Day four of Ponoka Stampede action is in the books!
The first event of the day was professional bareback riding. Things got off to a rough start with several no-times and rider Ethan Mazurenko even earning a re-ride after his first decided to lay down on the job.
The high score of the section was Trenton Montero of Jerome, Idaho, who scored 86 points on the back of a bronc known as “Snap Chat.”
Tie-down roping was up next, with half of the dozen riders scoring on their rides. The high score of the afternoon went to North Dakota cowboy Bo Pickett who scored a blistering time of 8.4 seconds which was good enough to move him into seventh place in the aggregate standings.
After a brief intermission to show the cattle raffle herd, the novice saddle bronc event was up with a pair of young riders both scoring points.
Youngstown, Alta., cowboy Dixon Tattrie scored 75.5 points on his ride, moving him into second place in the aggregate standings. Briley Scott, of Sundre, scored 65 points on his ride.
Moving straight into novice bareback, Chase McNulty tried his luck to no avail, earning no time on his ride.
Boys’ steer riding was up next with five riders; the only rider to score points was Claresholm, Alta., cowboy Hayden Mackay with 73.5 points.
A new event for the 2023 Ponoka Stampede was up next; a half-dozen ladies tried their hand with the Women’s Ranch Bronc Riding event. Though a couple of riders came close, the feisty broncs ended up being too much for the ladies with no one scoring on a ride.
Before the intermission, it was time for professional steer wrestling; Ponoka’s Craig Weisgerber earned the fasted ride of the day with a blistering 4.1 seconds, which moved him into first place in the aggregate.
While 13 riders took part in steer wrestling, only five ended up scoring on their rides.
After the intermission, professional saddle bronc was first up.
Nine riders took part with three riders scoring points. High points for the day went to Nebraska cowboy Cort Scheer who picked up 84.5 points, good enough to move him into sixth in the aggregate.
After the saddle bronc, the Wild RoseTrick Riders took to the infield performing daring tricks on horseback.
Team roping followed the trick riders; a slate of a dozen pairs took their turns. Trey Gallais and Tristin Woolsey earned the fasted time of the afternoon with a 4.9-second ride, but unfortunately, due to a no time earlier in the day, it was not enough to move them into the top 12 needed for entry into the finals.
However, Kash Koch and Colten Fletcher scored a ride of 6.2 seconds which was enough to launch them into second place in the aggregate.
Following team roping, the ladies took to the infield again with barrel racing. Minnesota picked up the fast time of the afternoon, Bryanna Haluptzok picked up a time of 17.78 seconds after running the cloverleaf, enough to move her into tenth place in the aggregate.
The second-last event was the bull riding with nine cowboys testing their mettle against some ill-tempered animals. Three riders managed to score points, but Amisk, Alta., cowboy Jordan Hansen picked up 86.75 points on the back of the bull known as “Uncle Kranky,” which was good enough to vault him into first place.
Finishing the day’s performance was the wild horse racing, where team Loken chalked up another win.
Day five of Ponoka Stampede action kicks off Friday at 1 p.m.
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