 Pro Rodeo Canada
For Immediate Release
Nov 10, 2012
The first of the 2012 Canadian Professional Rodeo champions were crowned tonight and the coach of the Southwest Oklahoma State Bulldogs rodeo team is smiling.
Two of his student athletes made trips to the CFR Champions’ podium—Jacob Stemo in the Novice Bareback and Layton Green in the Novice Saddle Bronc Riding.
For Stemo the win comes just eight months after he started riding bareback horses. The Calgary native watched best friend Clint Laye’s success in bareback riding and decided to add the event to his repertoire (Bull Riding).
“I came here quite a ways behind,” Stemo noted, “and I decided I had to go all in to win it. I’m a goal-oriented guy and this was one of my goals.”
Things clicked for the former Calgary Stampede steer riding champ right from the start of this Finals. “I got a lot of confidence from my first horse (Northcott’s Ninety Proof for 76.5 points) and it just kind of kept going after that.”
The future chiropractor collected three firsts and two seconds en route to the championship.
 Stemo was joined in the winner’s circle by Bulldogs’ teammate Layton Green as the Meeting Creek cowboy won the Novice Saddle Bronc Riding.
It was a vindication year for Green after he broke his riding arm just three weeks before the Finals one year ago. He was forced to switch hands and “did okay” but this year he came to the CFR healthy and with high hopes. And after a solid week , the third generation competitor climbed on his favourite bucking horse in the final round.
“I knew I had it won coming into the last round but it was cool to have (Bruce Flewelling’s) American Sister for my last horse. I had her at Airdrie and I was 79.5 to win money in the open bronc riding so I was excited when I drew her,” the Business Administration student grinned. This time Green and American Sister teamed up for 75 points to win the round and put an exclamation point on his championship.
Green had to overcome one more bad break going into the Finals, this time a broken saddle tree. What to do. Well, when you’re offered the saddle of eight times Canadian champ Rod Hay, you smile and nod. Green did that and it all worked out just fine.
Green is just eighteen years old and has three years of novice eligibility remaining but plans to move on. “I’ve done what I wanted to do at this level and now I’m planning to turn pro. I want to try for the Rookie Bronc Rider of the World award and most of all I want to be back here one day at the CFR and eventually at the NFR as well in the Bronc Riding.”
 And in the Steer Riding, Barrhead’s fourteen year-old talent, Kagen Schmidt capped off a huge year by capturing the Canadian Steer Riding title. The third generation, grade eight student won the first two rounds at the CFR and then bucked off his last three animals as the stock won a lot of the confrontations with the six steer riding finalists.
The Canadian title was the icing on a steer riding cake that included wins in the Lakeland and Wild Rose Rodeo Associations as well as at Strathmore and and Ponoka at the pro level.
And best of all for the kid-cowboy, “I only had to go to school one day this week.”
The youngster has a pretty solid game plan in place as he looks ahead. “I think my mom is pretty much against me riding bulls so I’m planning to work the three timed events, Steer Wrestling, Tie Down Roping and Team Roping like my dad did.”
In the Bull Riding 2012 Cowboy of the Year Scott Schiffner came up huge on the Franklin bull, Hands Up to win the round with an 86.5 and keep his championship aspirations alive. He goes into Sunday’s final round nine thousand dollars behind leader, Ty Pozzobon, but with the rounds paying $11,000 plus and the average accounting for the same payoff, Schiffner is very much in the hunt.
Pozzobon was taken from the arena on a stretcher Saturday night after his bull, Calgary’s Bull Durham, stomped the twenty-one year-old superstar who lay on the ground for several minutes before being taken to the waiting ambulance. Pozzobon was conscious and waving to the crowd as he left the arena floor.
Several races are very much in doubt heading into the Sunday finale. Leaders going into the final round include Ponoka’s Luke Butterfield in the Bronc Riding with a $20,000 cushion, Louisiana Tie Down Roper Shane Hanchey with a similar dollar advantage; Cowley, Wyoming Bareback rider J. R. Vezain with a narrow $5,000 advantage over four time Canadian Champ, Dusty LaValley; Cochrane Bulldogger Tanner Milan who leads Redcliff cowboy, Zane Hankel, by $9400, American Team Ropers Dustin Bird and Paul Eaves who are $5000 to the good; and Carlee Rae Pierce in the Barrel Race. The Stephenville cowgirl enjoys a $12,000 lead going into Sunday but went out of the average with a fourth round no time which means that three cowgirls--two time Canadian champion Lisa Lockhart, defending titleist Trula Churchill, and two time world champion Lindsay Sears of Nanton, all have a shot at the buckle.
