Taylor and Cassidy Close in on CFR Berths
It was a huge win for bronc rider Q (Quinten) Taylor. The Parkland, Alberta talent joined forces with Macza Pro Rodeo’s 013 Copy Cat for 88.25 points and a $6925 Strathmore Stampede win that will move him from 8th place in the Canadian standings to a solid top five position and into the top three in the SMS Equipment Pro Tour ranks.
“He’s a young horse, just five years old,” said Taylor in describing the eight seconds on Copy Cat. “They had him down at Tarleton State last winter (Texas) and bucked him a few times down there, then brought him back up here this spring. He was a little colty at first and had a couple of early moves but then he got lined out and just bucked and kicked with lots of timing and hang time. We like that; it lets us show our stuff and really spur them.”
The win pretty much punched Taylor’s ticket to his first Canadian Finals Rodeo.
“The CFR’s been a bit elusive for me the last couple of years but I think I’ve got it sealed up now with this and that’s a big weight off my chest.”
He was smilingly philosophical about his approach to the rest of the season in Canada. “Zeke (Thurston, five time champion) likes to run off with it so if a guy can keep him reasonably close, I might have a better chance once we get to the finals.”
In the meantime there will be a lot of back and forth between Canada and the US with an NFR spot still not out of sight. Taylor’s busy late summer/fall schedule is complicated by the fact that the last week of the Canadian regular season with a couple of American rodeos stops that same weekend will need to somehow mesh with his brother’s wedding, also that crucial weekend.
“Yeah, he didn’t pick the best time for me, that’s for sure,” Q chuckled. A couple more flights and a bunch of frequent flyer points just might be worth it if Q Taylor can make a few more rides like his winning Strathmore effort.
At the other end of the CFR scale is veteran steer wrestler Curtis Cassidy who is approaching his 24th CFR qualification in steer wrestling (thus extending the Canadian record he already holds). The Donalda, AB superstar had a huge weekend with a 3.9 second run and a three-way split of first at Strathmore (with Eli Lord and Joseph King) to take home $6678. Factor in an even faster 3.8 second win at Coronation Pro Rodeo for $1664 and a 7/8 split at the North Peace Stampede (Grimshaw) and you have an $8652 payday for the veteran (not to mention a $928 cheque out of Great Falls, Montana).
Of the critical Strathmore run, the twelve-time Canadian champion said simply. “Yeah, that’s a good one to be three at. It helps a lot to have the right steer at the right place.”
It was a steer Cassidy was familiar with. “He was a really good steer, leaves and runs and is good on the ground; I missed the barrier on him at Innisfail so at Strathmore I decided to take a chance, it’s a big rodeo and I was just hoping I was on the right side of the barrier when I was done.”
Like Q Taylor, Cassidy’s weekend successes will put him solidly in the top five in the Canadian standings and all but seal the deal on a return trip to Edmonton’s Rogers Place October 1-4. That’s a far cry from one year ago when the second generation cowboy needed the last rodeo of the year to nail down a CFR qualification.
And here he is after a lot of years bulldogging steers and still competing at a tremendously high level. So how does he do it?
“Well, having good horses helps a lot,” Cassidy acknowledged. “I wouldn’t be doing what I’m doing without those good horses. It’s kind of a recreational thing for me. I enjoy working with young horses, the whole training thing; obviously they don’t all turn out but it’s what keeps me involved. Seeing guys win on our horses, it’s almost as exciting for me as competing myself. And when you have horses like that, you know you have a chance to win when you get to a rodeo and that makes it a lot more fun.”
And while on the subject of good Cassidy horses like Willy who was recently inducted into the Pro Rodeo Hall of Fame and the much decorated Tyson, it looks like another potential equine star might be emerging on the scene. She’s a ten year-old black mare from the racetracks of Louisiana and with just over a year or steer wrestling training, she’s already making a name for herself. That name, by the way is Black Betty and she carried Layne Delemont to a 1-2 split at Medicine Hat. The other half of that split was Joe Guze who happened to be riding Tyson. Then at Strathmore it was Curtis on Tyson for a share of the win while Joe Guze was another part of the first-place split and he was on the black mare.
“Cody and I both rode her at Coronation and we finished fist and second,” Cassidy added. “She’s really been stepping up her game lately. She’s a cute little mare and she’s built like s steer wrestling horse, that’s for sure.”
Sounds like the ongoing book about the Cassidys and great horses is about to add another chapter.
Another versatile hand who enjoyed an outstanding trip to the Strathmore Stampede was the Nebraska timed event specialist, Riley Wakefield. It was a $10,059 effort at Strathmore for the three event cowboy courtesy of a 4/5 split in the tie-down roping that netted $4372, a 5-7 split in steer wrestling that brought in another $3465 and an eighth-place finish in team roping alongside partner Clay McNichol that added another $2212 to the kitty. The trio of successes enhanced Wakefield’s chances as he pursues a first all-around title after finishing second to logan Spady one year ago. Wakefield is also aware that it’s imperative to be at the CFR in at least one event to have a chance at the
All-Around buckle. His result in the tie-down roping will help the cause in that regard as he inches closer to a top twelve spot in that event.
Last week’s mid-week action included the second annual Zeke Thurston Invitational Xtreme Broncs event where Wyatt Casper won the long go, short go and average. Casper marked 90 points on Big Stone Rodeo’s 26 Gone Fishing then added an even more spectacular 93.5 point score on C5 Rodeo’s legendary F13 Virgil for a total exceeding $7000.
CPRA athletes also enjoyed the first leg of the ‘north run’ with the two day High Prairie Elks Pro Rodeo. Northern Alberta action has been ongoing with Grimshaw and La Crete Rodeos.
The busy CPRA summer next heads to High River, Alberta for the Guy Weadick Rodeo August 8-10, Rimbey for the inaugural Frank Wilson Memorial Bull Riding August 8-9 and the Dawson Creek Exhibition and Stampede (another Pro Tour stop) August 9-10.
For complete results, standings and a schedule of all upcoming events, visit rodeocanada.com
