Day 9 at the Calgary Stampede rodeo: No more crying, with Showdown Sunday set
'And also your confidence is down in the dumps. So it's good to get started off in the win. I don't care what anybody says … confidence is hard to come by in this game. It's a very humbling sport.'
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The other adjustment for this year's Stampede comes on Showdown Sunday, when the fine nine is pared to just three finalists for the short-round — down one, as well, from the four of previous years.
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All this was done to cut down the length of the championship day, which has breakaway roping added to this year's show.
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'I do think the three-man short-round is going to be pretty cool, because it dang sure makes it a lot easier to pen those (final group of) horses,' added Hay. 'There's not going to be a weak one in there. It's going to be the tip-top. And it also gives you a chance to have a really, really amazing re-ride horse if something goes wrong.'
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Here's the fine nine for Showdown Sunday in each of the seven open events …
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BARREL RACING
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Leslie Smalygo is the Stampede queen of barrel racing from a year ago, and she's through to Showdown Sunday to defend her crown.
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'I think it's going great,' said Smalygo, who won Saturday's round with a 16.93-second run to ensure her spot in the championship day — again. 'You never tend to believe lightning strikes twice, but my horse, Gus, loves it here, he loves the fans, the fans love rodeo, and Calgary is where he wants to call home.'
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Calgary is home this week to a handful of Stampede champs beyond Smalygo in ladies barrel racing.
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And all of those in attendance have advanced to what's shaped up to be a smokin' final day in pursuit of the $50,000 champion's cheque.
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Kassie Mowry is one of them after she finished third in the aggregate in Pool C. She won the Stampede in 2022.
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The pool's runner-up for total money was fellow Texan Hailey Kinsel, who was the 2018 queen here.
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'It'll be a knife-fight Sunday,' said Smalygo, of Skiatook, Okla. 'With the calibre of horses and the calibre of girls, it's anybody's day.
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'And the ground has been exceptional. There is nothing we could have changed about the ground. They have it 100 per cent perfect this year, and it keeps our horses happy, which keeps us happy.'
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Expect the Stampede record — currently held by Mowry — to be threatened once more this week with Sunday's field of competitiors.
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'It's been a little stressful seeing how many times the arena record was broke and within seconds of each other,' added Smalygo. 'We're just proud to be a part of that category of being to keep up with them.
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'Now, we're just going in there and do what we did last year and hope for the best.'
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Pool A — Anita Ellis (Blackfoot, Idaho), $21,000; Brittany Pozzi Tonozzi (Lampasas, Texas), $11,000; Emily Beisel (Weatherford, Texas), $10,000
Pool B — Carlee Otero (Perrin, Texas), $16,000; Megan Mcleod-Sprague (Marsing, Idaho), $14,000; Hayle Gibson-Stillwell (Redcrest, Calif.), $10,000
Pool C — Leslie Smalygo (Skiatook, Okla.), $15,750; Hailey Kinsel (Cotulla, Texas), $12,500; Kassie Mowry (Dublin, Texas), $12,250
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The only other defending champ in line to defend his crown Sunday is bareback artist RC Landingham.
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The California cowboy earned just enough Saturday to return to the championship day, as well.
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Landingham scored 83 on Night Magic for a fifth-spot reward of $2,000 and a $9,500 aggregate.
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Garrett Shadbolt ensured his place on Showdown Sunday with a 87 points Saturday on Welcome Delivery. The day-money win for a second straight round gave the Nebraska star the top money total through the three shows of Pool C.
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The other Pool C advancer is Montana's Weston Timberman, who rode Mexican Tattoo to 85 for a third-place $3,875 payout.
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Just 24 hours after missing out on a wad of cash by getting bucked off a bull with just a hundredth-of-a-second left on the eight-click clock, Tuni roared back to win the final round of Pool C. He rode Rock Steady to 87 points and the first-place $9,083.33 payday.
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On Friday, it was Tuni's travelling partner Luke Mackey taking all the prize money for a $23,250 windfall after Tuni came up a hair short. But Mackey was quick to say Tuni would be back in the winner's circle right away.
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He was right.
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Too bad it wasn't enough for Tuni to earn a spot in Showdown Sunday. That went to Colorado's Mackey, Saskatchewan's Dakota Buttar and Oklahoma's Wacey Schalla.
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'The bull pens are just getting better and better every year, so we've got to up our game,' said Buttar, of Eatonia, Sask., the 2022 Stampede champ. 'I've just got to stay consistent and keep riding my bulls, and it'll all work out. I can't control anybody else's rides. I just have to do my job.
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'The three-man is a lot different (this year), but it's still bull riding at the end of the day. It's me against the bulls, so I have to worry about that. Whatever plays out plays out.'
