Canada’s second highest paying rodeo put on a terrific weeklong show and delivered an outstanding Showdown Round to kickoff the month of July.

Rocker Steiner won the bareback riding with a thrilling 91.25-point ride on Calgary’s Disco Party, a horse he had a feeling he might end up on in the Showdown Round.

“I knew I was going to have (Calgary Stampede’s) Disco Party, for some reason. The chips just fell perfectly,” he said afterward. “Some say I am kind of a disco party.”

Steiner bested three other rides of 89.25 points courtesy of Kade Sonnier (91.25), Clint Laye (91), and Richmond Champion (89.25).

Steiner is No. 2 in the World and the $20,000 payday he got in Ponoka could help him rundown Bradlee Miller by the end of Cowboy Christmas.

While there were three 90+ point rides in the bareback riding, the lone one in the saddle bronc riding Showdown was well worth it. Damian Brennan was 92.25 points, his highest marked ride of the season to get his first career win in Canada.

Brennan has moved up seven spots in the PRCA World Standings in the last two weeks from No. 15 to No. 8. Since June 15, he has 10 straight rides of 83 points or better.

“That’s a bucket list horse,” he said of Exotic Warrior. “I got to win The American on that horse earlier in the year, so I was really excited to have that one. He just bails out there and doesn’t go very far, and jumps and kicks really hard. That’s what us bronc riders look for, so we can show off and do our job.”

In steer wrestling, the lone Canadian in the Showdown was victorious as Ryan Shuckbrugh, who was second in the three-head Average to make the Showdown, made a 5.2-second run to win in walk-off fashion.

It was something of a hometown rodeo for Shuckburgh, who is from Innnisfail, about a south of Ponoka.

Team roping saw a dominant performance from Kolton Schmidt/Sid Sporer, who won the three-head Average by 1.5 seconds and then won the Showdown by six tenths with a 6.2. The same was true for breakaway roping champion Amanda Terrell. She was 10.7 on three to win the three-head Average by 1.6 seconds and then was 3.1 to claim the ultimate prize in the Showdown. Terrell will forever be known as the first breakaway roping champion in Ponoka Stampede history.

“I’ve had such a good feeling about this rodeo,” Terrell said. “I feel like God has given me so much peace about this.”

In tie-down roping, Zack Jongbloed was victorious with an 8.1-second run while in barrel racing, Jennifer Neudorf saved the best for last with a 17.24-second run, the fastest run of the rodeo, in the Showdown.

In bull riding, Hayes Weight got the biggest prize of all. He was the only one to ride in the Showdown and the bull riding pot was already $15,000 larger because no one rode in the 2024 Showdown. All of that made his 89-point ride on Tactical Error worth $33,750.

“It makes a huge difference,” he said. “It takes me from barely being inside the Top 15 in the World to moving up, so I can a bit more comfortable and relax.”

QUICK DRAW

Hayes Weight’s Showdown ride was the richest eight seconds in Ponoka Stampede history.

Zack Jongbloed got the fourth and final spot in the tie-down roping Showdown by just two tenths of a second.

Bareback rider Kade Sonnier has been 83 points or better on his last eight horses and was the only one to ride all three for at least 85 points.

All three roughstock champions rode for more points in the Showdown than anyone in their event over the last two Ponoka Stampedes.

RESULTS

BAREBACK RIDING

First Round: 1. Richmond Champion, 86.75 points on C5 Rodeo’s Pretty Woman, $6,625; 2. Clint Laye, 85.75, $5,245; 3. Rocker Steiner, 85.25, $4,447; 4. (tie) Kade Sonnier, Dean Thompson and Cole Reiner, 85, $2,484 each; 7. Kody Lamb, 84.75, $1,380; 8. Ty Taypotat, 84, $1,104; 9. (tie) Weston Timberman and Wacey Schalla, 83.75, $690. 

Finals: 1. Kade Sonnier, 89 points on Calgary Stampede’s Born Fearless, $2,000; 2. Rocker Steiner, 88.25, $1,500; 3. Weston Timberman, 88, $1,000; 4. Clint Laye, 87.75, $500.

Average: 1. Kade Sonnier, 174 points on two head, $6,625; 2. (tie) Clint Laye and Rocker Steiner, 173.5, $4,831 each; 4. Richmond Champion, 172, $2,484; 5. Weston Timberman, 171.75, $2,208; 6. Dean Thompson, 171.5, $1,656; 7. (tie) Cole Reiner and Orin Larsen, 170.75, $1,242 each; 9. Wacey Schalla, 170, $828; 10. Kody Lamb, 169.5, $552.

