NEWS PHOTO RYAN MCCRACKEN
Wildwood's Dawson Hay hangs on for a ride on Gone Country during the saddle bronc competition at the Medicine Hat Exhibition and Stampede rodeo on Saturday, July 27, 2019.
Dawson Hay put his grit on display Saturday at the Medicine Hat Exhibition and Stampede rodeo.
The 20-year-old Wildwood product was hurt in a scuffle with Gone Country inside the bucking chute prior to his saddle bronc ride. While it forced him to hop out to walk it off, he climbed back onto the horse a few minutes later and wowed the crowd with an 87-point ride for second place overall.
“The horse had come over backwards and hit my swells and my saddle in my pelvis area and kind of buggered me up a little bit, but I was able to get back in there,” he said. “I figured I better get out on it before it starts to hurt too bad. I didn’t know at first if I was alright or not, but luckily I was fortunate enough to be able to get back up and get on my feet.”
Hay put the perseverance of a cowboy on display, but his competitors showcased the camaraderie that defines the sport of rodeo by convening around Hay’s chute and helping re-prepare his horse for the ride.
“They had to re-pull my saddle and everything, get the horse stood up – just giving me a chance to go out and win,” he said. “We’re a brotherhood. We all want to see each other win as much as we all want ourselves to win. It’s unbelievable to have such a great group of guys.”
Hay underwent knee surgery in the off-season, but thankfully the incident in the chute didn’t seem to cause any further damage. While the operation kept Hay out of the saddle for three months, he sat third in the Finning Pro Tour standings entering the weekend.
“My season has been going really good,” he said. “I was able to get back on and get on some good horses, get everything gathered up again and get back into the standings.”
The Albertan added Medicine Hat’s crowd helped fire him up for his return, as he truly wanted to put on a show for the packed grandstand.
“They’re amazing. It’s one of the best crowds in all of Alberta,” he said. “It’s truly awesome to ride in front of such a great bunch of people.”
Cort Scheer took home top spot in the saddle bronc event thanks to an 87.5-point ride on Flaming Shadow, while Dusty Hausauer and Kolby Wanchuk split third with 85-point rides – all of which were recorded Saturday.
Orin Larsen’s 86.5-point ride from Thursday on After All was enough to win the bareback riding competition, while Kody Lamb took second with 86 points from Thursday and Dantan Bersch crept into third with an 85.5-point ride Saturday.
Brock Radford took home the bull riding crown with an 86-point ride atop Flick the Switch on championship Saturday, while Thor Hoefer and Nick Tetz shared second with a score of 85. Tetz completed his ride Friday.
Tanner Brunner held on to win the steer wrestling event with his 4.7-second time from Friday, while Ty Miller took second at 4.8 seconds – recorded Friday – and Matt Richardson settled for third with 4.9-second slack performance time. Cody Cassidy took Saturday’s best time with a 5.1-second run.
Shane Hanchey earned the top time in the tie-down roping event with a 7.6-second run Saturday, while Marty Yates held on for second with his Thursday time of 7.8 seconds and Ryan Jarrett took third after recording an 8.3-second time Thursday.
Logan and Keeley Bonnett held on to take the team roping event with their 4.9-second time from Friday, though Brady and Riley Minor went on to tie their time Friday. Garrett Rogers and Jacob Minor shared third with Tristan Woolsey and Denver Johnson at 5.1 seconds. Woolsey and Johnson performed their run Saturday as the afternoon’s top time.
Medicine Hat’s Trent Tunke was unable to record a time alongside partner Jesse Popescul Saturday, while Cypress County’s Braidy Davies completed earned a time of 20.2 seconds alongside Moose Jaw’s Brady Chappel.
Jennifer Sharp won the ladies barrel racing event following a 17.537-second run Friday, while Justine Elliot took second at 17.697 – also recorded Friday – and Stacey Ruzicka settled for third with a slack time of 17.915. Kylie Whiteside finished with Saturday’s top time at 18.001 seconds.
