CFR 51 Primer Saddle Bronc Riding

– BY DIANNE FINSTAD, CANADIAN RODEO NEWS WRITER

If there’s one thing that never gets old in Zeke Thurston’s world, it’s winning. The Big Valley talent continues to build on his future Hall of Fame resume, adding a fifth CPRA season leader title to the list. This comes after a season when the five-time and defending Canadian Saddle Bronc Champion collected his fourth Calgary Stampede title as an extra bonus. Oh, and then there’s those four World Championships as well.

One of the ingredients to Thurston’s rodeo success is consistency. In fact, his 2025 Canadian season earnings ($58,612) are virtually the same as in 2024 ($192 less). He picked up his biggest cheques from places like Ponoka Stampede, Grande Prairie, Armstrong, Medicine Hat, Lethbridge and Langley. But he also shines at the specialty bronc matches, like Wildwood, Hardgrass and Oil Kings, not to mention hosting his own such event for a second successful year at Stettler.

Thurston’s plans and priorities always take his growing family into consideration, as he and his wife Jayne are busy with their three children and a fourth nearly here. Some of the older ones are starting to get rodeo active too. So Thurston often starts traveling hard later in the season, always managing to capitalize on the opportunities where he does nod his head. He’s coming off a spectacular fall run, and has the most CFR experience of the field.

Every bronc rider coming to Edmonton knows their personal pathway to a Canadian title has to go through Thurston’s quest for number six, knowing he dearly like to edge a step closer to record title holders Mel Coleman (7) and Rod Hay (8).

However, you could make an argument the calibre of saddle bronc riders in Canada right now is historically outstanding, with any one of the all-Canadian CFR qualifiers able to win on any given day with the right bronc underneath. They push each other to new heights by making it tough to win.

One cowboy who turned a lot of heads this year was Nicholas Patterson, who soared to the top of the heap after a successful trip on board the legendary Virgil kicked off a very successful Ponoka Stampede. The confidence and momentum continued to build, as Patterson was the only cowboy besides Thurston to break the $50,000 mark for regular season earnings. He ended strong splitting second at Langley with Thurston, second in Merritt and Okotoks, as well as second at the Armstrong SMS Equipment Tour Finals.

“It’s kind of different, being near the top and having everyone chasing you,” admits Patterson, who got some land and built a cabin near Rocky Mountain House this year.

At his third CFR, Patterson is looking forward to actually making some money at Edmonton this year, something he’s struggled with in the past. He’s banking on the investment he made this year working on his mental game paying off.

While ten of the twelve bronc riders are the same as in 2024, Dawson Dahm is back in the lineup after missing last year, half of the only husband-wife duo at the CFR. The Duffield area rancher narrowed his rodeo focus this year, supporting his wife Caitlynn in her breakaway roping, and being home more.

“Some of the progress was more finetuning, as well as finding a new happiness with being able to just go to the Canadian rodeos and not having any other worries.”

“A lot of my bigger hits were actually at smaller rodeos, like Benalto and Bassano, that I hadn’t actually ever been to before” says Dahm, who says the two do enter rodeos together… when they can.

“It’s tough because of how competitive we both are. She wants the best run on the calves, and I want the day with the best horses,” he chuckles.

The one first-timer at the CFR is hardly a rookie to the realm of bronc riding. Making an impression in his rookie year of 2023, Quentin Taylor (also called Q, especially in the U.S.) narrowly missed both the CFR and NFR that year. 2024 saw some ‘sophomore blues’, but he’s stormed back in 2025, traveling with CFR regulars Ben Andersen and Logan Hay.

Talk about momentum – Taylor is fresh off winning the famed Pendleton Round-Up rodeo picking up some $16,000 – the biggest single cheque of his career. The trio of great friends is also in a mad dash to qualify for Las Vegas, so they’ll be coming in hot to Edmonton.

“We’re actually going to have to miss the CFR back number ceremony because we’ll be in Roggin, CO the night before at the Cervi rodeo. We’ll fly out the next morning and land in Edmonton, and be there for the first round. We’ll be coming in right off of rodeoing – like how we’ve been doing it all summer,” says Taylor, who’s only spent a handful of nights at home in Nanton since the beginning of July.  

“I like it this way. I think if I had too much time to think about it, I’d probably confuse myself,” quipped the 23-year-old Taylor.

“We feed off of each other. Ben and Logan have such big personalities and they’re so happy go lucky people all the time, it’s really hard to have a bad day around those guys. We help each other that way.”

Taylor hasn’t been to the CFR since 2016, when he was a steer rider. He was finally able to breathe a sigh of relief about getting back when he won Strathmore, securing his first saddle bronc qualification.

“I’m excited to get up there because the CFR has been something I’ve wanted to make my whole career.”

2025 CFR SADDLE BRONC QUALIFIERS