5 Highlights Of Epic Week At Canadian Finals Rodeo

5 Highlights Of Epic Week At Canadian Finals Rodeo

The Canadian Finals Rodeo wrapped up in Edmonton with amazing performances from Taylor Manning, Layton Green, and others.

Nov 14, 2017 by Hunter Sharpless
5 Highlights Of Epic Week At Canadian Finals Rodeo

By Lincoln Shryack

The biggest rodeo event north of the border — Canadian Finals Rodeo — concluded on Sunday in Edmonton, as several of the world’s best cowboys and cowgirls competed for big prize money and gold buckles at the Canadian Professional Rodeo season finale.

Upsets, dominating wins, nail-biters, and a whole lot of flying dirt made CFR44 a thrilling extravaganza to behold.

Below, we break down the top five highlights from an epic weekend in Edmonton:



1. Taylor Manning, 13, wins two straight rounds in ladies barrel racing.

Manning may not have won the season title or even the average in Edmonton, but the youngster stole the show in the ladies barrel racing over the weekend. The 8th grade rodeo star competed as the second-youngest CFR qualifier in event history — and the youngest in 30 years — as she displayed her incredible talent by winning rounds three and four in 14.432 and 14.643 seconds, respectively. The Canadian rider pocketed nearly $28,000 at CFR and completed her 2017 season by finishing third in the standings with $49,051.05

The Alberta cowgirl started riding when she was just 4 years old. Rodeo is the family business: her father, Jay, won the 1996 Canadian Finals Rodeo bull riding title.

2. Layton Green breaks saddle bronc earnings record.

No cowboy won more money in the Canadian Pro Rodeo this season than Layton Green, and no other saddle bronc athlete has ever earned more than the Alberta rider did in 2017. With his $107,363 season total, the 23-year-old surpassed Rod Hay’s previous event record while winning his first CFR title, beating defending world champion Zeke Thurston in the process. What a year it’s been for Green, who has also qualified for his first ever National Finals Rodeo.

3. Ladies barrel racing title goes down to the wire.

A miniscule $183 separated barrel racing CFR champion Carman Pozzobon and runner-up Jamie Hinton, but both women came away with hardware on Sunday in Edmonton. The British Columbia cowgirl, Pozzobon, won her first Canadian title after entering with the season lead. Hinton came up just short on an incredible come-from-behind championship win — she entered Canadian Finals rodeo ninth in the standings — but her stunning rally still netted her the event’s average title.



4. Garrett Smith wins first CFR bull riding championship.

The 22-year-old Idahoan Garrett Smith has had spectacular 2017, and the trend continued in Edmonton as the fourth-year pro won the CFR bull riding title. Smith rode four of his six bulls in the event to easily maintain his stranglehold on the season earnings lead. The cowboy entered with over $10,000 more than any other bull rider, so his runner-up finish in the average was plenty enough to wear the gold buckle.

5. Canadian heeler Jeremy Buhler wins first CFR title.

He was already a team roping world champion, but 29-year-old British Columbia cowboy Jeremy Buhler hadn’t won a CFR title entering 2017. That changed on Sunday, as Buhler and partner Levi Simpson took control of the title chase for good with back-to-back 4.1 second wins in rounds four and five.

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