“It Was a Good Day for the Canadians.” Canadian Riders Leave America in the Dust in “The Greatest Show on Earth”

The phrase ‘when it rains, it pours’ holds the most relevance in the world of sports. Often, one team or individual makes cleans out all the prizes an event has to offer. A similar outcome played out at the finals of Calgary Stampede Rodeo, 2023. The rodeo event, held in Calgary, Canada, saw the home team riders bring the trophies home.

The Maple Leaf riders triumphed over participants from powerhouse America. The riders from the US put up a good show, but this day and event belonged to the Canadians. 

The Winning Run of Canadian Rodeos

The Canadian riders enjoyed a remarkable winning run on the tenth and final day of the competition. They emerged victorious in four out of six categories of rodeo sports held at the event. The winners carried a beautiful bronze trophy and a cheque of $50,000 home. Tie-down roper Beau Cooper, saddle-bronc rider Dawson Hay, steer wrestler Scott Guenthner and bull rider Jared Parsonage were the winning rodeos who represented Canada. 

Bull rider Jared Parsonage also shared a few words after his team’s victory, according to the Calgary Sun. “It was a good day for the Canadians. We’ve got some really special rodeo athletes up here in Canada and we dang sure showed them today,” said Parsonage. With this victory, Parsonage has become the fourth consecutive Canadian to win the bull riding contest at Calgary. This was his third time competing for the title, and his hard work paid off. Patronage was the only finalist to maintain his balance on the back of his bull for the 8-second time limit.

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Interestingly, Beau Cooper beat his own teammate to clinch the first prize for tie-down roping. He finished tying down his bull in just seven seconds! “There’s a reason you have bad days, so when you feel things like this, it lives with you forever. I’ll never forget this moment and everything that’s went into it,” said Cooper.

Continuing the Family Rodeo Tradition

The winner of the saddle-bronc riding category, Dawson Hay’s brother Logan had won the title in Calgary last year. In fact, he finished in second position after his brother back in 2022. “It’s kind of a staple of our family. Some of the biggest moments in my family’s career have been here at Calgary,” said Hay. Notably, his father, Rod Hay, had won saddle-bronc riding four titles between 1994 and 2005, while his uncle was the winner in 1998. 

Scott Guenthner, the winner of the steel wrestling event, also has a familial history with the rodeo event in Calgary. His father, Ken, was the steel wrestling rodeo champion back in 1982. Guenthner stated that he finds it very cool that he will be going down in the history books alongside his father. Guenthner registered the fastest time in all ten days that the competition lasted by finishing in just 3.2 seconds.

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