Bulldogger Lord eyes winnings to pay off horse loan
Early success at the Calgary Stampede rodeo had given Eli Lord confidence — and a much-needed boost in his bank account.
Although he wasn't initially invited to take part in the steer-wrestling competition in Calgary, Lord was happy to receive a call offering him one of 10 spots in Pool B.
“I actually didn't get in at first and then enough people decided not to come that they dropped out and got to me,” said the 27-year-old cowboy from Dickinson, N.D. “It's always good when you qualify for a rodeo that pays $50,000 (to the winner on Showdown Sunday).”
Following a fourth-place showing on the opening afternoon of Pool B action, Lord was second out of the gates on Wednesday and stopped the clock in 4.0 seconds to finish first and earn a cheque for $5,500.
“Sometimes that's the easiest, especially in a one-day deal like this where you've just got to go at 'em and if it works out, you've got a chance to win,” Lord said. “That's always the biggest thing in our event is if you get a good start, you get caught up faster than everybody else and that sets up the whole run.”
Lord also gave credit to his horse Bailey for his quick run.
“Bailey's a 14-year-old gelding that I bought this winter,” said Lord, adding that he was asked to train Bailey in the off-season. “He came along really fast and I ended up really liking him. They called me and told me they wanted to sell him. I got a loan and did all I could and got him bought.”
With $8,000 in earnings so far and two more chances to add to that total, as well as either Wildcard Saturday and/or Showdown Sunday to earn even more money, Lord is hoping to pay off that loan sooner rather than later.
“I'd like to pay for him right here this week,” he said.
Prior to the start of the Stampede, Lord and his fellow bulldoggers have had a busy schedule with the return of several rodeos that took last year off due to COVID -19 concerns.
“We've been going everywhere, so honestly it was nice to come up here and just be able to stay in one spot for a couple of days and take some time off and let the horses relax and kind of reset,” he said.
In addition to competing in Pool B, Lord will haze for fellow competitor Dylan Schroeder.
In steer wrestling, the hazer rides his horse out of the box next to the competitor to keep the steer running straight.
Nick Guy, who finished third in Pool A competition earlier this week, will haze for Lord during his downtime after qualifying directly for Showdown Sunday.
“Always in the bulldogging, most guys have three or four guys with them,” Lord explained. “It takes that much help.”
At other small rodeos, the steer wrestlers are responsible to get the steers into position and guide them out of the gates once the clock starts.
“Here and at the CFR (Canadian Finals Rodeo) and most of the big rodeos, they have a guy who does it,” Lord said. “Most rodeos, we don't have that.”
Stockton Graves, who won Tuesday's go-round before finishing fifth 24 hours later, agreed with Lord that bulldoggers need to establish great teamwork for everyone to have success.
“It's nothing unusual,” said Graves, of Alva., Okla., who has had Jacob Edler hazing for him, while he's been riding alongside Edler, Luke Branquinho and Tyler Pearson.
Edler, Jesse Brown and Blake Knowles finished in a three-way tie for second on Wednesday with identical times of 4.2 seconds as each took home $3,500 for their efforts. Lord currently leads the aggregate standings, followed closely by Graves and Brown, who have earned $7,000 each.
The top four in the standings advance directly to Showdown Sunday, while the others will hope to earn a spot to compete in the championships through Wildcard Saturday.