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SMS EQUIPMENT PRO TOUR WRAP-UP AND MORE
- Armstrong, Merritt and Langley, BC Highlights -
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Sept 4, 2023 l Airdrie, Alberta
For immediate release

SMS Equipment Pro TourCanadian Pro Rodeo's’ all-British Columbia weekend was, as it usually is, a game-changer.

Cowboys and cowgirls made the most of the four big stops on the CPRA calendar to mount late-season charges at those critical twelve spots at the top of the season standings-board that determine berths at the Canadian Finals Rodeo—now just nine weeks away—as well as the top fifteen world placings for the National Finals Rodeo in December.

Highlighting the weekend was the crowning of the 2023 SMS Equipment Pro Tour Champions after a dramatic tour finale in Armstrong, BC. The finale came on the heels of the final SMS Tour stop at the IPE and Stampede. One of those Champions, 2019 Canadian Bull Riding titleist, Edgar Durazo, summarized what this Tour title means to him.

“This win is always going to be there,” Durazo noted, the Mexican-born cowboy’s trademark grin firmly in place. “Nobody can ever take it away from me. The tour is great and winning the big money tour rodeos, that’s what gets you to the championship, but it’s not just the money. In the end, rodeos like this give me that good feeling inside. They own my heart—I feel it every time I come to arenas like this one to be part of the sport I love.”

The SMS Equipment Pro Tour spanned the CPRA season with sixteen high profile Tour Rodeos across western Canada.

Edgar Durazo accepting SMS Equipment Trophy Spurs
Overall 2023 SMS Equipment Pro Tour Champions: Lynette Brodoway (ladies barrel racing); Clint Laye (bareback riding); Tim Kemp (steer wrestling); Jesse Popescul (tie-down roping); Layton Green (saddle bronc riding); Brady Tryan (team roping header); Jeremy Buhler (team roping heeler); Shaya Biever (ladies breakaway roping) and Edgar Durazo (bull riding).
Jeremy Buhler - 2023 SMS Equipment Pro Tour Heeling Champion
It's been an eventful couple of weeks ago for Ponoka bareback rider Dantan Bertsch. First, he and partner, Jenny, welcomed their first child, Brawley, into the world. Then the CFR veteran went to work to take care of the concerning 11th place position–barely inside the twelve-man cutoff for a return trip to Red Deer’s CFR slated for November 1 to 5. A two-win weekend pretty much took care of that problem. Bertsch who missed a bunch of time earlier in the season with a broken leg, suffered in June that kept him on the sidelines until August, brought the A-game to Canada’s westernmost province. After a solid 86.5 first place effort on Macza’s 231 Black Betty at Merritt’s Nicola Valley Pro Rodeo, good for $1583, Bertsch added a ¾ split at Armstrong for $1784. But the capper was the 29 year-old’s brilliant 88.5 point effort on Duane Kesler Championship Rodeo’s 68 Knock Out and whopping $5354 payoff, making it an $8721 trip west that virtually punched his ticket to CFR 2023.

“I had a good start to the season, but I’ve had to fight hard since my return to get back to the Finals,” Bertsch acknowledged. “But with this weekend I definitely feel like I’m back.” And yet all the wins and all the money don’t hold a candle to being a first-timer dad. “He’s the highlight of the season for sure,” the six time CFR qualifier grinned. “Makes it hard to leave home.”
Dantan Bertsch - Merritt, BC

Texas cowgirl Sissy Winn made the most of her trip to the northwest as she captured the title at the lucrative Valley West Stampede in Langley, BC topping a strong international field with a 15.55 second run for $6001, then splitting the win at Armstrong with Idaho’s Rachelle Riggers, both women earning $3635 for identical 15.68 second runs. The dual successes were huge for Winn as she sat 17th in the world standings less that $3000 out of a top fifteen placing that qualifies rodeo athletes for the coveted trip to Las Vegas for the WNFR.

