Something for Nothing & All for One

Something for Nothing

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Taber, Alberta - Nothing in this world if free...unless you're in Taber! For the first time in the illustrious tradition of the Taber Cornfest, weekend activities also included a complimentary BRC bull riding event. With free admission, the Taber Ag Plex was absolutely packed. An estimated 1000-plus fans were in attendance to watch the third annual Taber Cornfest Bull A Rama.

After a slight delay to allow the multitude of fans to park, enter and find a seat in the building, the festivities kicked off with mutton busting and trick roping before moving into the main event...Bull Riders Canada Inc. action.

Special thanks to Gouw Quality Onions and Legacy Dodge Taber for sponsoring the admission which allowed fans of every age free admission to the wonderful event!

With a full roster of riders, there were already four rides after the first half of the long round. When the dust finally settled, the short round was full and there was a three-way tie for the long round win.

Griffin Smeltzer, Chlaresholm, AB rode Two Bit Bucking Bulls Legal All Over; Jerett Nash stuck it on a tough one called Whiskey Throttle from Eno Bucking Bulls and Ken Siemens returned from injury and styled up Bar UT Bucking Bulls Sweet Spot.

All three riders were a solid 83 points while only only 3.5 points separated the top six riders in the long round. Special mentions go out to Marcos Gloria from Brazil, who double-entered and rode Patch Work from X6 Ranch Bucking Cattle but did not make it back to the Championship Round; as well as Will Purcell from Australia who triple-entered and wound up fourth place in the long round with an 82 point ride on Two Bit Bucking Bulls' Fantastic Genes.

In the Championship Round it was Griffin Smeltzer who rode Bar UT Bucking Bulls Dumas Walker for an 86-point score and two dollars short of $4400.00. With the win, Smeltzer moved over the $13,000.00 mark in season earnings and solidified his number four sport in the BRC National Standings within Bull Riders Canada Inc.; not too bad for the 16-year old up-and-coming bull riding talent.

With the win, Smeltzer also moved into a tie with Jerett Nash for fourth place in the BRC National Standings. With the standings revised following the event, there are currently five bull riders with a legitimate chance to overtake the number one spot. There is a real race heating up for the Season Leader buckle this year and with Bull Riders Canada Inc. heading to Airdrie, AB. for the Double-Point Derby event, you can bet that the rider-athletes of Bull Riders Canada Inc. will be focused and show up ready to keep improving upon their bull riding percentages.

All for One

Airdrie, Alberta - The weather conditions were not idea, but at least the arena was not under water as it was last year. With partly cloudy skies and a rodeo grounds filled with fans, the third annual Airdrie Bikes & Bulls event unfolded and you had to see it to believe it.

The Airdrie event is unique because it is the only Derby event on the Bull Riders Canada Inc. schedule. A “Derby” event means that the age of the bucking bulls can not exceed three years old; the animal had to be born in 2013 or later. Each breeder then paid an entry fee of $500.00 in order to bring their best animal to compete for prize money. With contractors bringing bulls from as far away as Southwestern British Columbia (shout out to S&E Bucking Bulls) you can bet that pen of future bovine superstars will be a good one!

The Airdrie Oilmen’s Association hosts the event and has a Bucking Bull Auction in order to sell the naming rights of each bucking bull to local and area businesses who then pay a fee for the opportunity to name the animal and get involved. Special thanks to the Airdrie Oilmen’s Association for their involvement and especially for their perseverance. After last year’s weather and the local economy, it is a testament to their conviction to keep rolling on.

Winning the Derby portion of the event was bull #330 Flying High Rodeo Company named U Can-Do It for the event by winning bidders Can-Do Energy Services. This win pocketed breeders Lorne & Kelly High from Elnora, AB $6,270.00 of the $19,000.00 payout for the Breeders in the Derby. Only three points separated the top six animals.

In the long round of competition, with $7500.00 in added prize money, double points, a full 30-man roster of riders and the tightest race for Season Leader in Bull Riders Canada History; not a single rider managed to stay aboard.

We are not going to blow up the bull pen and talk about how rank all of the animals are or how the bulls stole the show. Although the bulls were fantastic, we're going to talk about the contestants. In all seriousness, if you are a bull rider and you are entering a Derby event where stock contractors are paying their own money to bring a bull, you would have to think the animal is going to buck!

Furthermore, you would have to think that the animal is going to turn back fairly close to the chutes and kick! That is exactly what most of the bulls did and in fact at least half should have been rode. The contractors should all be commended on their programs as the pen was even and very, very solid. Again these bulls are only three years old. If you want to become a successful bull rider and improve your riding percentage, working out, eating right and training for this sport is a must!

In the short round it was Italo Aguilar from Brazil who stayed on Honky Tonk Rodeo’s Snowball for 78 points and just shy of $11,000.00. He took every dime from the event as well as 600 points for first place! With the result, Aguilar moved within 35 points of the fifth place position in the BRC National Standings.

BRC caught up with Italo regarding his win and he had this to say "First I thank God for everything that is happening in my life. I thank the BRC again and Jennifer & Russell Friend. I thank all my friends here that also help me with English and everything. I'm very happy to be riding here in Canada. I already love Canada (laughs). I'm very happy to win this event. I dedicate this win to my parents and my brother back home. This victory goes to my hometown of Nova Modica, MG, Brazil!"

Italo's $10,882.00 win is worth three times that amount in Brazil. Italo plans to help his parents with this money who are back home in Brazil.

Thank you to Griffin Smeltzer & Italo Aguilar for submitting clips of their winning rides:

Once again, thank you to the Airdrie Oilmen’s Association for hosting a great event and for donating all of the proceeds back to local Airdrie and area charities.

Visit Bull Riders Canada website for complete Event Results and to view the current BRC Standings.

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