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Hansen claims first Canadian title

Four months after breaking his leg Okotoks’ Jordan Hansen is sporting the gold buckle.
Okotoks bull rider Jordan Hansen hangs on during the Canadian Finals Rodeo at Edmonton’s Northlands Coliseum. Hansen won his first Canadian championship along with the
Okotoks bull rider Jordan Hansen hangs on during the Canadian Finals Rodeo at Edmonton’s Northlands Coliseum. Hansen won his first Canadian championship along with the aggregate title.

Four months after breaking his leg Okotoks’ Jordan Hansen is sporting the gold buckle.

Hansen capped a dramatic comeback victory over two-time defending national champion Dakota Buttar to take home the bull riding title at the 2016 Canadian Finals Rodeo at Edmonton’s Northlands Coliseum on Sunday.

“I wasn’t really too worried about the numbers,” Hansen said. “I figured if I ride all my bulls and do everything I can I will let the numbers work themselves out in the end.

“Dakota rode good all year, good all finals. I just happened to get a couple more rode.”

The 23-year-old spent the better part of the past four months recovering from a severe injury to his ankle which required surgery in July.

Doctors didn’t think he could compete in Edmonton, let alone win his first national title.

“It held up pretty well,” he said of his ankle. “The sports medicine team had it taped up pretty solid for me every day. I didn’t feel it so much when I was riding, a little bit when I was getting off and trying to run away.”

The 2012 Foothills Composite graduate was the picture of consistency all week.

After being bucked off on opening night, Hansen posted three top-three finishes in a row and capped off his surge by winning the go-round in the evening show on day four.

“I took it one bull at a time,” he said. “I kind of got the rust knocked off on the first one and after I got that second one rode I was feeling pretty confident.”

With Buttar in his sights and just over $6,000 separating the first and second place competitors, Hansen struck when opportunity knocked on Championship Sunday.

Buttar suffered an untimely buck off on Sunday while Hansen’s third place finish was enough to take the Canadian championship as well as the CFR aggregate title.

“Just stay on,” he said. “I knew I had to place to seal it.”

The Okotokian nearly doubled his season earnings of over $26,000 and left the capital city with north of $78,000.

Not bad for a week’s work.

The Gold Buckle gives him the golden ticket to the Greatest Outdoor Show on Earth as Hansen is now set for his first trip through the Calgary Stampede Rodeo.

“I’ve been one spot out the last two years,” Hansen said. “That’s the icing on top to finally get to make it there. It’s definitely a lifelong goal to be riding at that big one.”

Longview’s Brock Radford, who entered as the second-ranked bull rider, came away from his first Canadian Finals Rodeo with a third-place finish.

Earning a pair of thirds on day one and on the evening of day four, Radford picked up just over $12,00 for his work at Northlands and also put a stamp on a Stampede berth.

Hansen is the first cowboy from the Foothills to claim a CFR national championship since fellow bull rider Tyler Thomson of Black Diamond was top dog in 2008.

Foothills competitors:

Bull Riding: 1. Jordan Hansen (Okotoks). 3. Brock Radford (Longview).

Team Roping: 8. Steele DePaoli (Longview). 9. Jeremy Buhler (Okotoks).

Barrel Racing: 11. Toni Dixon (Millarville).

Saddle Bronc: 10. Sam Kelts (Stavely).

Bareback: 10. Pascall Isabelle (Okotoks).


Remy Greer

About the Author: Remy Greer

Remy Greer is the assistant editor and sports reporter for westernwheel.ca and the Western Wheel newspaper. For story tips contact [email protected]
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