Big weekend for bulls at Canalta Centre

By SEAN ROONEY on June 21, 2019.

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srooney@medicinehatnews.com@MHNRooney

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The last time Medicine Hat had a stop on the Professional Bull Riders tour, Jared Parsonage was 12 years old.

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Now 26, the Maple Creek athlete will essentially have a home crowd cheering him on Saturday night at Thunderbuck in the Badlands at the Canalta Centre.

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“This weekend is a big weekend rodeo wise and bull riding wise,” said Parsonage Wednesday night after a day of branding. “Then we roll in to the Ranchman’s and the Calgary Stampede for the top guys. It’s the time of year when you’ve got to hopefully be at the top of your game, hopefully things go your way and fill your bank account really full.”

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Parsonage, ranked first in the PBR Canada standings and third in the Canadian Pro Rodeo Association, doesn’t think he was even at Cody Snyder’s Bullbustin in 2005 at the Medicine Hat Arena – but he’s certainly become a mainstay of the circuit since turning pro five years ago.

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“I would say in my career, how it’s gone, it’s been more consistency that’s gotten me success,” said Parsonage, who’s chalked up PBR tour wins in Halifax and Lethbridge in 2019. “Some big wins here and there have helped out – Lethbridge was a big win, Halifax was a big win – but it’s consistency that pays off in this sport. You’ve got to be good all the time if you want to win at the end of the year, you can’t be good half the time.”

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On massive bulls bred to be as dangerous as possible, staying on for eight seconds 40 per cent of the time is considered a great average. Parsonage gives his 6-foot-1, 170-pound frame some credit for staying above 50 per cent, but knowing the stock and being smart are skills that have evolved as well.

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“I think it’s the same as any sport, you learn how to take care of your job,” he said. “You learn how to win when the opportunity arises, how to take advantage of those opportunities.

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“Your first couple years you learn by doing those things, once you get a few years… you can get to the point where I am now in the middle of your career and know how to take advantage of opportunities.”

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So it goes that while he’s happy with where he’s at, Parsonage now wants the big awards to cement his legacy in the sport. He’s been to the Canadian Finals Rodeo every year since 2015, but has yet to win it. He knows he can.

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On Saturday, Parsonage is slated to ride a bull named Hanna Motors Full Throttle from Alberta’s Skori Bucking Bulls. He’s among 30 men entered, and only the top 10 scores will get a second ride in the final round.

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The mark of a PBR event is the pyrotechnics and showmanship that accompanies what is otherwise a single-event rodeo performance.

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Canalta Centre marketing manager Lorelle Halderman – whose Blazing Brand company is behind Saturday’s event, says from a special entry from Canadian military to an after-party at the Redcliff Hilton featuring the riders themselves, it should be a fun night.

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“The miserable weather that’s forecast is going to help us too,” said Halderman. “We’ll be nice and dry with all the excitement.

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“For anyone who isn’t familiar with PBR, it is way more than just the bull riding.”

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A pig roast at 5 p.m. kicks the night off. A planned outdoor trade show was cancelled due to the weather. The main event starts at 7:30 p.m.

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