Four Southwest CCA champions crowned
Four Southwest entries collected 2019 CCA Finals Rodeo titles during championship Saturday in Swift Current.
The grand finale performance on Saturday night decided the majority of the championships because of the close races for top spot.
Brady Bertram of Maple Creek earned his third CCA Bareback championship with a clutch Saturday performance on the bucking stock he drew. In the Saturday afternoon performance he collected a 78 point ride aboard To Yuma to finish in second place and add 30 points to his championship points. He followed up with a third place ride of 78 points on Alberta Wildcat on Saturday night to add another 10 points to his winning total.
“Whenever you get to win a championship it’s a pretty good feeling. It’s all the hard work and stuff over the year it pays off. It’s all the miles and stuff. It’s rewarding,” Bertram said from the arena floor at the Innovation Credit Union iplex shortly after collecting his championship saddle.
Bertram rode all five bareback horses he drew at the Finals Rodeo and collected championship points on his final four rides, finishing first once, earning pair of second place finishes, and finishing Saturday’s final performance with a championship clinching third place ride.
He said he was not phased by finishing sixth and out of the points on Wednesday’s opening performance. He ended up as one of just three competitors to record five qualified rides.
“From there on in, I’ve been here enough that you don’t get down. You’ve got to keep a positive attitude. I just plucked away at it all week and set myself up. I just had to come do my job tonight, and ended up winning.”
He added that Saturday was an adrenaline filled finale to the week.
“It was fun. This building fills up as we go and there’s a lot of family and friends here. It’s a pretty cool feeling. It gets your blood flowing a little bit more.”
Bertram, who was back-to-back CCA Bareback champion in 2015 and 2016, settled for runner-up finishes the previous two Finals before getting back on top.
Bertram admitted that walking onto the arena floor to receive his championship saddle was an emotional experience.
“I got to have my little girl (Sawyer) out there this year. She’ll be two in November, and accept the saddle. Rodeo is such a humbling sport. When we didn’t have kids or anything it was fun. But now you just appreciate it more with a little one. You don’t know how many more years you have left going down the road, when she gets busy you’ve got to look after her interests first and rodeo will come second.”
Chad Hartman collected his first CCA Finals title with a close contested race with K’s Thomson of Lundbreck, AB in the bull riding event. The duo were separated by just 10 points after an eventful five performances.
The 19-year-old from Lancer came out firing with an opening night winning 82 point ride aboard Farva. He placed as runner up in performance three on Friday night with an 82 point ride on board Grinding Gears. The ride that put him over the top was a strong third place ride during the fourth performance on Saturday afternoon when he held on for an 80.5 points ride on Boxcar Willy.
“I felt pretty good coming in, and seeing my draw I was happy. You get to see your first three bulls and I liked them, and won the first round which is a good start to the week, and just kind of kept her going from there,” the soft spoken Lancer cowboy said on Saturday. “When you can start off with a win I think you have the upper advantage right there.”
Hartman said after winning the opening performance, and then being bucked off the following night, it motivated him to get back on track.
“A buck off fuels your fire anyway. You don’t want two buck offs in a row. That would have you pretty mad.”
He added that after placing ninth during the regular season, he was motivated by both the field of competitors ahead of him and the tough pen of bulls assembled for the Finals Rodeo.
“It feels good to be able to keep up with them,” he said of his Finals victory.
“It means a lot. I’ve CCA rodeoed my whole life. I’ve been season leader a couple of times and never won the finals. I’d usually crack under pressure. But I got lucky I guess.”
The 19-year-old admitted that bull riding is a sport you can not be overconfident in.
“There’s so many factors, what bull you got, and all that. But it comes down to just keeping your hand shut and getting a whistle.”
James Perrin continues to be unfazed by being under pressure at the Finals Rodeo, claiming his second consecutive Junior Steer Riding championship saddle.
The 15-year-old Maple Creek Cowboy was the lone junior competitor to cover all five steers he drew during the Finals. His best finish was a first place winning 73 point ride on Thursday night, but he earned the most aggregate points thanks to also earning a pair of second place finishes, along with a third place ride.
“I felt really good. I got all five covered and I just went for consistency, get them all rode.”
He felt he had a good strategy of not over thinking the task ahead and just getting on each steer and doing his best.
“I kind of knew my draw but just got on not knowing what they were so I wasn’t making a mental game plan, but just go out and ride them like I’d been riding. And it worked out.”
During the regular season Perrin competed at 17 rodeos, but he lost out on the junior steer riding race on the last weekend of the year to Hillis Gage of Lloydminster. So claiming the CCA Finals title was a nice cap to the season.
“It feels pretty good. It means a lot,” he said of claiming a championship saddle.
Adam Gilchrist, also of Maple Creek, walked away with the All Around Champion buckle for his consistent performances in the saddle bronc event. Gilchrist rode four of the five horses he drew during the Finals, ending up second in the saddle bronc points standings with 120 points along with earning a third place aggregate score of 213.5 points.
- The tandem of Braidy Davies of Cypress County, AB. and Moose Jaw’s Brady Chappel won the team roping title with a clutch 6.1 second finish on Saturday night. With a lot on the line on the last performance, eight of the 11 teams took no times while looking for quick times.
- The team roping duo of Colt Cornet and Stacy Cornet turned in a new CCA Finals record time of 3.5 seconds during the Friday night performance.
- Riley Warren from Stettler, AB ran away with the Tie Down Roping event with 200 championship points and posting the fastest aggregate time as one of just two entrants to catch all five calves. He was fastest during three of the five performances.
- Coleman Watt from Irma, AB won three of the five go rounds of saddle bronc action to handily win his second straight championship saddle.
- Jeff Heggie from Cardston, AB built a near insurmountable lead by winning the opening two performances of the Steer Wrestling event. He topped the championship points standings to win his first championship saddle, but finished just .3 of a second back of Tanner Turcato from Taber in the aggregate time standings.