Pacean Deleeuw finished 17th in Canada in 2025. The Athabasca, Alberta steer wrestler was less than $9000 away from his first appearance at the Canadian Finals Rodeo. Judging from the young cowboy’s efforts in the first three performances of the 2025 Maple Leaf Circuit Finals, one might safely assume that Deleeuw is intent on taking the next step in his career and qualifying for the 2026 CFR.
Following up on a first round 4.0 second win and a third place 5.0 run in round two and attired in his familiar lime green shirt, Deleeuw turned in the fastest run of the MLC Finals with a swift 3.9 seconds for another go round win and a second $1707.20 cheque for the effort. And his 12.9 aggregate time on three runs has him solidly in the driver’s seat in the all-important, and very lucrative, aggregate with a 1.9 second cushion over the second-place man, Harley Cole.
With the money from the Canadian Western Agribition event counting in the 2026 Canadian standings and a berth at the huge NFR Open in July at Colorado Springs awarded to the Finals champion, Deleeuw will be pulling out all the stops in an effort to put one more big run on the board in tomorrow night’s final round.
Milo, Alberta bareback rider, Chett Deitz, matched up with an outstanding bucking horse from the Outlaw Buckers firm—D3 Barcelona City and the result was what you might expect when you pit a couple of CFR veterans against one another. Deitz, a second generation cowboy and two time CFR hand and the 12 year-old mare with five CFR selections to her credit worked some magic in the Brandt Centre on this night. And when the dust settled and the smoke cleared, Deitz was the go round winner with a big-time 86.5 textbook ride. The win moved him to third place in the aggregate standings behind a couple of Canadian Champions. Ty Taypotat, who was raised just outside of Regina, has amassed 246.5 points over three rides and Kody Lamb is just two points back of Taypotat at 244.5 on three. Deitz moved into title contention as his winning ride gives him 238.5 on three head of livestock.
The large and appreciative Agribition crowds are seeing almost total domination in a couple of events through the first three days of Maple Leaf Circuit competition. Chauvin, Alberta barrel racer, Blake Molle, is a perfect three for three. The 19 year-old sensation added her third straight sub-fourteen second run, this one a blistering 13.85 seconds highlight reel navigation of the cloverleaf pattern. And just seven weeks after laying claim to their first Canadian title, Ponoka, Alberta team ropers, Kash Bonnett on the heading side and heeling partner, Logan Cullen, nailed their second circuit finals win in three nights. The victories, including their 4.4 second performance in tonight’s third round, sandwiched around a second place run in go round number two, have the reigning Canadian titleists sitting comfortably atop the aggregate leaderboard with a seven and a half second margin over the second-place team, Brett Buss and Joey Romo ll.