Albertans sweep CFR events

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The 24th annual Canadian Finals Rodeo hit Edmonton Northlands Coliseum with a fury as a record attendance of over 85,000 streamed through the doors to watch Canada's top cowboys compete in nine events from Nov. 5 to 9.

Several of the competitors were from Aboriginal country, with one man finishing third overall. It was the Alberta cowboys who managed to walk away with the majority of wins in the events.

Kenton Randle, the pride of the Paddle Prairie Metis Settlement, in northwestern Alberta, once again showed he is a force to be reckoned with as the veteran bare back competitor managed to stick all six of his broncs, finishing the week with best scores of 85 on Clover Alley and 83.5 on Yet Marvelous which put him in a tie with Saskatchewan's Colin Orr for third place overall. Placing first was Travis Whiteside. Shawn Vant, this year's $50,000 winner at the Calgary Stampede, finished second.

In the novice bareback, it looked as if the talented Trevor LaValley from Bezanson, near Grande Prairie, Alberta was destined for a win until was he bucked off on Saturday night. That allowed Kyle Bowers from Duchess, Alberta to sneak in and tie the event in the final go-round. The resulting ride-off gave Bowers the win by a single point.

The only other Aboriginal contestant was former novice champion, Shawn Henry from Williams Lake, British Columbia.

This year, however, there was no luck to the draw for Henry who, through all six rides, managed a best score of 80.5 - not enough to finish in the money. The eventual winner of the saddle bronc was another veteran Albertan Rod Hay from Wildwood and his brother Denny from Mayerthorpe.

As for the novice saddle bronc, Kyle Thomson out-pointed Tom Bingham to win that event while former world calf roping champion Joe Lucas walked off with all the money. Lee Graves from Williams Lake marked a lightning-quick 3.6 seconds to capture the steer wrestling on the final go round. That, incidentally, was the fastest time for the entire rodeo.

In ladies barrel racing, it was Dawn Rude of La Glace, Alberta. The boy's steer riding went to Nanton, Alberta's Mackenzie Loree.

The week-long event has become a staple of the rodeo life, and a goal for all up and coming Aboriginal rodeo competitors on and off reserves and settlements across the country.