Perseverance pays for Lait
Bareback rider was almost ready to quit
EDMONTON — Things were getting so bad for bareback rider Matt Lait of Cayley, Alta., a couple of years ago that the thought of retirement crossed his mind. Not anymore. Lait was one of seven contestants named Canadian champions at Sunday’s Canadian Finals Rodeo at Rexall Place.
“I’m usually a heavy sleeper, but I didn’t sleep a wink (Saturday) night,” said Lait, knowing that a year’s worth of work was coming down to a battle between himself and threetime Canadian champion Kyle Bowers.
Bowers did his job, scoring 87 points. But Lait went even better, with a mark of 88.25 that wasn’t just a Sunday best, but the top score of the week. It gave him his third go-round win of the CFR.
Lait said he can believe he is a Canadian champion this year but it would have taken a lot of convincing two years ago.
“I wasn’t riding well. Things hadn’t been going good. I was sore. I had a couple of years where injuries plagued me,” Lait said of a broken wrist and a broken finger. “Living in pain will wear on you. When you are hurt all the time, it can play on your mind.”
But Lait said when he got to the crossroads of either moving ahead or calling it quits, he opted for the former.
“I told myself, no, this is what I like to do. I rededicated myself to working hard at this sport,” he said.
It worked. Lait won six rodeos this year and came into this past week’s CFR in third place. He also came in with a bushel full of confidence.
“There are a lot of years you come here and you think you’ve got a chance. This year — the way I was riding — I told myself I was a champion before I came here,” said Lait, 30. “I didn’t want to be cocky. But inside, I just tried to keep my poise all week and that this was my year.”
While Lait was wondering what his future was two years ago, bull rider Chad Besplug was wondering what was going to happen to him this year.
Last December, he had total reconstructive surgery on the left shoulder of his riding arm.
“The socket was worn right down. The ball had two holes in it and the rotator cuff was torn,” said the Claresholm bull rider, who had to sit out the first six months of the season and was only able to get to 15 rodeos — the minimum qualification to be eligible to compete in the CFR.
“I thought back then it would be a long-shot to make the Canadian Finals.”
He not only got to the CFR, but won his second title in the closest event, edging defending champion Scott Schiffner by $404.
Besplug knew he had to not only stay on his Sunday afternoon bull, Kesler’s Grand Slam, but place as well. That mission was completed when, with a score of 87.75, he split third-place money, which was just enough to get him past Schiffner, who had almost a $5,000 lead going into the final round.
“Sure, I was nervous,” said Besplug. “I’m nervous every day. If you aren’t nervous and you are getting on a bull trying to win a Canadian title, something is wrong with you,” said Besplug, who won his first championship in 2011.
“All I can think about is all the hours I spent in the gym,” he said of all the hard work he put in to get his shoulder healthy again.
Sunday’s saddle bronc event became a replay of the 2011 CFR, except this time Bracken, Sask.’ s Rylan Geiger got the buckle over Taos Muncy of Corona, N.M.
“It was so cool that it happened again,” said Geiger, who defeated Muncy by $2,300. “I just tried to stay calm and whatever happened, happened.”
Muncy, just as he did in 2011, took first place with a score of 85.75. But Geiger, who got bucked off in 2011’s final round, put up 85 points to get him third-place money and that was the difference, along with winning the average.
A total of 88,521 fans attended the five-day rodeo.
STOCK REPORT: With the lone exception of barrel racing, where Lisa Lockhart of Oelrichs, S.D., was so dominant that she clinched the title on Saturday, the other events were all decided Sunday. Timber Moore of Aubrey, Texas, won the tie-down roping while his cousin, Clayton Moore of Pouce Coupe, B.C., won the steer wrestling and the duo of Barrhead’s Kolton Schmidt and Lacombe’s Tyrel Flewelling took the team roping.