Newly crowned Canadian champion bareback rider Richmond Champion gave a special message to his friend and fellow bareback rider J.R. Vezain during his interview. Vezain is currently recovering from a spinal injury he sustained near the end of the 2018 rodeo season.

Vezain — a former Canadian bareback champion himself — called in to wish his pals good luck during FloRodeo's pre-show before the championship Sunday performance. Learn more about Vezain's recovery, and his analysis of the bareback riding at CFR45 during his special guest segment:

It was a head-to-head race between Jake Vold and Champion when the final day of the CFR rolled around. Vold had won or split three go-rounds — including breaking a 15-year CFR record with his 90-point ride on C5 Rodeo's Virgil — but a buck off in round five meant he was out of the aggregate race.

On the other end of the spectrum, Champion was in the running in the aggregate but had only picked away in the rounds and needed all the cash he could to catch up. The Dublin, Texas, cowboy made this happen in round six though, splitting the round with an 88.25-point ride, placing second in the aggregate and taking home his first Canadian bareback riding title.