Showdown: 1. Rocker Steiner, 91.25 points on Calgary Stampede’s Disco Party, $9,375; 2. Kade Sonnier, 91, $4,688; 3. Clint Laye, 90.5, $2,813; 4. Richmond Champion, 89.25, $1,875.

STEER WRESTLING

First Round: 1. Craig Weisgerber, 4.4 seconds, $4,616; 2. Matt Mailer, 4.7, $4,014; 3. Evan Spady, 4.8, $3,412; 4. (tie) Ryan Shuckburgh and Tyler Ravenscroft, 4.9, $2,509 each; 6. (tie) Cody Cassidy and Luke Gee, 5.1, $1,304; 8. Trisyn Kalawaia, 5.2, $401.

Second Round: 1. Craig Weisgerber, 3.9 seconds, $4,616; 2. Mike McGinn, 4.0, $4,014; 3. (tie) Coleman Kohorst and James Struxness.4.4, $3,111 each; 5. Eli Lord, 4.5, $2,208; 6. (tie) Evan Spady and Chance Howard, 4.7, $1,304; 8. (tie) Jesse Brown and Stetson Jorgensen, 4.8, $201 each.

Finals: 1. Jace Melvin, 4.6 seconds, $2,000; 2. Ryan Shuckburgh, 5.2, $1,500; 3. Chance Howard, 5.6, $1,000; 4. Jesse Brown, 6.0, $500.

Average: 1. Jace Melvin, 14.8 seconds on three head, $6,924; 2. Ryan Shuckburgh, 15.0, $6,021; 3. Jesse Brown, 16.1, $5,117; 4. Trisyn Kalawaia, 16.5, $4,214; 5. Chance Howard, 16.6, $3,311; 6. Tristan Martin, 19.4, $2,408; 7. Cody Cassidy, 27.2, $602.

Showdown: 1. Ryan Shuckburgh, 5.2 seconds, $8,250; 2. Jesse Brown, 6.0, $4,200; 3. Trisyn Kalawaia, 18.7, $2,550; no other qualified runs.

TEAM ROPING

First Round: 1. Brady Minor/Riley Minor, 5.5 seconds, $4,430 each; 2. Grady Quam/Logan Groves, 6.0 seconds, $3,853; 3. Logan Spady/Trey Gallais, 6.4, $3,275; 4. Kolton Schmidt/Sid Sporer, 6.5, $2,697; 5. (tie) Clay Ullery/Tyce McLeod, Kavis Drake/Denim Ross and Tyler Tryan/Denton Dunning, 6.6, $1,541 each; 8. (tie) Brady Tryan/Calgary Smith and Clay Smith/Nicky Northcott, 6.7, $193.

Second Round: 1. Brett Buss/Joey Romo II, 4.6 seconds, $4,430 each; 2. Dillon Graham/Dawson Graham, 5.0, $3,853; 3. (tie) Luke Brown/Trey Yates and Clay Smith/Nicky Northcott, 5.2, $2,986 each; 5. Keely Bonnett/Logan Bonnett, 5.5, $2,119; 6. Jake Smith/Douglas Rich, 5.6, $1,541; 7. (tie) Dustin Bird/Brady Chappel and Brody Groves/Cody Tew, 6.3, $674 each.

Finals: 1. Kolton Schmidt/Sid Sporer, 5.4 seconds, $1,000 each; 2. Brady Minor/Riley, 7.4, $750; 3. Jackson Braithwaite/Derek Hadland, 13.8 $500; 4. Kavis Drake/Denim Ross, 14.8, $250.

Average: 1. Kolton Schmidt/Sid Sporer, 18.8 seconds on three head, $6,646 each; 2. Brady Minor/Riley Minor, 20.1, $5,779; 3. Jackson Braithwaite/Derek Hadland, 27.9, $4,912; 4. (tie) Kavis Drake/Denim Ross and Jake Smith/Douglas Rich, 28.6, $3,612 each; 6. Clay Smith/Nicky Northcott, 11.9, $2,312; 7. Grady Quam/Logan Groves, 12.7, $1,445; 8. Logan Spady/Trey Gallais, $578.

