ProRodeo Sports News - July 23, 2021

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Canadian bull rider Hansen turns season around with Calgary heroics

BY KEVIN CARMODY, Special to ProRodeo Sports News F inally able to compete in rodeos much closer to home, Jordan Hansen crossed the border into Canada, rented a holiday trailer with traveling partner Jared Parsonage to spend the mandated four-day quarantine before being allowed on hallowed ground: the Calgary Stampede. Hansen, from nearby Okotoks, Alberta, didn’t do a whole lot during those four days, but it didn’t matter. The 27-year-old bull rider turned his season around by winning $59,875, highlighted by an 87.5-point ride aboard Calgary Stampede’s Diamond Back in the four-man final, for the coveted $50,000 check. “For those four days, it seemed like all we were doing was playing cards,” Hansen said. “It was worth it in the end. I guess it took me going home to get some Canadian air. I picked a good rodeo to turn my season around.” Prior to the $1.5 million rodeo, which wasn’t held last year due to the coronavirus pandemic, Hansen sat 48th in the PRCA | RAMWorld Standings. His biggest payday took place at the San Antonio Stock Show & Rodeo way back in February, where he won $7,000 and advanced to the championship round but couldn’t make the whistle. “I was doing terrible,” Hansen said. “I’d ride a few here and there but wasn’t making a ton of money. Things definitely weren’t clicking, and I was struggling.” Hansen, a Wrangler National Finals Rodeo qualifier in 2017 and 2019, jumped 33 spots into the No. 15 position after his windfall fromCalgary, which got off to a solid start with three rides in four attempts to advance from his pool and into the 10-man semifinal round on the final day. Hansen earned $59,875 in Calgary, $31,713 which counted toward the PRCA | RAMWorld Standings. Hansen continued his hot streak by covering his semifinal- round bull, an 87.5-point effort onWayne Vold Rodeo’s Razor that put him in the four-man championship round for the first time. Then, he thought he was reliving his experience from San Antonio all over again, unable to make a clutch ride on his final- round bull. Fortunately for him, the other three riders hit the arena dirt early as well. That led to a second final with a fresh pen of bulls and a second chance for Hansen. “I’m glad the camera wasn’t on me after I bucked off; I wasn’t very happy and didn’t expect the other three guys to get bucked off, too,” Hansen said. “We had to run around and see what bulls we were getting on, just uncontrolled chaos. Jared took care of things and found my draw. Everything happened quickly.” That uncontrolled chaos with little time to get settled seemed to suit Hansen well. “It probably worked better that way,” Hansen said. “Too much time to think wouldn’t have been good. I had seen that bull one time and Josh (Frost) won a round on him. I knew he’d be a good bull, but I wasn’t making any game plans. I just went jump for jump,

TOP SCORES

TOP MONEY WINNER Tim O’Connell ($66,000 in bareback riding) BAREBACK RIDING

O’Connell

1. Tim O’Connell ..................... 93.5 pts. 2. Caleb Bennett ............................. 92.5 3. Orin Larsen ................................ 88.5 STEER WRESTLING 1. Stetson Jorgensen ................ 4.7 sec. 2. Stockton Graves .......................... 4.9 3. Curtis Cassidy .............................. 5.0 SADDLE BRONC RIDING 1. Brody Cress ........................ 94.5 pts. 2. Kirk Thomson ............................... 89 3. Logan Cook .................................. NS TIE-DOWN ROPING 1. Cory Solomon ...................... 7.3 sec. 2. Marcos Costa ............................... 7.9 3. Cody Craig ................................. 10.6 BARREL RACING 1. Bertina Olafson ............... 17.247 sec. 2. Brittany Barnett ...................... 17.552 3. Lindsay Kruse ........................ 17.790 BULL RIDING 1. Jordan Hansen .................. 87.50 pts. 2. J.C. Mortensen ............................. NS 3. Dakota Butter ............................... NS

Complete results/Page 58

and everything worked out. Winning Calgary is hard to put into words. It’s a little bit different than anywhere else you go. As early as I can remember, if the Calgary Stampede is on, everyone dropped what they were doing so they could watch. It’s been a big deal for a long time, so it’s super cool to finally get to win there.”

Billie-Jean Duff photo

ProRodeo Sports News 7/23/2021

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