Complete Fifth Round results
BAREBACK 1 Michael Solberg, Sunnynook AB, 82.75,; 2/3 JR Vezain, Cowley WY, 82.50; 2/3 Matt Lait, Airdrie AB, 82.50; 4 Jake Marshall, Wardlow AB, 82.00; 5 Clayton Bunny, Cessford AB, 81.25;
Total Season Earnings
1 JR Vezain, $57,094.61; 2 Dusty LaValley, $52,419.42; 3 Michael Solberg $41,969.16; 4 Jake Voldt, $34,369.45 ; 5 Clayton Bunny, $32,813.42;
STEER WRESTLING 1 Tanner Milan, Cochrane AB, 3.7, ; 2 Chason Floyd, Ludlow SD 4.0,;
3 JD Hays, Rocky Mtn House AB, 4.1,; 4 Wyatt Smith, Rexburg ID, 4.4,; 5 Travis Reay Mayerthorpe, AB, 4.5;
Total Season Earnings
1 Tanner Milan, $44,768.77; 2 Zane Hankel, $35,334.29; 3 Clayton Moore, $32,183.01; 4 Chason Floyd $31,016.98; 5 Cody Cassidy, $29,975.47;
NOVICE Bareback
1 Dylan Bilton, Innisfail AB, 75.00; 2 Jacob Stemo, Calgary AB, 74.00 ; 3 Kody Lamb, Sherwood Park AB, 69.00;
Total Season Earnings
1 Jacob Stemo, $9040.23; 2 Dylan Bilton, $8755.93; 3 Kody Lamb, $7735.97;
NOVICE Saddlebronc
1 Layton Green, Meeting Creek AB, 75.00;
No other qualified rides.
Total Season Earnings
1 Layton Green, $11,589.49 ; 2 Cole Neely, $8012.55 ; 3 Lane Watt, $4026.28 ;
Boys STEER RIDING 1 Logan Biever, Claresholm AB, 78.00.
No other qualified rides.
Total Season Earnings
1 Kagen Schmidt, $8897.87; 2 Logan Biever, $7939.64; 3 Griffin Smeltzer, $5,888.08;
TEAM ROPING 1 Marty Lillico, Stettler AB & Spencer Rutherford, Merritt BC,;, 5.0; 2 Clay Ullery, Two Hills, & Jeremy Buhler, Arrowwood AB,;, 5.1; 3 Roland McFadden, Vulcan AB, & Rocky Dallyn, Nanton AB, 5.3; 4 Dustin Bird, Cutbank MT & Paul Eaves, Milsap TX,;, 6.2; 5 Chase Simpson, Claresholm AB, & Rhen Richard, Roosevelt UT, 9.8;
Total Season Earnings Header
1 Dustin Bird, $31,154.68; 2 Levi Simpson, $25,273.10 3 Clay Ullery, $19,986.19; 4 Marty Lillico, $17,626.43; 5 Roland McFadden, $17,497.87;
Total Season Earnings Heeler
1 Paul Eaves, $30,710,96; 2 John Robertson, $25,273.09; 3 Jeremy Buhler, $21,048.69 4 Spencer Rutherford $17,765.46; 5 Rocky Dallyn, $15,677.42;
SADDLE BRONC
1/2 Tyler Corrington, Guymon OK, 84.00,; 1/2 Dusty Hausauer, Dickinson ND, 84.00,; 3 Dustin Flundra, Pincher Creek AB, 83.50, 4 Chet Johnson, Douglas WY, 82.00; 5 Jim Berry, Rocky Mntn House, 81.75;
Total Season Earnings
1 Luke Butterfield, $64,940.83; 2 Dustin Flundra, $44,895.50; 3 Rylan Geiger, $43,639.73 ; 4 Tyler Corrington, $42,822.62; 5 Sam Kelts, $38,933.79;
TIE-DOWN ROPING 1 Shane Hanchey, Sulphur LA, 8.0; 2 Alwin Bouchard, Scandia AB, 8.2; 3 Riley Warren, Stettler AB, 9.1,; 4 Curtis Cassidy, Donalda,AB, 9.2. ;5 Clif Cooper, Decatur TX, 9.4,;
Total Season Earnings
1 Shane Hanchey, $57,962.45; 2 Alwin Bouchard, $37,080.00; 3 Cliff Cooper, $30,661.62; 4 Murray Pole, $30,193.71; 5 Clint Robertson, $29,317.38
LADIES BARREL RACING 1 Trula Churchill, Valentine NE, 14.396; 2 Carlee Rae Pierce, Stephenville TX, 14.470,; 3 Lisa Lockhart, Oulrichs SD, 14.491,; 4 Cranna Roberts, Lacombe AB, 14.518,; 5 Lindsay Sears, Nanton AB, 14.684;
Total Season Earnings
1 Carlee Rae Pierce, $63,362.67; 2 Trula Churchill, $51,621.60;; 3 Lisa Lockhart, $43,472.17; 4 Lindsay Sears, $41,464.90; 5 Lee Ann Rust $36,663.22
BULL RIDING 1 Scott Schiffner, Strathmore AB, 86.50; 2 Beau Hill, West Glacier MT, 81.50;
No other qualified rides.
Total Season Earnings
1 Ty Pozzobon, $62,248.85; 2 Scott Schiffner, $53,154.35 ; 3 Beau Hill, $42,817.52; 4 Chad Besplug, $41,655.61 5 Dakota Buttar, $40,528.15
For more information,
Pro Rodeo Canada
Airdrie, Alberta
Phone: (403) 945-0903
Email: cpra@rodeocanada.com
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