Big bucker stymies local cowboy
Crossfield bull rider Kyle German comes up short at Calgary Stampede's Showdown Sunday
Kyle German went into Showdown Sunday at the Calgary Stampede with his sights on $100,000.
Unfortunately for the Crossfield bull rider, the bull he drew, Fig Jam, had other ideas and bucked him off in less than four seconds.
“You don’t go to be second, so I was definitely expecting to win $100,000,” German said. “It was the best bull in the round and he just beat me out and bucked me off. It was a bucking bull that was better than me on that day. It can go either way and it went his way.”
German earned a spot in Showdown Sunday by having two exceptional rides earlier in the Stampede. On July 9, he rode Wildfire to an 81.5, followed by an 84.5 aboard Fringe Benefits on July 10 to finish second in pool A.
“I rode two good ones Friday and Saturday (July 9 and 10), then bucked off the other two, but it was enough to get me in,” he said. “I was very disappointed on Sunday, but it’s just one of those things and you can’t always win first. You learn how to get over it.”
Douglas Duncan won the bull riding final with an 88, while Wade Sundell won the saddle bronc with an 88.5 and William Lowe won the bareback with an 87.5.
Matt Shiozawa took the tie-down roping with a time of 6.5 seconds, Lee Graves won the steer wrestling with a time of 3.8 seconds and Savanah Reeves won the ladies barrel racing in a time of 17.25 seconds.
Top place in each event was worth a prize of $100,000.
Balzac’s Matt Lait finished fourth in his bareback pool, but didn’t qualify for Showdown Sunday.
“I knew it was going to be challenge due to the fact I was coming back from an injury,” he said. “I drew a couple good horses at the start, and maybe had a couple weaker ones in the middle, but all in all, I think it went not too bad.”
Lait broke his wrist six weeks ago and said he wasn’t sure if would be able to compete.
He was riding with a brace on his wrist, but still managed to score a 78 on July 13 and a 76 on July 15.
“It was a tough injury for a bareback rider and we weren’t sure if I was going to be ready, but I worked really hard through physio for four weeks. It was tough, but we got it done and I was ready,” he said.
“The first day, I had a really good horse, and that was my first ride back from six weeks, so I felt if I had been riding a little bit more I could’ve done a little bit better.”
His highest score of the week was an 81 on July 17.
“I tried to bear down and be as strong as I could,” Lait said. “I thought it was the best ride I had all week, so I’m happy to end on that.”
Lait will compete at a rodeo event in Idaho beginning July 20. German, meanwhile, will compete in Oyen, then Morris, Man., Invermere, B.C. and Bowden during the next two weeks, something he says will help him get over his Stampede disappointment.
“We never quit rodeo and just because you don’t win at one doesn’t mean you sit at home and think about it,” he said. “You go to the next one and try and win it instead.”
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