October 5, 2024 – The historic 50th anniversary edition of the Canadian Finals Rodeo saw several records fall as Canada’s professional rodeo finale took over Edmonton’s magnificent Rogers Place for the first time in its half-century history.
After setting a new CFR bareback riding high score with his ride on C5 Rodeo’s much-decorated F13 Virgil on Friday night, Sherwood Park cowboy, Kody Lamb, edged defending champion, Clint Laye, for the title as the two matched scores with 89.75 point rides, Lamb on Vold Rodeo’s 73 True Grit and Laye on Macza’a OLS Tubs Side Show on championship Saturday night. In the end, Lamb’s aggregate win with a total of 439 points on five head, combined with Jacob Stemo finishing in between the two contenders in the aggregate, gave the singer/songwriter/bareback rider an $8000 margin over Laye ($76,145 to $68,386) for his first Canadian Bareback Riding championship.
“I think this will sink in a couple of weeks from now,” Lamb stated, “but just on the surface, I couldn’t have scripted this any better if I had a crystal ball. It’s better than I could ever have dreamed it.”
The thirty-year-old veteran drew three horses that are or have been voted Bareback Horse of the year including Virgil, True Grit and the Calgary Stampede’s A-91 Agent Lynx (the 2024 Horse of the Year).
“I couldn’t be happier with the quality of horsepower I drew,” Lamb enthused in the minutes just after winning the title. “I got the horse that I needed (True Grit) in the final round. That’s another horse that I never had the opportunity to get on and she’s been unbelievable – probably the best horse in Canada consistently for the last 12 or so years.”
When an athlete continues to win day in and day out, year after year, fans may begin to underestimate how much work goes into that continued excellence, and how it boils down to being able to move on from setbacks along the way. It’s a point Zeke Thurston made after winning his fifth consecutive Canadian Saddle Bronc Riding title, also a record.
“They’re never a cakewalk, you know,” Thurston noted. “It’s not ever a gimme and it shouldn’t be. It’s just as much anybody’s chance. I don’t take this for granted. These titles are very special to me and near and dear to my heart. They are not easy to get and I cherish them a lot.”
The Big Valley, Alberta superstar gave CFR fans an added treat during the Saturday night CFR finale performance as he rode the Saddle Bronc of the Year, Calgary Stampede’s 17 year old bay gelding T-77 Tokyo Bubbles to the highest score of CFR 50 at 92.75 points. That go-round win, the third of his week, combined with a move to third in the aggregate, allowed Thurston to reach the $100,000 earnings mark for the season. And Wildwood, Alberta’s Logan Hay put together a solid week to win the aggregate title with 435 points on his five horses. He was never less than 84.75 points and earned $39,134, second only to Thurston in the bronc riding.
An uncharacteristically up and down week for tie down roper Haven Meged ended the same way as last season, with the Miles City Montana cowboy claiming the Canadian tie-down roping title. After missing his calf in Friday night’s third round, a history-making 6.8 record-setting second run Saturday afternoon proved to be the difference despite a second near-disaster Saturday night when he had the figure eight of his rope settle under his calf’s tail and ended up out of the money with a 10.3 second run. In the end, even with the hiccups that seem more magnified under the lights of Rogers Place, his body of work throughout the season ($37,564) and at CFR ($27,607) allowed Meged to best four-time Canadian champion Shane Hanchey by just a thousand dollars with $65,172 overall. Stettler, Alberta’s Beau Cooper, competing at his third CFR, was the tie-down roping aggregate winner.
Macy Auclair foreshadowed the breakaway roping performance she was about to turn in at CFR 50 on Wednesday’s opening night. The Ponoka, Alberta cowgirl equalled the CFR record with an 1.8 second run for the go-round win. That was the first of three sub-two second performances the two-time finalist turned in. The second came on Friday night as she celebrated her 22nd birthday with a new CFR and Canadian record 1.5 second run. She then capped off her week with another 1.8 on Saturday night to split the round with traveling partner Jessi Everett. In addition to her three go-round wins, Auclair’s 11.1 aggregate time on five runs will establish a mark for future competitors to shoot for as the breakaway competitors roped in every round of the Canadian Finals Rodeo for the very first time.
