July 8, 2024
With the 2024 Canadian Professional Rodeo Association having passed the halfway point in its schedule, every rodeo, every success and every missed opportunity takes on added significance. That was certainly the case as cowboys and cowgirls rolled into Benalto, Alberta for another addition of the Benalto Stampede.
Among the competitors using the central Alberta rodeo stop to boost their fortunes for the current campaign were team ropers Levi Simpson and Logan Cullen. The tandem were coming off an important Cowboy Christmas win with a 5.7 second, $3257 effort at the Williams Lake Stampede, and followed that up with the Benalto win as well, this time with a blistering 4.0 second run to add another $2567 to each of their bank accounts.
The Ponoka-based Simpson with World and Canadian titles on his already impressive resume and Cullen, the BC based heeler on the duo, narrowly missed a trip to the 2023 CFR and are looking to ensure that history does not repeat itself.
Reigning Canadian Barrel Racing Champion Lynette Brodoway, coming off the long weekend Williams Lake win, enjoyed the same result at Benalto. The Brooks, AB cowgirl topped the field at the Precision Rodeo Tour event with a 15.52 second run to cash out at $2594. Added to her 16.61 second journey around the cloverleaf pattern at Williams Lake for a whopping $6711, the back-to-back successes will move the reigning titlist from 11th spot to over $20,000 won on the season and a solid position among the top five in the standings.
A couple of Alberta cowboys improved their chances at getting to CFR 50 in Edmonton but both still have work to do. Hunter Sawley, the Fox Creek, AB bronc rider, kept his CFR aspirations very much alive with an impressive 87.5 point ride on C5 Rodeo’s 642 Houchie Man for $1562 while Drayton Valley, AB bulldogger, Coltin Crawford grabbed an significant win with a rapid 3.8 second run for $2717.
Both men are hoping the Benalto successes will be a harbinger of good things to come in the second half of the season.
Next up on the CPRA schedule – the Teepee Creek Stampede, an SMS Equipment Pro Tour rodeo and the Bowden Days Rodeo, part of the Maple Leaf Circuit. Both events are slated for July 12-14.
For complete unofficial results, check out the Unofficial-in-progress-results page.