ProRodeo Sports News - November 17, 2023

SADDLE BRONC RIDING

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much rein, and make notes, whether you won, or what to do next time. His philosophy became potent in more than the riding skills, but also in the horse itself. He kept notes on everything, everything that could possibly pertain to riding a bucking horse. He helped a lot of people over the years.” The knowledge transfer is a Canadian rodeo tradition that is alive and well. Whenever novice bronc riding is on, you’ll find Thurston and his counterparts on the back of the chutes helping kids. “You want to help,” Thurston said. “You have a love for the game and the sport, and it’s your passion. You were there one time with big dreams and wanting to do the same. Those guys helped you out.” Thurston has no problem with the young guns being hot on his trail, trying to beat him. “It lights a fire under you and its fun to watch them,” chuckles Thurston. “They just really want to do it bad. “You look at Q Taylor. Clay Elliott and I have helped him lots since he was 14 years old. He almost made the NFR this year as a rookie. That’s pretty cool, and I promise you he will make it quite a few times in his career.” “Nobody is above helping the kids out – that’s a Canadian thing,” adds Hay. “I imagine it’s a bronc rider thing over all. Everybody’s trying to help.” When Hay looks at the depth of talent in Canada, he has no doubt their presence at the NFR in bronc riding will only grow. “I’d say in two years, we’ll have half,” he said. “You look at the kids that are coming up. If everybody’s healthy and going, we’ll definitely beat the 6. I will predict that. We will beat the 6 in the next 3-4 years. I’m quite confident of that.” “It’s just become a gene in Canada I think,” said Hyland, with a wink. “There’s no secret sauce to it at all,” Thurston said. “There’s nothing but hard work, a lot of dedication and try, to put out max effort every time and hopefully one day you’re going to get it. That’s how we went about it.”

But he also cites the impact of contemporaries like Mel and Lee Coleman. “What we’ve seen a lot with these young guys now is they’ve all come through the high school ranks, and they just pushed each other,” Ivan said. “It’s good competition. There was just a real group of them, and you could see them coming. They’re seasoned veterans now, and there’s more on the way.” Rod Hay chimes in, spotlighting the availability of rodeo schools, as another reason for the output of cowboys in the event. “That’s definitely a factor in how good our Canadian bronc riders are. It’s getting the right help and the right steps along the way, and not just going in blind and having to figure it out on your own,” Hay said. “There’s always been a passion for bronc riding, and we have so many champs around, and they are so willing to offer their time, and they love being around it. “It’s not like they’re doing it for the money, they’re doing it because they love the sport, and these kids get to benefit a lot from that. So that’s a bonus for Alberta and for Canada.” If you really want to see the ‘secret sauce’ being applied, you’d have to brave a few snowdrifts on a winter’s night and travel to an arena in small towns like Rimbey, Brooks, Ponoka, Olds or Vermilion. That’s where you’d get a glimpse of the honing of Canadian roughstock riders, who also benefit from an abundance of available quality bucking stock. As a youngster, three-time PRCA World Champion Thurston spent many a Friday night with neighboring families and their rodeo kids at the nearby Stettler arena. “There’s so much stock in Canada, really good bucking horses, and guys who want to get their horses bucked,” Thurston said. “So, it’s not a big deal for them to drive 3-4 hours and bring a load of horses. They knew they had pilots that would get on their colts, and they’d bring old horses, so everybody could get on an old one too. It just worked

really well, and we kept doing it all winter, every Friday or Saturday night, buck horses.” “That’s a pretty big luxury,” adds Hay, who brings his own horses and his own boys to such practice nights. “It helps them progress a lot, for sure.” And it’s a lot cheaper for the young competitors than paying entry fees and traveling to rodeos while they’re learning. Plus, they can be matched with horses for their riding level, in a safe environment, with lots of good help. “I think we just had really good teachers, teaching us the basics, and the fundamentals,” Thurston said. “They didn’t baby us along. They fed you the information you needed in order to give you the best start.” There’s another Canadian bronc riding connection to the stock equation. Hyland and Daines give credit to the late Winston Bruce, who helped launch the Calgary Stampede’s Born to Buck program, which really has impacted the consistent caliber of bucking stock across North America. “That was one thing I learned from Winston when I started in my career many years ago,” recalled Hyland. “Keep track of your horses. Know how

James Fain photo Saddle bronc rider Duane Daines, above, competes at the NFR. He qualified for the NFR nine times – 1983-85, 1987, 1989-93.

ProRodeo Sports News 11/17/2023

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