Showdown: 1. Kolton Schmidt/Sid Sporer, 6.2 seconds, $8,250; 2. Brady Minor/Riley Minor, 6.8, $4,200; 3. Kavis Drake/Denim Ross, 7.3, $2,550; no other qualified runs.

SADDLE BRONC RIDING

First Round: 1. Nicholas Patterson, 89.50 points on C5 Rodeo’s Virgil, $7,612; 2. (tie) Wyatt Casper and Damian Brennan, 86.75, $5,551 each; 4. (tie) Ross Griffin and Tanner Butner, 86.25, $3,330 each; 6. Zeke Thurston, 86, $1,903; 7. (tie) Dawson Dahm, Ben Andersen and Tucker Bourdet, 85.75, $1,269; 10. Kole Ashbacher, 85.5, $634.

 Finals: 1. Shea Fournier, 88 points on Macza Rodeo’s Steely Dan, $2,000; 2. Nicholas Patterson, 87.75, $1,500; 3. Zeke Thurston, 87.50, $1,000; 4. Tucker Bourdet, 87.25, $500.

Average: 1. Nicholas Patterson, 177.25 points on two head, $7,612; 2. Zeke Thurston, 173.50, $6,026; 3. Damian Brennan, 173.25, $5,075; 4. Tucker Bourdet, 173, $4,123; 5. Shea Fournier, 172.75, $2,537; 6. (tie) Wyatt Casper and Kole Ashbacher, 172.25, $1,110 each; 8. Ben Andersen, 172, $625.

Showdown: 1. Damian Brennan, 92.25 points on Calgary Stampede’s Exotic Warrior, $10,313; 2. Nicholas Patterson, 88.75, $5,250; 3. Zeke Thurston, 88, $3,188.

TIE-DOWN ROPING

First Round: 1. Paden Bray, 8.3 seconds, $4,122; 2. Brushton Minton, 8.6, $3,584; 3. Quade Hiatt, 8.7, $3,046; 4. Kyle Lucas, 8.9, $2,509; 5. Denton Dunham, 9.0, $1,971; 6. Jesse Popescul, 9.2, $1,434; 7. Shay Keller, 9.5, $896; 8. Lucas Potter, 9.6, $358.

Second Round: 1. Trevor Hale, 7.8 seconds, $4,122; 2. Austin Hines, 7.9, $3,584; 3. Jake Pratt, 8.2, $3,046; 4. Brushton Minton, 8.7, $2,509; 5. Clayton Smith, 8.8, $1,971; 6. Bo Pickett, 8.9, $1,434; 7. (tie) Riley Wakefield, Tom Crouse and Chisum Allen, 9.0, $418 each.

Finals: 1. Paden Bray, 8.8 seconds, $2,000; 2. Hagen Houck, 9.5, $1,500; 3. Zack Jongblood, 9.6, $1,000; 4. Cooper Resch, 10.5, $500.

Average: 1. Paden Bray, 27.9 seconds on three head, $6,182; 2. Brushton Minton, 28.3, $5,276; 3. Hagen Houck, 29.7, $4,570; 4. Zack Jongblood, 30.1, $3,763; 5. Cooper Resch, 30.3, $2,957; 6. Kyle Lucas, 30.7, $2,150; 7. Jesse Popescul, 31.2, $1,344; 8. Clayton Smith, 32.1, $538.

Showdown: 1. Zack Jongblood, 8.1 seconds, $7,500; 2. Brushton Minton, 8.8, $3,750; 3. Hagen Houck, 10.1, $2,250; 4. Paden Bray, 13.7, $1,500.

BARREL RACING

First Round: 1. Paige Jones, 17.54 seconds, $6,667; 2. Karli Cowie, 17.55, $5,667; 3. Jennifer Neudorf, 17.57, $4,667; 4. (tie) Taylor Manning, Jayden Wilson and Madison Wilkerson, 17.58, $3,223 each; 7. Wenda Johnson, 17.60, $1,667; 8. Makenna Shook, 17.66, $1,333; 9. Farrah Fogg, 17.67, $1,167; 10. Taylor Cherry, 17.68, $1,000; 11. Lynette Brodoway, 17.70, $833; 12. (tie) Pamela Morrison and Bertina Olafson, 17.71, $333 each. 

