May 21, 2024
A man’s home is his cast…uh…van.
If you’re saddle bronc rider, Tyrel Roberts, and you live in northern British Columbia, there are maybe four Canadian Professional Rodeo Association stops that are reasonably close to the home place, located in Charlie Lake (40 minutes from Fort St. John). Thus the need for a vehicle that can double as transportation and accommodation during rodeo season.
“I’ve got pretty well everything I need and got except for my horses in the van with me,” the 23-year-old quipped as he made his way toward Buffalo Lake Metis Settlement for the first SMS Equipment Pro Tour rodeo of the 2024 season.
This past weekend, Roberts rolled his caravan into another BC stop, this one the popular Falkland Stampede, and came away with a well-earned victory riding Macza Pro Rodeo’s 6 Squash Blossom Steely Dan to an impressive 86.5 point effort for $1687.
“I knew the horse’s name but I didn’t really remember her. But when they ran her in there, then I remembered. She’s kind of famous with her own [special] halter and everything. I was pretty excited to draw her,” the 2023 CFR qualifier commented.
“She rolls out of there and gets up underneath herself and helps you spur. It felt like she was really kicking that day,” Roberts added. “She made a nice little circle to the left right by the judges. It was a little bit wild for a while there and I really had to get under my rein and under my swells. But she was fun and it worked out.”
The Falkland win was coupled with a third place cheque Roberts picked up across the line at Central Point, Oregon where a 78 point ride netted him $1157.
The weekend results fit right in with the goals the young cowboy has for the 2024 season. “My plan is to prioritize the Canadian rodeos but we’ll go back and forth to some of the bigger American rodeos as well.”
That plan includes getting back to the CFR and working towards the talented bronc rider’s bigger goals. “I want to keep making the CFR and eventually win Canada a time or two and one of these days soon get to the NFR as well.”
Roberts comes from a ranching background with a little rodeo thrown in. “My dad and his brother figured they were riding broncs all the time at the ranch so they might as well try to ride some at the rodeos but it didn’t work out as well as they thought,” he chuckled. “But my parents made the World Series of Team Roping and my brother steer wrestled so rodeo was definitely a big deal for us.
“For me, I saw some bronc riding on TV when I was about five years-old and I knew that was exactly what I wanted to do.”
After a solid novice career and a productive 2023 season, the young cowboy looks ready to take the next step in what is shaping up to be a long and successful career. He spent the winter on the south side of the 49th parallel, all part of the career development of an up and coming rough stock hand.
“It was kind of a long winter. I didn’t draw that good at most of the places I went so I was pretty excited to be coming back to Canada and getting on some good bucking horses up here.”
After a big win at Falkland that will see the BC talent move up from the tenth place ranking he had entering the weekend, we’ll be seeing Tyrel Roberts at CPRA rodeos throughout 2024. He’ll be the guy in the van.
Two-event cowgirl Bradi Whiteside has been a picture of consistency through the early stages of the 2024 rodeo season and the Longview, AB athlete continued to set a torrid pace in both of her events. Whiteside picked up a 5-6 spilt in the Falkland barrel race and won the breakaway roping with a 2.0 flat for a tidy $2650 haul out of British Columbia. The second generation horsewoman will climb a few notches in the breakaway standings where she was sitting fifth heading into the weekend and will maintain a solid hold on second-place in the barrel racing standings as well.