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Pool A — JR Stratford (Byers, Kan.), $29,5000; Hayes Weight (Goshen, Utah), $12,250; Tristen Hutchings (Monteview, Idaho), $8,750
Pool B — Grady Young (Leader, Sask.), $14,400; Trey Benton III (Richards, Texas), $11,400; Jesse Petri (Dublin, Texas), $10,325
Pool C — Luke Mackey (Ignacio, Colo.), $29,500; Dakota Buttar (Eatonia, Sask.), 15,333.33; Wacey Schalla (Arapaho, Okla.), $11,833.33
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Jackie Crawford talked the talk and then walked it Saturday in breakaway roping.
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The Texan helped Sportsnet with commentary on her fellow competitors ahead of her trip and then went out and set the arena record with a wowzer 2.1-second run.
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Yes, we're only nine days into the breakaway roping era at the Stampede, but that's a dang fine standard to try to reach for future shows.
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While the rope-job was enough to net Crawford the day's victory and $7,000, it wasn't enough to move her onto Showdown Sunday.
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That honour from Pool C goes to Kansas ropers Beau Peterson and Timber Allenbrand and Texas cowgirl Jessie Everett.
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Pool A — Shelby Boisjoli-Meged (Langdon, Alta.), $14,500; Kinlie Brennise (Craig, Colo.), $14,375; Cheyanne McCartney (Kingston, Okla.), $9,750
Pool B — Hali Williams (Comanche, Texas), $16,500; Bradi Good (Abilene, Texas), $14,000; Maddy Deerman (Hope, N.M.), $10,250
Pool C — Beau Peterson (Council Grove, Kan.), $11,250; Timber Allenbrand (Paola, Kan.), $11,250; Jessie Everett (Tarzan, Texas), $10,875
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Yates was, indeed, the big winner in Pool C tie-down roping, earning a win, place and show from the three rounds.
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Only fellow Texan Trevor Hale was better than Yates on Saturday with a 6.7-second performance to collect the $7,000 top prize for the round. But he finishes in the crying hole of the pool.
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Instead it's Missouri's Tom Crouse and Texas veteran Tuf Cooper finishing second and third in the three-day aggregate after consistently placing high, as well.
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Pool A — John Douch (Huntsville, Texas), $17,500; Riley Pruitt (Gering, Neb.), $10,875; Shad Mayfield (Clovis, N.M., $8,875
Pool B — Ty Harris (San Angelo, Texas), $16,000; Joel Harris (San Angelo, Texas), $13,500; Riley Webb (Denton, Texas), $13,250
Pool C — Marty Yates (Stephenville, Texas), $16,500; Tom Crouse (Gallatin, Mo.), $12,500; Tuf Cooper (Decatur, Texas), $11,250
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STEER WRESTLING
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Holden Myers, Chance Howard and Jace Melvin were far enough ahead of the bull-doggin' pack heading into Saturday's round that they weren't caught despite coming up empty in the final round.
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Indeed, none of Saturday's top-six money earners were able to earn enough to grab a spot on the championship day from North Dakota's Bridger, Oklahoma's Howard and South Dakota's Melvin — the top three respective dollar earners from Pool C.
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Oregon's Jesse Brown won Saturday's day-money of $7,000 with a lightning-quick 3.9 time.
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Pool A — Scott Guenthner (Provost, Alta.), $18,000; Kyle Iwin (Robertsdale, Fla.), $10,500; Justin Shaffer (Hico, Texas), $10,250
Pool B — Will Lummus (Byhalia, Miss.), $17,166.67; Rowdy Parrott (Mamou, La.), $12,166.67
Pool C — Holden Myers (Van, Texas), $11,500; Chance Howard (Sallisaw, Okla.), $10,125; Jace Melvin (Fort Pierre, S.D.), $8,750
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SADDLE BRONC
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Wyatt Casper and Chase Brooks needed money efforts Saturday to secure their spots in Showdown Sunday. And they both got them.
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Casper's round-best 88 aboard OLS Tubs Magic Carpet heaved the Texan up to a second-straight day win, enough to push him to the top of Pool C after three days of saddle bronc.
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Meanwhile, Montana's Brooks finished fourth to get him $3,250 to edge California's Bailey Small for the last qualifying spot from the pool.
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Hay, the 2023 Stampede champ, grabbed the second spot for the championship day despite just a sixth-place finish Saturday.
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Hay and Buttar are the only two Canadians advancing out of Pool C into Showdown Sunday. That makes six total for the championship day … The 2025 Calgary Stampede junior steer riding champ is Rex Curtis, of Donalda, Alta. His 79 score kept him on top Saturday for the title, out-pointing B.C.'s Tanner Loring, fellow Albertan Jax Thorkelson and Saskatchewan's Cecil Baynton. Curtis finished with 225.5 total points through the three days of the event. Next was Loring with 212, then Thorkelson with 210 and Baynton with 144 … Seven champions will be crowned on Day 10 — the final day of the 2025 Calgary Stampede — Sunday at GMC Stadium (1:30 p.m., Sportsnet).
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Your letters: Summer is short — open our splash parks
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