The number one ranked steer wrestler in the world, Oregon’s Dalton Massey also had to overcome adversity – a no time Saturday afternoon that appeared to derail his Canadian title pursuit. Backing into the corner Saturday night he knew he needed to win the round and he did just that by making a stellar 3.9 second go-round winning run to ride out of Rogers Place with his first Canadian title. Massey posted two round wins, was second in another and finished fourth in the aggregate en route to his win. Consort, Alberta’s Brendan Laye won the steer wrestling aggregate and finished second overall.
Barrel racer Taylor Manning took advantage of her position on the top of the ground (first competitor to run) to put together a smoking 13.75 second win in the final round. In every other event, the top contenders for the championship run or ride at the end of the event. For barrel racers, the understanding that ground conditions may be better at the beginning of the event has driven the ruling that the top racer has earned the right to run ‘on the top of the ground’. With the lead in the aggregate and the year-end standings coming into Saturday night, Manning rode her palomino gelding Little Sexcee Cowboy or Archie as aggressively as she did all week, putting an exclamation point on her second career Canadian title. Finishing second in two other rounds and just outside of the money in the other, the twenty-year-old was a half second better in the aggregate with a combined time of 69.41 seconds on her 5 runs.
Team ropers sometimes partner with multiple people over the course of a season meaning that occasionally a championship ends up being divided between two different teams. That was the case this week, as the header of the youngest CFR tandem, Kavis Drake, claimed the champion’s buckle for his end while Jeremy Buhler, roped all of his steers to outlast Drake’s partner Denim Ross for his third Canadian heeling title. Drake and Ross split the final round by equalling the fastest time of the week at 3.7 seconds. Drake and Ross, who roped together all year mixed three victory laps in with two no times, while Buhler, who successfully aided two headers – Dustin Bird and CFR partner, Trey Gallais to their CFR qualifications – was all consistency in going five for five. Both members of the Kash Bonnett and Logan Spady tandem captured aggregate honours on their respective sides of the steer.
Bull rider, William Barrows, was a definite longshot at his first CFR, only getting the nod to compete at this year’s finals after an unfortunate injury to former Canadian Champion Jared Parsonage. The rookie was outstanding, riding four of the five bulls he drew (no one else rode more than two) and although he did not win a round—he had two seconds and two thirds—the Foremost, Alberta cowboy easily topped the aggregate standings with 301.75 points. The $16,650 first place aggregate cheque took the twenty-year-old to the Canadian title by the narrowest of margins as he edged defending champion Edgar Durazo by just $1500.00.
Sherwood Park, Alberta’s Kyle Wanchuk earned his second consecutive Kenny McLean High Point title while the All Around winner – also for the second time – was Logan Spady. Longview, Alberta’s Bradi Whiteside, the only two-event competitor at the Finals, won the All Around Cowgirl award.
Jace Lomheim (Hughenden, AB) was the Novice Bareback Champ; Big River, Saskatchewan’s Lonnie Dunn the 2024 Saddle Bronc Riding winner and Davis Young (Leader, SK) the Junior Steer Riding Champion.
Edmonton, Alberta’s Codi Wilson was crowned Miss Rodeo Canada 2025.
Stock of the Finals awards went to:
C5 Rodeo’s legendary Bareback Horse F13 Virgil, giving him his fifth such award, his first since four consecutive awards from 2015-2018
Northcott Yule’s rising Saddle Bronc star, -91 Mary Lou, who earned her first Finals award
Vold Rodeo’s 5-year-old Bull, 916 Chico, who also took his first Finals award.
For complete 2024 Canadian Finals Rodeo results, go to rodeocanada.com