OKOTOKS BULL RIDER'S WIN `COOLEST FEELING'
Hansen scores a $50,000 payday in Calgary Stampede competition
The crowd roared with approval.
Not only because a cowboy finally got the best of a bull in the bid for the $50,000 payday ...
But because it was a local making eight for the cash and the Calgary Stampede bronze.
Yup ... when the dust — and the smoke smothering the city — settled Sunday afternoon, it was bull-rider Jordan Hansen of Okotoks shining as the star in the return of the Stampede rodeo after a one-year hiatus.
“Jeez, it's kind of hard to put into words,” said Hansen, moments after winning the marquee event of the 10-day gala. “I grew up 30 minutes away, so I've watched this rodeo since I was old enough to walk, and it's something I've always wanted to win. I've been here a few times and never really have been that close.
“So this year to come out with the win and to have my family here watching and, shoot, having this back in Calgary, it's probably the proudest and coolest feeling in the world.”
It took a little overtime to get the job done for Hansen on his fourth trip to the Stampede and in front of wife Sarah and their six-month-old daughter, Hartley.
Each of the four finalists got bucked off in the first run of bull riding, leading to an extension of the event and a ramping up of intensity with a new pen of bulls brought out for a second run.
“No kidding ... I really wish I didn't have to get on two bulls,” Hansen said. “I certainly didn't expect it to go that way. I had full intentions on staying on the first one (Timber Jam). But, shoot, things still worked out pretty good.”
Indeed, Hansen then rode Diamond Head to a solid 87.5 score and watched as the other three finalists — Arizona's JC Mortensen and Saskatchewan stars Dakota Buttar and Cody Coverchuk — couldn't stay on their respective rides.
“With that lineup of bulls and guys, you expect nothing less than 90s — that's for sure,” continued the 27-year-old Hansen. “I'm not going to lie. I ended up being the first guy out (in the first run and got bucked off ), and I thought for sure they were going to ride a couple of those bulls. A little luck helps a guy out, too.”
BARREL RACING
A little lady luck helped Bertina Olafson become the only other Canadian on Sunday to pocket a $50,000 rodeo payday.
Her 13-year-old horse, Duke, brushed the second barrel of the cloverleaf route. But it only wobbled and didn't fall, as the duo from Hudson Bay, Sask., raced to the week's best time of 17.24 seconds in barrel racing.
“I knew we hit it, but it wasn't rocking enough, so I knew we'd be good,” said Olafson, the Stampede's first barrel-racing champ from Saskatchewan. “I know I have to buy my horse a big bag of cookies.”
Of the 10 go-round and four
final-four rides it took to crown Olafson the champ, not one barrel was knocked over by any of the entries.
“It just feels so surreal,” Olafson added. “This is more than a dream. My dream was to compete here, so to win it, it's just amazing.”
BAREBACK
The scores were sky high in bareback Sunday.
In the end, everybody was looking up at Iowa's Tim O'connell, a three-time world champ, after his whopping 93.5 on Zulu Warrior. That edged the 92.5 put up by Montana's Caleb Bennett aboard Stevie Nicks to give O'connell his first Stampede bronze and the big payday.
“I knew I had a big score underneath me,” O'connell told the crowd of the bucking horse. “They won two rounds of the eliminator pen on this horse, and, man, he's everything you want, especially (in a tough final four). She gave me the best shot, and I took every bit of it.”
Calgary's Spur Lacasse made the final and scored a wicked 87.0 on Yippie Kibitz, but an awkward dismount saw him land hard on his back, after which he got up slow ... without the Stampede title.
STEER WRESTLING
Stetson Jorgensen of Idaho won his first Stampede championship, denying Alberta's Curtis Cassidy of his second bronze here.
Jorgensen's 4.7-second run in the steer-wrestling finale wasn't lightning quick, but it was enough for the $50,000.
“I had the same steer in the first round here, and I knew he left sharp,” Jorgensen, 28, told the crowd. “I knew what I had to do ... and it worked out in the end.
“Thank you, Calgary — this is awesome.”
SADDLE BRONC
It took an all-time Stampede record to earn the big paycheque in saddle bronc.
Wyoming's Brody Cress matched the 94.5 mark — set by 1995 champ Glen O'neill — with his Sunday ride on Special Delivery, scoring the win over Alberta's K's Thomson, who put up a sizzling 89.0 on Stampede Warrior.