Finals: 1. Paige Jones, 17.34 seconds, $2,000; 2. Jennifer Neudorf, 17.49, $1,500; 3. Madison Wilkerson, 17.55, $1,000; 4. Makenna Shook, 17.72, $500.

Average: 1. Paige Jones, 34.88 seconds on two head, $6,667; 2. Jennifer Neudorf, 35.06, $5,667; 3. Madison Wilkerson, 35.13, $4,667; 4. Taylor Manning, 35.35, $4,000; 5. Makenna Shook, 35.38, $3,333; 6. Wenda Johnson, 35.41, $2,333; 7. Pam Morrison, 35.44, $1,667; 8. Taylor Cherry, 35.45, $1,333; 9. Jayden Wilson, 35.46, $1,167; 10. Lynette Brodoway, 35.49, $1,100; 11. Bertina Olafson, 35.59, $833; 12. Karli Cowie, 40.34, $667.

Showdown: 1. Jennifer Neudorf, 17.24 seconds, $7,500; 2. Paige Jones, 19.0, $3,750; 3. Madison Wilkerson, 22.56, $2,250; 4. Taylor Manning, 27.67, $1500.

BREAKAWAY ROPING

First Round: 1. Bradi Whiteside, 3.1 seconds, $1,187; 2. (tie) Shaya Biever, Taylor Cherry and Bobbi Henderson, 3.3, $723 each; 5. Kylie Whiteside, 3.6, $568; 6. (tie) Mikenna Schauer and Brittainy Smith, 3.8, $413 each; 8. (tie) Kendal Pierson and Lilly Artemenko, 3.9, $52 each.

Second Round: 1. Aubrey Ross, 2.3 seconds, $1,187; 2. Amanda Terrell, 2.4, $1,033; 3. Tatum Wilson, 2.7, $878; 4. (tie) Jenna Dallyn and Caitlyn Dahm, 2.8, $645 each; 6. Payton Scalzo, 3.0, $413; 7. (tie) Kendal Pierson and Reata Schlosser, 3.2, $181 each.

Finals: 1. Brooke Pomeranz, 3.4 seconds, $2,000; 2. Amanda Terrell, 4.1, $1,500; 3. Tehya Sargent, 5.6, $1,000; no other qualified runs. 

Average: 1. Amanda Terrell, 10.7 seconds on three head, $1,781; 2. Brooke Pomeranz, 12.3, $1,549; 3. Tehya Sargent, 17.8, $1,317; 4. Taylor Cherry, 6.9 on two head, $1,084; 5. Kendal Pierson, 7.1, $852; 6. Mikenna Schauer, 7.2, $620; 7. (tie) Lilly Aremenko and Reata Schlosser, 7.4, $271 each.

Showdown: 1. Amanda Terrell, 3.1 seconds, $7,500; 2. Brooke Pomeranz, 3.5, $3,750; 3. Taylor Cherry, 4.4, $2,250; 4. Tehya Sargent, 5.0, $1,500.

BULL RIDING

First Round: (tie) 1. Ashton Sahli, on Outlaw Buckers’ Forrest Gump and Wacey Schalla, on C5 Rodeo’s 859 Captain Hook, 86.25 points, $5453.90 each; 3. Hayes Weight, 85.75, $4,059; 4. (tie) Garrett Green and Trinity Bear, 85.5, $3,064; 6. Bo Vocu, 85, $1,522; 7. Dakota Buttar, 84.75, $1,268; 8. (tie) Francisco Costa and Tristen Hutchings, 84.50, $888 each; 10. (tie) Jared Parsonage and Griffin Koester, 83, $254 each. 

Finals: *1. Ednelson Martins, 86.50 points on Outlaw Buckers’ Blue Magic, $5,000; no other qualified rides.

Average: 1. Ednelson Martins, 168.5 points on two head, $6,088; 2. (tie) Wacey Schalla and Ashton Sahli, 86.25 points on one head, $4,439 each; 4. Hayes Weight, 85.75, $3,298; 5. (tie) Trinity Bear and Garrett Green, 85.5, $1,776 each; 7. Bo Vocu, 85, $1,268; 8. Dakota Buttar, 84.75, $1,015; 9. (tie) Francisco Costa and Tristan Hutchings, 84.5, $634 each.

Showdown: *1. Hayes Weight, 89 points on Calgary Stampede’s Tactical Error, $33,750; no other qualified rides.

*(all totals include ground money).