ProRodeo Sports News - Dec. 20, 2024

REGINA, SASKATCHEWAN

MAPLE LEAF CIRCUIT FINALS

Consistency

Logan Bird and Peso equal success at circuit finals BY DAVID POULSEN, Special to ProRodeo Sports News L ogan Bird rode into Regina, Saskatchewan, with three goals in mind. He wanted to be the 2024 Maple Leaf Circuit Tie Down Roping Champion; he hoped to get his 2025 season off to a good start and he wanted to secure a berth in next July’s NFR Open in Colorado Springs, Colo. Four days and four performances later, the Nanton, Alberta, cowboy had checked all three boxes. A solid regular season and a lights out Finals saw the 30 year old crowned the 2024 Maple Leaf Circuit Champion. And with the money won at the Finals counting in the 2025 CPRA and PRCA | RAM World Standings, the roper/horse trainer got exactly the start he wanted for 2025. “That’s a huge deal,” Bird acknowledged. “For me the most important part is to get that money won for the next year. It’s a long season and I just think it’s a whole lot easier to navigate your year when it starts out good. Plus, it gives you an avenue to have more chances with the PRCA and not go to all the spring Canadian rodeos if you don’t have to.” While the weather outside was frigid, inside the Brandt Center, Bird was hot, hot, hot, winning two seconds and two thirds and taking home the aggregate title as well. His times were 8.5, 8.5, 8.6 and 8.7 for 34.3 seconds on his four head. Bird pocketed $6,137 at the Finals and finished comfortably atop the MLC overall standings with $29,235, and a margin of $7,000 over second-place cowboy, Kyle Lucas. The third element that makes the Circuit so vital is the opportunity for both the Circuit and Finals winners to earn a spot at the NFR Open. “I was there once before,” Bird recalled. “It was terribly muddy. I’m hoping it will be better this time because there’s a lot of money up there.” It didn’t hurt that Bird was riding Daddys Shiner Cat or Peso, the buckskin horse that would carve his name in the history books a few weeks later at the WNFR. The 13-year-old gelding, a three time Canadian Roping Horse of the Year, brought his A game to Regina as he carried both Bird and runner-up, Lucas, to their Circuit successes. “I’ve always thought he was one of the best roping horses in the world, but he’s actually better now than he was a year ago,” the eight time CFR qualifier declared. “I really believe that now he’s close to the best. It’s confidence and the way he’s handling things like noise. “He used to be a bit prancy, but now he handles all of that pretty much perfect. He’s the same at my house as he is at a rodeo. And he’s just so strong in his stop and his pull and consistently are the same every night.” A horse that keeps getting better and a roper who can match that performance with some magic of his own—together they wrapped up a strong 2024 season and kickstarted the 2025 campaign on the same weekend.

TOP SCORES

TOP MONEY EARNER Kody Lamb ($7,326, bareback riding) BAREBACK RIDING

Lamb

1. Kody Lamb .............. 324.5 pts. on 4 2. Dallas Hay ............................... 320.5 3. Blake Link .................................. 312 STEER WRESTLING 1. Landon Beardsworth . 18.0 sec. on 4 2. Curtis Cassidy ........................... 18.8 3. Ty Miller .................................... 25.6 TEAM ROPING 1. G. Quam/B. Chappel .. 30.6 sec. on 4 2. Levi Simpson/Riley Wakefield ... 31.1 3. Kavis Drake/Denim Ross .......... 32.0 SADDLE BRONC RIDING 1. Lucas Macza ............... 335 pts. on 4 2. Nicholas Patterson ..................... 329 3. Lachlan Miller ......................... 323.5 TIE-DOWN ROPING 1. Logan Bird ................. 34.3 sec. on 4 2. Kyle Lucas ................................ 35.8 3. Jason Smith ............................. 37.7 BARREL RACING 1. Blake Molle .............. 55.71 sec. on 4 2. Lisa Groves ............................. 57.05 3. Karli Cowie ............................. 60.29 BULL RIDING 1. Chanse Switzer ........... 310 pts. on 4 2. Edgar Durazo .................. 241.5 on 3 3. Coy Robbins ................... 167.5 on 2

Complete results/Page 84

Covy Moore photo Tie-down roper Logan Bird captured the Maple Leaf Circuit crown aboard his star horse, Peso. Bird won the average with a 34.3-second time on four head.

ProRodeo Sports News 12/20/2024

ProRodeo Sports News 12/20/2024

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