A promising first foray through the Greatest Outdoor Show on Earth ended in a flash.
DeWinton bull rider Brock Radford worked his way to Championship Sunday at the Calgary Stampede Rodeo only to have Anchor Man sign off on his golden buckle bid in the qualifying round.
“I made a mistake. I had a good bull and one that I should have rode, into my hands which is typically how I like to ride bulls,” said Radford, a Foothills Composite graduate. “I just stubbed my toe on him and he made me pay for it.
“You’ve just got to learn from your mistakes and keep getting on.”
Radford has a couple battle scars from the grounds after taking a hit to the head by Anchor Man and earlier in the week being up Sheep Creek after the bull launched the cowboy sideways onto his ribs.
The 22-year-old advanced to the final round with a touch of fortune on his side.
Radford finished tied for fifth out of Pool B with Derek Kolbaba highlighted by a second-place finish aboard Early Departure on July 12.
“I expected that of myself,” he said. “I was happy to make the short round. It was cool to be there. There is a lot of guys sitting on the sidelines that would want to ride.
“Being from around the area, all the support I get, all the friends and family and all the text messages and people I run into, I definitely had a lot of people in my corner. That was a pretty cool feeling.”
The top four from each pool qualify, but when top-money earner J.B. Mauney was sidelined with a dislocated shoulder the door opened for Radford to bypass the wildcard round and move straight through to the big dance.
“I was getting ready for wild card,” Radford said. “Calgary is all on money and because I had a second and a fourth that trumps Kolbaba’s two thirds so I got the call on Saturday morning saying I made the short round. That was a good call to have because I was pretty sored up and needed a day of break, a day of rest for my ribs.”
He took home $7,000 in winnings from Calgary as he tackles the rest of the rodeo season and makes the push for another shot at the Canadian Finals Rodeo.
“It’s going to bring my bull riding game up. It’s the top 20 guys in the world and you’ve got to be one of be the best in the world to be there,” he said. “Riding against J.B. and guys of that calibre really makes you step up your game. It’s a good notch on the belt for my career and where I want to go.
“I will be back there, no doubt in my mind and I will hold that 100 thousand dollar cheque over my head one day.”
Radford’s good buddy was almost along for the ride.
Okotoks’ Jordan Hansen was 0.5 points off the mark on Wildcard Saturday, agonizingly close to the top four slots allocated to the qualifiers for the championship round. Hansen, the defending Canadian champion in bull riding, took home $4,000 in winnings as the sixth place finisher out of Pool A in his Stampede debut.
Oklahoma’s Sage Kinzey won the $100,000 cheque as the bull riding champion; Big Valley’s Zeke Thurston continued his dominance in the saddle bronc with his third straight title; Texan Richie Champion lived up to his name in the bareback; Idaho’s Matt Shiozawa was top dog in the tie-down roping; Louisiana’s Tyler Waguespeck won the steer wrestling and Texas’ Tiany Schuster took the barrel racing crown.
For full results go to calgarystampede.com
