Rodeo round-up

Merritt Secondary School cowboy Riley Kynoch (above) competes in the steer wrestling competition at the B.C. High School Finals Rodeo in Williams Lake on the June 8-10 weekend. Kynoch finished second in the event, and has qualified to attend the National High School Finals Rodeo in Rock Springs, Wyoming from July 15 - 21.

Photo courtesy of Claudia Wieth/Lone Butte, B.C.

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• HIGH SCHOOL RODEO ACTION
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• 54th annual pro rodeo has its thrills and spills
• Merritt High School Rodeo Top-10 finishers
• Annual Ranch Hand event sets up exciting Pro Rodeo weekend

Five Merritt Secondary School cowboys and cowgirls competed at the 2012 B.C. High School Finals Rodeo in Williams Lake on the June 8-10 weekend. No fewer than three of them picked up top-two finishes, and qualified for  the National High School Finals Rodeo in Rock Springs, Wyoming during the third week of July.

Grade 12 student Riley Kynoch picked up a first and a second in three rounds of the boys’ steer wrestling event to finish second overall (207 points) behind Cole Churchill of Westwold (233 points).

Also placing second overall was grade 10 student Fallon Fosbery in ladies’ barrel racing with 218 points, 17 points back of winner Vanessa Leggett from Kamloops.

The final second-place finish by an MSS competitor came in the ladies’ pole bending, as Amy Pozzobon, a grade 11 student, accrued 194 points, just 8 points fewer than Leggett.

Seventeen-year-old Kynoch will be attending the NHSFR in Wyoming this year, however Fosbery and Pozzobon have decided to forego the event. They do have one and two years of high school rodeo eligibility remaining respectively.

Other MSS results from Williams Lake are:

Pozzobon: Barrel Racing (6th), Breakaway (7th), All-Around

(7th)

Fosbery: Goat Tying (11th), Breakaway (12th)

Madison Stoltzfus: Cutting

(7th), Goat Tying (13th), Breakaway (17th)

Haley Cooper: Pole Bending (15th)

Turning to professional rodeo action, Merritt’s Ty Pozzobon continues to maintain a torrid schedule that sees him competing all over North America.

The 20-year-old bull rider is currently in 17th place on the Built Ford Tough Series, the premiere bull riding circuit in the world, with 2012 earnings in excess of $55,000. The BFTS resumes the second week of August in Tulsa, Oklahoma.

In the meantime, Pozzobon has been busy hitting stops on the Canadian Professional Rodeo Association (CPRA) and Professional Bull Riders (PBR) circuits. On May 31, he placed third at a CPRA event in Asquith, Saskatchewan, earning $1,989 for his troubles. This past weekend, an 85-point ride in Wainwright, Alberta was good for another $1,224.

Pozzobon continues his hectic schedule this week with rodeos in Ponoka and Airdrie, Alberta on Thursday, Sydney, Montana on Friday and in Williams Lake Sunday.

The following week sees Pozzobon in Calgary for the Ranchman’s Rodeo and the Calgary Stampede (July 10-13).