CPRA ATHLETES CASH IN SOUTH OF THE BORDER
March 1, 2026 – The second stop of the “Texas Swing” rodeos wrapped up Saturday night with some CPRA members excelling in the two and a half week spring stop—the San Antonio Stock Show and Rodeo. Five brackets (three performances in each), two semi-finals, a Wild Card round and the finals and when the dust settled and the smoke cleared some familiar names to Canadian rodeo fans cashed sizable cheques.
Bareback rider Orin Larsen, finished fourth in the Saturday night Finals and topped out at over $9300 won, a payday that should boost the 2019 Canadian Champion into the top 15 in the World standings. #1 ranked Wacey Schalla emerged as the overall champion courtesy of his 91 point effort on the 2025 Canadian Bareback Horse of the Year, Calgary Stampede’s s D-508 Disco Party; Schalla pulled almost $25,000 total earnings out of the pivotal Texas stop.
In the steer wrestling, JD Struxness, the 2024 World Champion and three-time CFR qualifier turned in a 3.6 second run and he too with his total earnings was in that $25,000 club. In the bronc riding the double-barreled Canadian talents Zeke Thurston and Q Taylor split 4th in the finals. For Thurston, the four-time World Champ collected $12,800 during his San Antonio stroll while Taylor checked in with an $8,000 stipend for his Texas effort.
And 2025 CFR tie-down roping qualifier Bo Pickett finished second to overall champion John Douch and tucked $17,700 into his Wranglers. And former Canadian Champion Ty Harris rode Logan Bird’s Canadian superstar buckskin, Peso, and though the talented tandem were blanked in the final, the Texas roper and the Alberta horse won all three bracket rounds and their semi-final to add $13.400 to the Harris bank account.
Meanwhile over at La Fiesta de los Vaqueros in Tucson, Canadian bronc riding star, Logan Hay, split the average with 171 points on two head to take home $5700 while two-time PBR Canada Bull Riding Champ, Nick Tetz finished second in both the short go and the average for a payday just shy of $5000, a nice kickstart to a PRCA path for 2026 if he can fit that in with PBR commitments on both sides of ’49. And honorary Canadian, Shane Hanchey, a four-time Canadian Champ, led the way in tie-down roping, winning the short-go and the average with 32.0 seconds on three head for a solid $8400 win.
Another iconic Texas event kicks off tomorrow as Rodeo Houston begins its three-week run.
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Chauvin, Alberta barrel racer Blake Molle continues to enjoy a successful spring. The two time CFR qualifier has placed at a number of PRCA rodeos including top spot ($3,756) at the Brighton Field Day and Rodeo in Okeechobee/Brighton, Florida. Molle is currently fifth in the World standings.
Detailed results here
February 9, 2026
As the first of the Texas Swing rodeos wrapped up in Fort Worth this weekend, results were mixed for CPRA athletes as several made the semi-finals but only a few went on to the finals and those that did, for the most part, didn’t enjoy quite the success they’d hoped for.
The Miles City, Montana Meged family led the way as two-time Canadian Champion tie-down roper and 2019 World Champion, Haven Meged ended up third in the in the finals and pulled $13,825 while his soon-to-be-on-maternity-leave (and 2024 World Champion), wife, Shelby Boisjoli-Meged took second place in the breakaway roping finals for a tidy haul of $20,100. Canadian Beau Cooper had a solid Fort Worth run resulting in a $6400 payday.
In the bareback riding-two former Canadian champs were solid at San Antonio and elsewhere. 2019 titleist, Orin Larsen, was on his game to the tune of $5733 that helped move him to 26th place in the world standings as he seeks to end a two year NFR drought. And 2024 champ, Kody Lamb, took home $3325 from Fort Worth but the singer/songwriter added to that with a second place result at Rapid City to cash an additional $4405. The two successes jumped him all the way to 18th spot in the standings. Not to be overlooked was the performances of some Canadian bucking horses notably the Calgary Stampede’s D-508 Disco Party who carried Tilden Hooper to the $20,000 Fort Worth Finals win with a 92-point ride.
Canadian team ropers continued their winning ways led by 2025 NFR qualifiers Dawson and Dillon Graham who pocketed $6000 at Fort Worth with Kavis Drake and Denim Ross adding $5500 to their early season earnings and Kolton Schmidt, following up a brilliant NFR with a $3200 payday with Chase Tryan on the heel side for the Barrhead talent. Drake and Ross made the biggest move in the standings as they sit 23rd and 25th respectively coming out of Fort Worth.
As is often the case, the bronc riders from north of the Medicine Line were heard from as well with Q Taylor on cue to tuck $4400 Fort Worth Dollars into his Wranglers, Ben Andersen right behind him with $4000 and Logan Hay up there as well adding $3375 to his season total to date. Taylor leads the Canadians in the standings/NFR chase as he is in 24th spot. And another Calgary Stampede horse, D-19 Dandy Delight got along very well Rusty Wright to split the win in the finals as the two combined for 91 points, earning Wright a $16,000 Finals stipend.
As well, Sylvan Lake, Alberta bull rider Jhett Wheeler continued to state his case as a guy to watch as his 90 point ride at Guthrie, Oklahoma’s BULLNANZA earned him a big-time second place payoff of $9837, enabling the young Canadian talent to make a first appearance in the top 50 in the world standings as he checks in at 45th spot.
On the barrel racing side of things, Chauvin, Alberta’s Blake Molle, a two time CFR qualifier, holds down seventh spot in the World standings while Quebec cowgirl and 2025 NFR Aggregate winner Julie Plourde, who now calls Krum, Texas home, is in tenth position.
