CFR 51 Primer Team Roping

– BY DAVE POULSEN, CANADIAN RODEO NEWS WRITER

They were dominant early and they were dominant late and the team roping sensations, Denim Ross and Kavis Drake, are looking to take that same kind of commanding presence into the 51^st Canadian Finals Rodeo in Edmonton.

Drake, the reigning Canadian Champion header is still six months away from his twentieth birthday as he makes his second CFR appearance hoping to make it back to back wins. Ross, the veteran of the team—he’ll turn twenty-one a week after the CFR, will be making his fourth CFR appearance although his first alongside the  Moose Jaw, Saskatchewan product.

Earlier in the season, Ross, son of longtime team roping stalwart, Rocky Ross, was asked to describe a typical day in the life of the season leaders.

“We get up in the morning, have breakfast and do what ever we have to get done. Then we catch our horses, bring in the steers and start roping.”

It helps that Drake has been living at the Ross residence near Botha, Alberta for the last couple of years. And it helps as well that Rocky, a many time CFR qualifier, supplies steers for a number of amateur rodeos which means that there are always lots of steers to rope.

It’s a formula that is clearly working as the young duo got off to a lightning fast start to the 2025 campaign, winning the first SMS Equipment Tour Rodeo earning over $13,000 before the end of May.

Their impressive regular season win is just another step, albeit a rather important one, in the accomplishment of the goals the pair set for themselves before the season had even begun.

“We want to get back to the CFR and do as good as we can there,” Ross commented. “And if things go really good down south, one of our goals is definitely getting to the NFR.”

And while it looks as if that NFR goal is one that have to be in the future, a Canadian title, a second for Drake and a first for Ross, is very much in play, particularly if the seemingly unstoppable tandem can maintain their momentum when they and the other eleven teams ride into Rogers Place October 1st to 4th.

And, of course, it helps that the partners are well-mounted; Ross is riding a 13 year-old sorrel gelding horse he acquired from Justin Potts three years ago while Drake is on Catfish, an eight-year-old he bought from Luke Skocdopole a couple of months ago. A little icing on the cake was the announcement that Catfish is this year’s Heading Horse of the Year’

“This award is one of my biggest accomplishments in my rodeo career,” the number one header commented. “The horses we ride really deserve more credit than the cowboys do because without a good horse you aren’t gonna win. I’m just happy my peers and fellow competitors see in Catfish what I’ve seen and known for a long time. He truly is a winner.”

It probably didn’t hurt that these cowboys travelled in style all year travelling in style as fellow roper Clay Ullery (who partners with Tyce Mcleod) purchased a toterhome for the four hands to head down the road in earlier in the season.

Other notables for fans to keep an eye on when the curtain goes up on CFR 2025 include Kasper Roy (owner of Super Chad – 2025 Heeling Horse of the Year), Levi Simpson and Riley Wilson, who is moving closer to equalling the mark for most CFR appearances currently held by the legendary Rocky Dallyn.

First time qualifiers this year in the team roping are headers Ty Vaile, (8^th) and Derek Hadland (9^th) while on the heeling side the rookies are Rylan Brost (7^th ), Jackson Braithwaite (8^th) and Joey Romo ll (10^th).

As interesting as the field of qualifiers is, equally of interest is the number of outstanding ropers who will be absent from Rogers Place when CFR action begins. 2022 Canadian Champions Dawson and Dillon Graham won’t be on hand though clinching a first National Finals Rodeo appearance might ease the pain more than a little. The 2023 record smashing team of Brady Tryan and Calgary Smith won’t be on hand to take a run at another title and 2016 World Champion and reigning Canadian Heeling titleist, Jeremy Buhler won’t be in Edmonton to defend the title he won for the third time a year ago.

Overall, look for an exciting mix of veterans and up and comers next week at the 51^st CFR.


2025 CFR TEAM ROPING QUALIFIERS