A cowboy who does it all

By Ryan McCracken on July 29, 2017.

rmccracken@medicinehatnews.com @MHNMcCracken

For Josh Harden, eight seconds simply isn’t enough. That said, 19 seconds is a bit more than he had in mind for Friday night’s dual performance at the Medicine Hat Exhibition and Stampede rodeo.

The Big Valley product rode to a 68.5 in the saddle bronc event, but struggled with an 11.2-second time in steer wrestling. While he didn’t take the top spot in either performance, Harden is one of only a few cowboys competing in multiple events this weekend.

“I’ve been doing it ever since I started,” Harden said of competing in two events, adding he loves competing in Medicine Hat. “I don’t miss this one. It’s a good rodeo and a good community.”

On top of being a Jack-of-all-trades, Harden is also one of the easiest cowboys to spot in action with one of the biggest beards in the game. While he’s been growing it out for nearly two years, Harden says it hasn’t become a part of him yet.

“I’m not that guy, I’m just a guy with a beard,” he said with a laugh.

Despite being 34 years old, Harden says the physical side of rodeo has yet to catch up with him. And until it does, don’t expect to see him take an event off.

“They say as you get older you start feeling it more, but I’m feeling good,” said Harden who entered the weekend sitting 21st in the Canadian Professional Rodeo Association’s saddle bronc standings and 55th in steer wrestling. “It’s just an everyday thing.”

Unfortunately for Harden, the evening didn’t start as planned. A late hop in the steer wrestling event put him near the bottom of the leaderboard, then an underwhelming ride on Standing Tall left him well off behind the pace in the saddle bronc. But he’ll be back at it Saturday in Bonnyville.

“I was a little off the barrier and it’s a timed event, so you’ve got to be on the barrier and be fast,” Harden said of his steer wrestling time. “And you need to be fast to win.”

Joe Guze ended up taking the day money in the steer wrestling event with a time of 4.3 seconds, while Clay Elliott won the saddle bronc performance with an 86-point ride on Sugar N Spice.

Regina’s Ty Taypotat won the bareback performance with an 86-point ride on Illegal Smile and Brady Minor and Riley Minor took the team roping event in five seconds flat.

Idaho’s Garrett Smith won the bull riding event with an 86 on Black Sugar, Cranbrook’s Bobbie Goodwin took the ladies barrel racing victory with a time of 17.612 seconds and Randall Carlisle won the tie down roping performance in 8.9 seconds.

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