CPRA athletes confirmed for the Feb 7 FWSSR Finals
Semi-Finals A
Canadian breakaway roper Shelby Boisjoli-Meged – 2.2 second run in Semi-Finals A to win the round and move into contention at Saturday’s Finals.
Montana tie-down roper Haven Meged (husband to Shelby) tied for the round win with Texan Blane Cox. Stettler, AB cowboy Beau Cooper, 9.2 for third and a Finals berth.
Team roping brothers Dawson and Dillon Graham from Wainwright, AB: 7.9 for third – also Finals qualifiers.
Semi-Finals B
Team ropers Kavis Drake/Denim Ross, 4.6 to qualify for Finals
* Complete FWSSR results here
Earlier FWSSR Action
Just to recap, the long-standing PRCA showcase event consists of seven brackets with two performances in each bracket. The top two competitors in each bracket move on to the semi-finals with the third highest money earner in the bracket qualifying for the Wild Card Round. The seven wild card qualifiers are joined by the top money earner from the non-qualifiers pool to make eight Wild Card contestants in total. From those eight, the top two money-earners advance to the semi-finals round with a clean-slate format. The top four from each of the two semi-finals round then move through to the championship finale.
The Wild Card Round saw 2019 Canadian Champion Orin Larsen winning in the bareback riding as he collected 87 points on the Calgary Stampede’s F-01 Forgetful Nelly to move through to the semis. 2024 Canadian Champion Kody Lamb saw his quest for a Fort Worth title come to an end as he finished 4th in the Wild Card.
And in the saddle bronc riding, Canadian Ben Andersen also put up an 87 point effort, this one on another Calgary Stampede bucker—Y-38 Yesterday’s Delivery. Andersen will be joined by Logan Hay who was 85.5 to take the second semi-final spot out of the Wild Card.
The team roping tandem of Dawson and Dillon Graham both qualified for semi-final action out of the first bracket to set the stage for what was to follow with each bracket consisting of two rounds and the top three moving on to semi-final action
Bracket Two was a good one for Canadian bronc riders as all three qualifiers—Q. Taylor, Lucas Macza and Logan Hay all coming from the north side of the Medicine Line. They were joined by 2024 Canadian bareback Champion Kody Lamb. Bracket Three added another former Canadian Bareback Riding Champion—Richmond Champion to the semi-final mix along with Stettler’s tie-down roping master, Beau Cooper.
Bracket Four qualifiers under the CPRA banner included 2023 Canadian Champion heeler, Calgary Smith teamed up with Cash Duty, himself no stranger to Canadian rodeos while Bracket Five brought the brilliant young bareback rider and 2025 CFR qualifier, Sam Peterson, through to the semi-final round. Bracket Five was also good for CPRA team ropers as the other half of that 2023 championship tandem, Brady Tryan, teamed with Paden Bray and they were joined by the young Canadian sensations, Kavis Drake and Denim Ross while Barrhead’s Kolton Schmidt, coming off his outstanding NFR performance joined forces with Chase Tryan as those three teams all moved on. And Bracket Six wrapped up last night (Sunday) with Texas tie-down roper Joel Harris mounted on Logan Bird’s amazing buckskin, Peso, roping his way to the semi-finals.
Cutline: Canadian cowboy Kody Lamb was a fitting winner in bareback riding on Tarleton State University Day at the Fort Worth Stock Show & Rodeo. Lamb, from Sherwood Park, Alberta, scored 85.5 points on Dakota Rodeo’s Smoke Show. Lamb is a Tarleton State alumnus who competed on the rodeo team, qualified for the College National Finals Rodeo four times and earned a master’s degree. FWSSR photo by James Phifer
January 26, 2026
With the 2026 rodeo season picking up steam, several CPRA athletes made some noise at the recently completed PRCA stops in Denver, Colorado; Odessa, Texas and Great Falls, Montana.
After a disappointing 2025 campaign, steer wrestler Landon Beardsworth got the year off on the right foot, pulling $5618 out of Denver’s National Western Stock Show and Rodeo with placings in the go rounds and semi-final and a solid 3-5 split in Sunday’s Final.
Canadian team roper, Kolton Schmidt, coming off an eye-popping performance at the National Finals Rodeo, maintained his momentum as he and heeling partner, Chase Tryan won a semi-final at Denver and though they were blanked in the final, came away with $3816.
And no surprise, one of the big winners among CPRA card-holders was two-time Canadian Champion tie-down roper and 2019 World Champion Haven Meged. The Miles City, Montana superstar was second in the first semi-final and third in the final to come away from the Mile High city with an impressive $9885 while Texas roper and 2025 CFR qualifier, Quade Hiatt, was second in one semi-final and, with his go round earnings factored in, walked away with $6796 in his Wranglers.
Young Canadian bronc rider James Perrin was third in the first go-round en route to a $3786 Denver payday. Bull rider Grady Young gritted out a ride in one of the semi-finals to collect $3918 and with a go-round cheque was able to pad the bank account by $4800.
It’s clear that barrel racer Julie Plourde, coming off her amazing aggregate win at the NFR, hasn’t taken the foot off the gas. The Quebec cowgirl, now making her home in Texas, was a picture of consistency, collecting placings in both Denver go-rounds along with the semi-final and finals for a sizable $5774. Put that together with her winning 14.38 second run at Odessa’s Sand Hills Rodeo and Stock Show for a big-time stipend of $6012 and you’re looking at almost $12,000 in just two shows, a formidable start to her year.
And following up on an outstanding CFR, Blake Molle posted the second fastest barrel racing run at Denver, laying down a blistering 14.78 to take second money in the second go round–$4157.
And, not to be outdone, veteran barrel racer Taylor-Jane Gardner emerged victorious at the Montana Circuit Finals in Great Falls with three solid runs and checks in with $8076 in early season earnings.
* South of 49 Archive