A pair of Canadian bareback champions who are also traveling partners showed exactly how they won those titles as they dominated the three CPRA rodeo stops this past weekend.
2019 Canadian champ Orin Larsen expanded his lead atop the Canadian bareback riding standings as he posted wins at both the Wainwright Stampede and High River’s Guy Weadick Days Rodeo and finished third at the Sundre Pro Rodeo to pocket $7772. Two of those rodeos–Sundre and Wainwright–are critical stops on the Massey Ferguson Pro Rodeo Tour.
The other half of the tandem, 2024 champion Kody Lamb topped the field at Sundre and was second at the other two weekend events to pad his bank account by $7512. Lamb jumped a couple of spots in the standings and now sits in second place, about six thousand behind Larsen, the nine-time NFR qualifier.
The weekend haul will also benefit both guys as they pursue the elusive NFR qualifications. Larsen entered the weekend in 17th spot in the world standings with Lamb holding down 30th place.
Larsen’s weekend started at High River when he and the “campaigner of the group”, C5 Rodeo’s 808 Wichita matched up for 86.5 points; then followed up with a third-place effort at Sundre aboard the Calgary Stampede’s T-32 Turbo Rocket. That set the stage for Wainwright and the Manitoba product definitely brought his A-game as he drew Wayne Vold’s outstanding T1 Dancing Queen. The result was a sparkling 89 pointer for the win.
“It was a lake there but I kind of thought Dancing Queen would be a natural mudder. She’s been around a while and it didn’t really faze her at all,” Larsen recounted. “The committee did a good job there and actually the footing was good.”
Both men have been hitting the CPRA rodeos pretty hard of late and that’s all part of the plan. “I’ve been trying to get my Canadian rodeo count in and sprinkle in some rodeos down south as well,” the 35 year-old veteran explained. “I definitely want to get back to the CFR and work my way back to Vegas as well.”
A $7700 output will definitely help get both of those boxes checked. And for Larsen as he enters the later stages of what had been an outstanding career, feeling as good as he does at 35 is a bonus. “Yeah, my body feels good and my mind feels good, I’m excited and joyful for that.”
Larsen also had high praise for his traveling partner. “Kody is riding lights out right now. If he keeps riding like this and stays healthy, and I think he will, he’s going to be a pretty big problem. And if there’s a guy who deserves it, it’s Lambo. He’s paid his dues and had some tough times and I’m just hoping we can both get to Vegas.”
Speaking of Canadian champions making a statement, two-time barrel racing titleist, Taylor Manning was the biggest individual money earner of the weekend.
The 22-year-old sensation with eight CFRs already to her credit, dominated the dual Massey Ferguson Pro Tour events with a second place 17.28 second run at Sundre and a 1-2 split with Minnesota cowgirl Austyn Tobey at Wainwright as both cowgirls recorded 17.50 second times in the east central Alberta hub. The twin wins provided a $9237 cash injection into the Manning wallet and will see the cowgirl move from 7th place in the standings comfortably into the top five as the season moves into the busy and lucrative dog days of summer.
For Manning, the Wainwright result marked a breakthrough. “It was really nice to end the bad streak there. I’ve never won, I’ve never even placed there,” the second-generation talent acknowledged.
She had been having what, for Taylor Manning, is a little quieter year-to-date but that changed this past weekend. “It’s kind of a good feeling,” she noted. “I can take a bit of a breath now. There was a couple of barrels I knocked down and they cost me a bit and it’s just been figuring out how to make those good runs.”
With a few outstanding horses in her stable, Manning chose to run Praise, her six year-old mare this weekend. “I got to season her a little last year but these last two rodeos were pretty big ones for her. I’ll pick and choose arenas for her and (longtime stalwart) Bling, but I think I’ll use Praise a bit more just to season her and give Bling a few more breaks.”
The co-win at Wainwright will also see a move from Tobey, the sixth ranked cowgirl in the world standings. The Bemidji racer also collected a $1400 sixth place cheque at Sundre and will be perched at the top of the Canadian barrel racing standings when they appear later this week.
Several team roping duos made significant gains on the weekend but none more so than the 2026 runners-up for the Canadian team roping title – Kavis Drake alongside heeler Denim Ross. The talented pair collected the win at Sundre (4.5 seconds), then added fast time in the second go at Wainwright (4.2 seconds) and a 2/3 split at High River (6.1 seconds). The triple successes gave the team a total haul of $7889 and enabled Drake and Ross to move to the top of the standings board heading into Cowboy Christmas.
For a complete list of 2026 CPRA events and unofficial results, visit rodeocanada.com
This week’s CPRA action kicks off in Fort Macleod with Midnight Days Pro Rodeo June 24-26, then it’s off to a pair of Massey Ferguson Pro Rodeo Tour events – the Williams Lake Stampede running from June 25 to July 28 and the Ponoka Stampede July 25 to July 1. The Airdrie Pro Rodeo June 29-July 1 and the Raymond Stampede June 30-July 1 round out the CPRA Cowboy Christmas event schedule.