Ontario steer wrestler Tim Kemp will be adding more frequent flyer points over the remaining weeks of the Canadian rodeo schedule courtesy of his strong showing at Armstrong. The Kincardine bulldogger who commutes almost weekly to compete at Canadian rodeos had a solid placing in the IPE and Stampede prelude to the tour finale, then won the Finals with a 3.5 second run to carry him to the Tour title and add a combined and a much needed $4000 cash injection to propel the two-time CFR qualifier into the conversation for a third trip to Red Deer. As is often the case, the battle for CFR spots in steer wrestling will go right down to the wire with at least 17 or 18 guys still in contention.

Another big move was the one made by bronc rider Kole Ashbacher. The Arrowwood. AB talent who has been runner-up for the Canadian title the last two years put together a magnificent 90.5-point ride on Duane Kesler Championship Rodeo’s superstar horse, Double Red. Ashbacher was on the bubble in 12th spot in the Canadian standings heading into Labour Day weekend action, but his $5866 Langley payday will vault him well up in the standings as the stretch run to the 2023 season looms.

And the beat goes on for the bull rider who is redefining the word consistency. Camrose, Alberta’s Coy Robbins added a couple more wins to a season that had him atop the standings before the weekend. Factor in a big time 89.5 point ride at Langley on the Kesler bull, 826 Fallen Angel, that netted a tidy $5448 for the Camrose superstar and a split of 1st at the SMS Tour finale (with Jacob Gardner)—this time an 87 pointer on the Calgary Stampede bull 817 Cheap Thrills for $2730 and, just for good measure a 4th place cheque at Armstrong for $1680 and $256 for a split of 6th at Merritt. It’s called four for four; it’s also called a north of $10,000 for three days work and what you have is a guy who is starting to put serious distance between himself and the rest of the bull riding fraternity.

Kole Ashbacher 90 on Duane Kesler's Double Red - Valley West Stampede

Check for complete unofficial weekend results at rodeocanada.com

With only a few rodeos remaining in the CPRA regular season, next weekend’s action will include the Coronation Pro Rodeo Sept 8-9 and the Medicine Lodge Fall Round-Up Sept 8.

 
The Canadian Professional Rodeo Association (CPRA) with headquarters in Airdrie, Alta. is the official sanctioning body for Professional Rodeo in Canada. The CPRA approves 55 + events annually with a total payout exceeding $6 million. The organization oversees the SMS Equipment Pro Tour Finale each fall in Armstrong, BC, holds their premiere event–the Canadian Finals Rodeo (CFR)–at Westerner Park in Red Deer, Alta. in early November and endorses the Maple Leaf Circuit Finals as part of Canadian Western Agribition in Regina, Sask.
For details, please see RodeoCanada.com
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MEDIA CONTACT:
Barb Poulsen
CPRA Communications Lead
Mobile: 403 625-9225
media@rodeocanada.com
http://rodeocanada.com


CPRAEditorial Note: The information within this release is provided by the Canadian Professional Rodeo Association (CPRA) and is intended for media use. If you use any of the following information verbatim in your publication, or broadcast the details via radio or television, please note that the information is courtesy of the CPRA. * Photos are copyright protected and must not be copied, shared or otherwise disbributed without permission of the CPRA.


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CANADIAN PROFESSIONAL RODEO ASSOCIATION
~ 2023 NEWS RELEASES and ANNOUNCEMENTS ~


2023
JANUARY JULY
* CPRA Welcomes New CRES Mgr * Cowboy Christmas Wrap
MARCH * Benalto Overview
* New Pro Rodeo Canada Partner * Midway Season Highlights
APRIL * Bringing the Summer Heat
* New CPRA Rodeo Administrator Tanner Girletz AUGUST
* CPRA-Troy Fischer Silverworks Extend Agreement * Anderson and Cooper Cash In
* Strong Start to Season for Pascal Isabelle * Field of Dreams Stampede Lives Up to Name
* CPRA Rodeos Added to Cowboy Channel * Veterans Show the Way
* Tanner Milan and Eddie - Powerful Partnership * Remembering Jasper Pro Rodeo
* Big Weekend for Jacob Gardner * Late Season Drama
MAY * Lethbridge and Okotoks Rodeo Highlights
* 2023 SMS Equipment Pro Tour Kicks Off SEPTEMBER
* Consistent Spring for Logan Bird/Falkland, BC  
* Tim Kemp Among Buffalo Lake Winners  
JUNE  
* Grande Prairie, Leduc and Hand Hills Highlights  
* Lea Park, Rocky Mountain House, Bonnyville, Brooks/Newell Highlights  
* Innisfail, Stavely, Wildwood Overview  
* Wainwright, Sundre, High River, Bassano Wrap  



