Groundbreaking Developments Inc. brought more than two hours of action packed excitement to Kennedy on Thursday, Aug. 22 starting the evening off with a tasty steak supper they were serving up prior to the rodeo.
Announcers Robert Schmidt and Brad Stenberg kept the event running smoothly between riders delivering commentary throughout the rodeo to acquaint the audience with the contestants.
The open events (any age contestant) including Bareback, Saddlebronc and Bullriding showcased the skill among the cowboys and their competitiveness for top score. The Junior Steer Riding is for contestants 16 yrs and under. The Novice Saddlebronc and Novice Bareback are for any age contestant that has won less than $1500 in an open event.
Groundbreaking Developments brought 35 horses, 15 bulls, and 20 junior cattle for this event.
Rodeo is unique in the fact that both the cowboys and animals are judged on their performance.
Excitement and stress was building up in the cowboys as they awaited their turn for their eight seconds in the spotlight.
We had a few locals taking part including Deree Smalley of Windthorst in Bull Riding coming away with a score of 75 to take 3rd place.
Cyson Romanow of Corning scored a 68 in the Junior Steer Riding.
Jesse and Lucas Ozirney of Grenfell both competed in the Junior Steer Riding, Jesse scoring a 76 and Lucas scoring a 69.
Kegan Kmita of Weyburn scored a 76, tied for 1st place in the Junior Steer Riding.
Trinity Bear of Whitewood scored a 70 in the Junior Steer Riding.
Kaden Paton of Carnduff gave it a good go in the Novice Saddlebronc but was bucked off.
During a short intermission the youngin’s (8 and under) braved the Sheep Riding or Muttin’ Bustin’ hanging on to the animal’s wooly coats. Unfortunately none hung on for the 8 seconds.
Once the sun went down, the bright spotlights came on to finish out the rodeo ‘under the lights’.
Top bull rider Ashton Sahli had the chance to ride a Bounty Bull “Sippin Wine” for a chance to win some cash but was bucked off.
“The bounty bull was a program we initiated this year at all of our CCA rodeos,” explains Donna Cross. “The payout for riding the bull started at $2000, and went up by $500 every time the bull was unridden. The purpose of the bounty bull was to provide some extra entertainment for the spectators, as well as an added incentive for the cowboys to enter our rodeos.”
“We were pleased with the number of entries in our event, with how our stock performed, and the effort all of our staff put in to making the event a success,” comments Cross and Clayton MacLennan. “We have received a lot of positive feedback.”
“A big thank you to the Moose Mountain Rodeo Committee for the use of their facilities,” comments Cross “as well as to our staff who worked the event, and all of our sponsors.”
“We also want to convey our thanks to those who came out to support our event,” speaking on behalf of herself and MacLennan.
As soon as the rodeo ended on Thursday it was off to get to the next stop on their schedule in Estevan where they were the stock contractor at the rodeo there on Friday and Saturday.
A lot of the riders came to Estevan Rodeo on their way back to Alberta.
Groundbreaking Developments Inc. next stop after that is the Whitewood High School Rodeo.
Unofficial results in Kennedy are as follows:
Saddle Bronc:
1 Tyler Winters 82
2 K's Thomson 80
3 Coleman Watt 76
3 Sam Randle 76
5 Colt Smith 75
6 Hayden Cole 73
Bareback:
1 Brady Bertram 80
2 Travis Heeb 78
3 Danny Vandenameele 77
4 Brett Williams 75
5 Kyle Johnson 74
5 Blake Link 74
Bull Riding:
1 Ashton Sahli 83
2 Jud Colliness77
3 Deree Smalley 76
4 Quinten Taylor 71
Junior Steer Riding:
1 Kegan Kmita 76
1 Jesse Ozirney 76
3 James Perrin 71
4 Trinity Bear 70
5 Gage Hillis 69
5 Lucas Ozirney 69
5 Ryder Zunti 69
Novice Bareback:
1 Cruz McNulty70
1 Kade Cheney 70
Novice Saddle Bronc:
1 William Perrin 69
2 Chance Sjogren 61
