
RODEO NOTES, Day 3: Shelby Boisjoi-Meged lighting quick in victory
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Two days after making history with the first-ever breakaway roping go-round win at the Calgary Stampede main rodeo, Shelby Boisjoi-Meged, of Langdon, Alta., was a second-time day-money victor.
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Her lightning-quick 2.6-second time Sunday afternoon shoots her through to Showdown Sunday as the top qualifier over the first three days of the Stampede show.
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Boisjoi-Meged will be joined from Pool A by Colorado's Kinlie Brennise and Oklahoma's Cheyanne McCartney. The 1-2-3 qualifiers respectively wrapped up $14,500, $14,375 and $9,750.
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The only other Albertan — and Canadian — to advance through to Showdown Sunday among the 21 Pool A rodeo finalists was Stampede veteran Scott Guenthner.
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The Provost cowboy was king of bull-doggers in Pool A with $18,000 pocketed from the three rounds. Included in the massive money haul was his second-place $5,500 payday picked up Sunday, after he timed in at 4.7 seconds. The day-money winner ahead of Guenthner was Justin Shaffer, with a 4.3-second run.
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With that victory, Shaffer snuck into third spot in the three-day aggregate. His $10,250 collection joins Guenthner and Florida's Kyle Irwin as the Pool A steer-wrestling qualifiers for Showdown Sunday.
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Again.
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But he wants more from the final day than what has transpired the last two years.
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'I have yet to make the short-round here (on Showdown Sunday) — that one's eluding me still,' said the Texas bareback artist. 'I've been one hole out and two holes out (the last two years).
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'I've been really close, but this year is going to be the year.'
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Franks secured his spot Sunday with a 79.5-point effort on Erotic Tango, good enough for a sixth-place draw, a $500 pay-hole and the $13,000 top-spot aggregate in bareback.
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With the day-money win Sunday, Louisiana's Waylon Bourgeois — on an 88-point ride aboard Expose Not — advanced alongside Franks out of Pool A to Showdown Sunday. As did young Mason Stuller, a 21-year-old Oregon bareback artist, who was second Sunday with an 87.5 score on Welcome Delivery.

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CBC
3 hours ago
- CBC
Are midway games rigged? They certainly aren't easy, say players
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Oftentimes, he says, the actual hoop is smaller than regulation, and the basketballs are given extra air so they bounce everywhere. A park near his home actually does have a sign letting people know it isn't a regulation basketball hoop. "It's more of like an oval than a circle. So it's just designed to where the average person isn't gonna be able to figure it out the first time or even maybe the 10th time," said Magnone. Then there's the game where you have to knock over a stack of bottles. There, he says, the bottom bottle will often be weighted to make sure they don't easily fall over. "So in theory, you can win every time. Now the games are designed to where, you know, I guess it's more of kind of like a casino, right?" said Magnone. "The games are set up to a certain difficulty to where the average person isn't gonna be able to win it every time." That's how Cook felt about the hanging bar challenge. 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You bet," said Korek. "Our games do make money for us, but we're giving away a lot of prizes as we go along." He says that at the Calgary Stampede, they expect to give away 35 tractor-trailer loads of stuffed animals. "We could fill out this Saddledome with stuffed animals for 16 games," said Korek. And he says that while some games are harder to win, there is a reward for that: bigger prizes. Parade kicks off 113th Calgary Stampede Tips and tricks Magnone says there are ways you can tip the odds back in your favour. In the game where you have to knock over the bottom bottles, for instance, always go for the bottom row, he says. You can watch how-to videos for specific popular games to learn how they work before you play them, and you can also stand by a game at a fair to see how those who win are successful. Practicing, however, means that —unless you build the game at home — you have to spend money at the midway. But even with those strategies, don't expect to dominate. "They are set up so difficult to where, yeah, you might get one person that might see a tip and trick, but still, it's gonna take a lot of practise to get it dialled in and get the technique," said Magnone. Even if you do get really good, you likely won't win unlimited giant stuffies. Magnone says many places will put a limit on how many times you can win before you get cut off. But Emerson Cook hasn't reached that point yet. After her disappointing first attempt, she started training correctly. She made it so her bar at home moved like the one at the fair, and she practiced and practiced. "I still haven't won it yet," said Cook, reflecting on her 2024 attempt. "It's pretty tricky to do. Like, it's not that simple." Cook went back to the Stampede this year for another attempt, but were unable to find the game. But Cook hopes to go back next year and continue her quest to be Hang Time champion and walk away with one of those giant stuffies.


Winnipeg Free Press
4 hours ago
- Winnipeg Free Press
Maritime whodunit revels in the unexpected
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Winnipeg Free Press
7 hours ago
- Winnipeg Free Press
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