Racers run a cross-shaped course, circling two barrels across from each other, then one centered at the far end and a sprint back up the middle to cross the timing line.
Rude's best runs were both in 1994. (Because of differing courses, it's useless to talk about comparing times, although Rude says "I keep getting asked the question.") She picks out her winning time in the CFR and a 16.4 run on a standard course in Stettler, both close to record times. She'll be back in Canada when the season opens here on March 17.
Well-known Bill Boyd and Marty Becker won in the bareback and calf-roping events, respectively, although Becker had to share his first place money with Grady Lockhart.
Other top performers had a tougher time in Hobbema. Rod and Denny Hay are consistently in the top three or four in saddle bronc riding, but were bucked off by their stock practically back-to-back in the Wednesday evening draw, allowing consistent Guy Shapka to take the event.
Ron Halverson of Big Timber, Montana, entered the Christmas rodeo bull riding for a shot at some extra prize money so he could get a jump on qualifying for the National Finals Rodeo in Las Vegas. His ride was the dramatic conclusion of the whole rodeo, as he drew Sugar Ray Skoal and rode last in the Wednesday night show.
Sugar Ray is the same bull that seriously injured Daryl Mills of Pink Mountain, B.C. at Ponoka in 1994, before he went on to win the NFR crown. And the nasty bovine had been ridden oly a couple of times in the last two years. The nearly packed arena held its' breath as Halverson climbed onto the brown and white animal, then hushed as the chute was about to be opened. Before the bull and rider could get fully out of the gate, however, the bull shifted and gave its first buck. The rider was off the bull's back and flying through the air in a fraction of a second.
Halverson went home without a cheque as sugar Ray's latest victim. Robert Bowers won the event with a fine score of 88 from an earlier round, which withstood all challenges.
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