ProRodeo Sports News - July 28, 2023

CALGARY STAMPEDE CALGARY, ALBERTA

Covy Moore/Calgary Stampede photo

Bareback rider Kade Sonnier snared the Calgary Stampede title with a 92-point ride on C5 Rodeo’s Virgil on July 16.

Kade Sonnier has memorable debut

Kade Sonnier’s first Calgary Stampede had a storybook ending, complete with a bronze and a check for $50,000, and a little drama along the way. On Championship Sunday, in a semifinals where an 86 in bareback riding wouldn’t give you a sniff at the final four making the Showdown round, Sonnier’s first horse fell down. But he made the most of a re-ride, to be the high man, with an 88.5-point trip on Calgary Stampede’s Born Fearless. New this year to Calgary was the opportunity for the final four to select their Showdown horse, and with his first pick, Sonnier didn’t hesitate in choosing the big grey C5 Rodeo’s Virgil. “When that horse is in the list, it’s kind of hard to pass up,” Sonnier said. “He’s a multiple-time world champion — one of the greatest of all time. You can’t pass that opportunity up, and let it slip through the cracks.” It was the same horse he’d danced with just a few weeks before at the Ponoka Stampede.

“I was 89 and a quarter there, and I knew I needed to be more today,” Sonnier said. “And being on him, you know, you kind of know what he’s going to throw at you. But today was a different trip than he had in Ponoka. With great horses like that, they’re always going to do something a little bit different and always be on their ‘A’ game and try to have a little bit of an edge on you. And I just kept my chin down, set my feet hard, lifted on my rigging, and did the basics — and it worked out.” “He was a little bit stronger today. I think he likes Calgary.” Sonnier racked up 92 points, to better the 90-point mark from Tim O’Connell on Calgary Stampede’s Yippee Kibitz. As a second-generation pro cowboy, the win was big for the whole family. “My dad wasn’t ever able to come here because of his history. And he had some injuries the year he did qualify. I wish he was here with me. It’s for sure humbling to be able to have the opportunity to be here, much less win it. “I have no words. I have tears in my eyes, and joy in my heart, and that’s about it.”

ProRodeo Sports News 7/28//2023

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