ProRodeo Sports News - July 28, 2023

Parsonage claims bull riding honors Jared Parsonage has been knocking on the door of the Calgary Stampede bull riding championship for some time. But this year, it finally opened. “Third time’s a charm,” grinned Parsonage, who’s 30. The Saskatchewan bull rider had been third, then second, and finally came first, as he was the only bull rider to make the whistle in the July 16 Showdown Round. His pick of the pen was Wayne Vold Rodeo’s Wild Time, for good reason, and a great score – 89 points. “I rode him (at a non-sanctioned PRCA event this spring). He was better today, which I figured he would be at Calgary. When he was in there to pick, I knew that was the one I wanted,” Parsonage said. “I’m glad I got a chance at him, and I’m glad it worked out. “If you keep putting yourself in these positions, and keep riding your bulls, it will eventually work out.” As the only man to have ridden all his bulls at Calgary, Parsonage’s confidence had been building. “As you get older, sometimes you get a feeling things are going your way. Some days you can’t buy a break, and other days you can’t get a break,” he said. “It felt good during the week. I rode a couple bulls that had never really been ridden up here that nobody liked. I felt like if I could do my job, who knows what might happen?” Surrounded by family cheering him on, Parsonage became the fourth Canadian to mount the podium for the $50,000 check. “That’s pretty cool – a good day for Canadians. There’s a lot of really talented rodeo athletes up here, and we dang sure showed them today,” Parsonage said. “As a Canadian growing up in rodeo, there’s two things you want to win – that’s a Canadian title and the Calgary Stampede. I don’t think I’d have felt like my career was complete if I’d never won a Calgary Stampede title, so I’m pretty excited to get that one checked off the list.”

Covy Moore/Calgary Stampede photo Jared Parsonage had an 89-point ride on Wayne Vold Rodeo’s Wild Time to win the Calgary Stampede Showdown Round.

Guenthner snares coveted Stampede title

Putting family first has proven to be a winning rodeo strategy for steer wrestler Scott Guenthner. He capped off his Calgary Stampede with the fastest run of the week, turning over his steer in 3.2 seconds in the Showdown Round to make a childhood wish come true. Guenthner, from Provost, Alberta, was under four seconds on all his Calgary runs but one, emerging out of his Pool with $16,000 before he picked up the $50,000 check. “I knew I had a good steer, and I knew I needed to use him,” Guenthner said. “I was watching Beau Cooper rope, and Beau and I are good friends. To watch him win, I actually started crying. I’m like ‘Scott, you have to compete in ten minutes – you need to focus!’ “When they yelled, I was out (clean from the barrier), I knew I was out, but I didn’t even really know my time. I just stood up, and the crowd was going ballistic, so I assumed something was going good,” he grinned. Once again, Guenthner credits the three-time and reigning PRCA | AQHA Steer Wrestling Horse of the Year, Tyson. “He was dead on. It’s a dream come true to get to ride him,” he said. Steer wrestling is in his blood, as Guenthner’s father Ken, won the event in Calgary in 1982, the first year they went to the $50,000 bonus. “I was going through a (memories) box the other day and I was in Grade 3 or something and I wrote that my goals were to win Canada and the Calgary Stampede,” Guenthner said. “I’ve won Canada three times, so now it was like, ‘OK, Calgary, I have to do it sometime.’ So now to get to go in the books with my dad is kind of cool.”

Covy Moore/Calgary Stampede photo Steer wrestler Scott Guenthner stopped the clock in 3.2 sec onds to win the prestigious Calgary Stampede. His father Ken won the steer wrestling title in 1982.

ProRodeo Sports News 7/28/2023

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