Red Deer’s run of hosting the Canadian Finals Rodeo concluded on Sunday, November 5th with a record setting final day.
Big Valley’s Zeke Thurston is the first saddle bronc rider ever to win four consecutive CFR titles. He split day money for the final performance by posting an 88.25 point ride. Logan Hay from Wildwood also posted an 88.25.
The team roping competition this week was dominated by the duo of Brady Tryan from Montana and Calgary Smith from Oregon. They posted the top time of the day on Sunday with a run of 3.9 seconds. For the week they set the all-time record by a wide margin with a total running time of 24.3 seconds on six head. As a result, Tryan and Smith claim the Canadian championship for this year.
Winning in Red Deer is becoming an annual tradition for Scott Guenthner from Provost. He was second on Sunday with a 3 and 5 but the championship was already wrapped up thanks to his big lead in the total season earnings. Guenthner has now won the steer wrestling championship in all four of his CFR appearances at Westerner Park – in 2018, 2019, 2022, and now in 2023 as well.
It came down to the final few bull riders on the final day of CFR 49. In the end, it was Mexico’s Edgar Durazo aboard Vold Rodeo’s Rust Buckert who posted the top score of the afternoon with an 88. He also wound up winning the aggregate for the week and secures his second Canadian Finals Rodeo championship.
Other championships at CFR 49 went to Lynette Brodoway from Brooks in barrel racing, Clint Laye from Cadogan in bareback, Shaya Biever from Claresholm in breakaway roping, and Montana’s Haven Meged in tie down roping.
The women’s all-around champion for 2023 is Bradi Whiteside from Longview, and the men’s all-around champion at CFR 49 is Logan Spady from Alliance.
The Kenny McLean award this year goes to Kyle Wanchuk from Sherwood Park. To be eligible for that award, a contestant must have placed at three separate rodeos in a riding event and three separate rodeos in a timed event.
The novice events saw Hayden Mulvey from Brooks capture the championship in steer riding, Jaret Cooper from Vernon, B.C. is the novice saddle bronc champ, and the CFR 49 title in novice bareback belongs to Chase Siemens from Chetwynd, B.C.
The CFR will now move back to Edmonton – the place where it took place for the first 44 years – for 2024, 2025, and 2026.