Battlefords host International Indian Finals Rodeo

Page 12

Some of the best rodeo competitors from across Canada and the United States were in North Battleford from Oct. 13 to 16 to compete in the 2005 running of the International Indian Finals Rodeo (IIFR).

The North Battleford Civic Centre hosted rodeo action in 11 different rodeo events, with the top two competitors from six different associations taking part.

Competitors in this year's event represented three Canadian rodeo assocations-Saskatchewan's Prairie Indian Rodeo Association (PIRA), B.C's Western Indian Rodeo and Exhibition Association (WIREA) and Alberta's Native Cowboy's Rodeo Association (NCRA)-and three association's from the United States -the Columbia River Indian Rodeo Cowboys Association (CRIRCA), which draws its membership from Oregon, Washington State and Northern Idaho, and the All Indian Rodeo Cowboys Association (AIRCA) and The Central Navajo Rodeo Association (CNRA), both based in Arizona.

"Overall the whole weekend was great," said Courage Bear, the Sport, Culture, Youth and Recreation Secretariat for the Federation of Saskatchewan Indian Nations and member of the IIFR host committee. "We got a lot of good comments from the visitors and cowboys on how they were treated."

According to information on the IIFR Web site (www.iifrodeo.com) the mandate of the event is to contribute to the heritage, culture and traditions of Aboriginal people and to unify Aboriginal contestants.

"The main obligation of the IIFR is to offer the opportunity for our youth to achieve their professional, personal and creative potential."

Each participant competed on all four days and the contestant with the best four-day total won the world title. And while no members of the PIRA went home world champions, a number of them came very close, giving the eventual winners a run for their money.

The participants from WIREA certainly enjoyed their visit to the Battlefords. Five WIREA members headed home after the IIFR as world championships.

Jay Louis won the saddle bronc championship. He had the best average heading into the final day of the competition and his score of 70 on Sugar Shack, although second best for the day, was enough to win it all.

Wright Bruisehead earned the world championship in the steer wrestling competition, tackling his steer in four seconds flat during competition on Oct. 16. The time was the quickest of the day and gave him the best average over the four days. North Battleford resident K.J. Bird had the second highest average heading into the final event. He wrestled his steer to the ground in 4.8 seconds, but couldn't overtake Bruisehead for the lead.

Chantel Williams was named 2005 world champion in the ladies barrel racing event. Juleen Albert of the Sweetgrass First Nation scored the quickest time on the final day with a 13.49, but it wasn't enough to take the title from Williams.

The championship in the ladies breakaway roping event was decided in a rope-off, with fellow WIREA members Irene Sure and Katrina Williams competing for the title. Sure was the fastest in the sudden-death elimination and won the top prize.

The team roping event was also decided with a rope off that saw WIREA members Jackson Louis and Neal Antoine up against John Boyd Jr. and John Boyd III of the AIRCA. Louis and Antoine took the rope-off and went home with the cash prize.

The only Canadian to earn a championship who isn't with the WIREA was NCRA member Vanessa Chalifoux, who won all four days of junior barrel racing competition and posted a junior girls barrel racing low time of 13.53 seconds.

Another rope-off took place to decide the championship in the tie down roping event, with John Boyd III of the AIRCA going head to head with PIRA's Darrell Taypotat. Boyd drew the number one spot and set bar high with a 10.6. Then it was Taypotat's turn. He roped the cow right out of the gate, jumped off his horse and ran over to the steer but couldn't cleanly grab the animal. His time was 13.1, which made Boyd the champin.

Boyd was also crowned high point cowboy of the event, while CRIRCA member Colleen Crawler was named high point cowgirl.

Lawrence Crawler, also from the CRIRCA, was named world champion in senior breakaway roping, while AIRCA members Nelson Tsosie and Guy Tsosie earned the bareback and junior steer riding championships, respectively.

The world championship in bull riding went to Herald John, who had a four-day average of 59 and was only bucked off once during the four-day competition.

The world champions were awarded their prizes at a ceremony held at the Gold Eagle Casino on Oct. 16.