Massive Payouts Highlight Conclusion of Ponoka Stampede With Champions Crowned

Summer is in full swing which means Canadian rodeo season and more specifically, the Ponoka Stampede in Alberta.

Even though Ponoka hasn’t been a part of the PRCA for even a decade yet (joined in 2016) it has been around since 1936. Each year it seems to get better and better and they upped the anti this year with the addition of breakaway roping in the performances.

The timed event competitors (with the exclusion of the barrel racers) were guaranteed two runs. Then the top in the average on two moved onto the finals and then the final four went into a showdown round.

The showdown round in all events paid out as following: 1st- $7,500 2nd- $3,750 3rd- $2,250 4th- $1,500

The barrel racers and rough stock riders were all only guaranteed one round. Then the set up is the same moving forward.

Amanda Terrell made history as the first-ever champion breakaway roper. Terrell placed second overall in both the second round and the finals (won the average) then moved onto the showdown where she took home that extra $7,500 on top of everything else which brought her total to nearly $12,000 for four runs.

Paige Jones almost had a full sweep in the barrel racing. She won the first round, the finals, the average, and was reserve champion, behind Jennifer Neudorf, in the showdown. Jones earned almost $19,000 at a single rodeo.

Everyone has become fairly accustomed to seeing Paden Bray dominating on the heel side, but it’s coming to light that he means business in the tie-down roping as well. His name doesn’t pop up in the results for the team roping anywhere, but it’s plastered all over the tie-down.

Bray advanced to the finals after posting one of the fastest runs of the rodeo (8.3 seconds) in the first round and qualified to the showdown with an 8.8 second run. He won the average, the finals, the first round, and was last hole in the showdown.

Nicholas Patterson might not have won the overall showdown money in the saddle bronc riding, but his name is all over the results throughout. Patterson went nearly 90 points in the first round on C5 Rodeo’s Virgil which helped him secure the average title, along with a second place finish in the finals.

Only three covered their horses in the showdown, so his reserve finish actually earned him $5,250 bringing his grand total to nearly $22,000 ($21,974) making him the big winner of the rodeo, well almost.

Hayes Weight picked a good time to a cover a bull. Weight made it into the finals after a third place ride of 85.75 points. Only one cowboy covered in the finals, Ednelson Martins.

Because Weight placed high enough in the first round he was able to place in the average and advance to the showdown, where he was the only man to cover his bull: Tactical Error (owned by Calgary Stampede). His one ride earned him the whole pot which was a grand total of $33,750. He rode two bulls and earned $41,107.

Ponoka has always been known for their historic performances and large cash prizes that draw in talent from all over the country. It appears that nothing changed this year and everybody is already looking forward to next summer.

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