Submitted by the Canadian Professional Rodeo Association
Three time Canadian champion, Jake Vold, didn’t take long to make his mark at the 2018 Canadian Finals Rodeo.
The veteran bareback rider marked 85.25 points on Duffy Rodeo’s Tweety Bird, for 85.25 points and the $10,530 first place cheque at Tuesday night’s first performance.
“I was excited when I found out last night that I had him.” Vold explained. “I’ve never been on that horse but wanted to get on him for years. They’ve won a lot of money on him. It’s great just to jump out and have a good start; I’m fresh; I feel pretty good.”
With CFR 45 set for the first time in Red Deer after 44 successful years in Edmonton, fans and contestants alike are trying out the new venue, and they’re enjoying the experience.
“I’m excited to be here. It’s pretty cool it’s in Red Deer,” Vold observed. “It’s a lot closer crowd, a full house… but at the end of the day, you’ve still got your rodeo fans, everybody comes here to have a good time, and you’re still qualified for the Canadian Finals Rodeo.”
“When you nod your head, it doesn’t matter where it’s at, you’re trying to win first; that’s kind of how I treat it. But it is a bit different, it’s a neat experience. I hope to watch it grow.”
Vold wasn’t the only excited competitor on night one. 2016 Canadian saddle bronc champion, Clay Elliott also drew a horse he’d never been on, and collected 86.75 points aboard C5 Rodeo’s Northern Lights for the round win.
First time CFR qualifier Kody Dollery, from Caldwell, Texas set the bar high in the steer wrestling with a 3.6 second run while Riley and Brady Minor roped in 4.6 seconds for top money in the team roping.
Other winners included Riley Warren and two time Canadian champion, Shane Hanchey, who split the tie-down roping honours (7.8 seconds); bull rider Garrett Green who put together an 87.75 ride on Vold Rodeo’s Mish Mash and 14-year-old Taylor Manning who earned first night barrel racing money with a 13.772 second run.
Manning’s twin brother and first time CFR qualifier, Tristen, took the win in the steer riding (71 points) while in the novice events, Lucas Macza marked 72 to take an early lead in the novice saddle bronc while season leader Colton Ouellette marked 69.5 to win the novice bareback riding.
The second performance of the Canadian Finals Rodeo is set for Wednesday at 7 p.m.
Complete results are posted at rodeocanada.com.