2022
JANUARY AUGUST
Big Time Success for CPRA Athletes at NWSS CPRA Athletes Make Hay on a Three Province Weekend
MARCH Hay Sets New World Record
ATB Enters Three Year Agreement as Presenting Sponsor of CFR Good Times For Goodine
CPRA-Semi-Pro Rough Stock Agreement Hansen Makes a Move
CPRA AwardS Permit Memberships to High School Rodeo Champs and Reserve Champs Standings Races Tighten
APRIL Edmonton Pro Rodeo Gains Pro Tour Status
Rough stock cowboys on DL list Triple Play for Graham Team Roping Brothers
Exciting Season On Tap for Pro Rodeo Canada Good Times For Goodine
Veterans Shine as CPRA Season Gets Underway Hansen Makes a Move
MAY SEPTEMBER
Graham Team Roping Brothers On Fire Big Moves in BC on Labour Day Weekend
SMS Equipment - Pro Tour Title Sponsor Kylie Whiteside Bats 1000 (Olds & Hanna Highlights)
Scott Byrne - P.A. Sport Hall of Fame Inductee Packin' For CFR (Edmonton Pro Rodeo Highlights)
Taber Spring Rodeo Highlights CPRA Year-End Awards Announced
SMS Equipment Pro Tour Kicks Off In Grande Prairie OCTOBER
102 Years of the Falkland Stampede Sundre Pro Rodeo Joins SMS Equipment Pro Tour
Grande Prairie Stompede 2022 CPRA Rodeo Administrator Announcement
JUNE 2022 CFR Personnel Announced
Cassidy Extends Season Lead 2022 CPRA Committee of the Year Awards Decided
Big Weekend for Ben Andersen NOVEMBER
Athlete Stand-Outs - Davison & Schmidt 1st CFR Victory Lap for Beau Cooper
Ty Harris On Fire Stellar Round of CFR Steer Wrestling
JULY New Record in the Saddle Bronc at CFR
Cowboy Christmas - A Game Changer Tight Races Heading Into CFR Sunday
NFR Open / Circuit Finals Results 2022 Pro Rodeo Canada Champions Crowned
Guenthner Tops Leaderboard Legends Were Made at CFR '48
BAW Roster Expands For CFR#48 Lea Park Rodeo Gains Pro Tour Status
  DECEMBER
  Maple Leaf Circuit Finals Highlights
  WNFR Highlights
  Thurston Wins Third World Title


2021
JULY OCT
* Rodeo Canada Season Underway * Congrats 2021 CPRA Award Winners
AUGUST * Canadian Finals Rodeo is Back
  NOV
* August Long Weekend Sees Big Performances CFR - Performance One
* Dublanko and Durazo Among Weekend Winners CFR - Performance Two
* Consistency Pays Off For CPRA Athletes CFR - Performance Three
SEPT CFR - Performances Four-Five
* CFR47 Announcement Champions Declared at CFR47
  Maple Leaf Circuit Champions Decided
 







 
 
 
SMS Equipment Peavey Mart



Troy Fischer Silverworks Buckle Vodka

RAM Rodeo Cambridge Hotel Woody's Saddles

Lea Park Rodeo Sundre Rodeo


 
 
 
 
Pro Rodeo Canada 272245 Range Road 29 Airdrie, AB T4A 2L5 Ph: (403) 945-0903 Fax: (403) 945-0936 Email cpra@rodeocanada.com
 
 

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