SUNDRE – A lot was new this year at the Sundre Pro Rodeo for the event’s milestone 45th edition, which will be remembered as a particularly muddy affair, following plenty of rain on Friday and Saturday.
The new VIP grandstand, along with a much-improved and modernized announcers’ booth was completed just in time, with just a couple of minor finishing touches to go, like some aluminum trim and a few sheets of plywood for the ceiling in the booth.
“It’s 99.9 per cent complete,” said Shane Crouch, president of the Sundre Rodeo and Race Association.
“We put the last piece of skin on at three o’clock the day before our rodeo started.”
Crouch praised Red Deer-based contractor Camdon Construction for pulling off the feat after completing the project in 42 days.
“They were working 17, 18 hours a day the last couple weeks, seven days a week,” he said.
“I have no words for that.”
The project also involved adding a concrete pad in the contestants’ area underneath the seating.
“I had contestants tell me that it is the nicest behind-the-chute facility that they’ve been in in all of Canada,” he said.
A new round of performances introduced on Thursday evening kicked everything off and delivered four action-packed days of adrenalin-pumping rodeo thrills and spills.
Despite the rain that steadily began coming down the following day and mired the arena in several inches of mud, Crouch said it was determined safe enough for the show to go on.
“In adverse conditions, you know, we just all come together and did the best we could,” he said, adding the more than 550 contestants who came out had no regrets.
“It was a huge challenge for us and the contestants to rodeo in that kind of weather, but our ground was safe,” he said, expressing pride in all the contestants, including the barrel racers who didn’t hold back.
“They gave it their all,” he said.
“The conditions were less than ideal, but I think we still put on a great show, and the fans – I believe – still enjoyed it immensely,” he said.
“I never heard any complaint from anybody.”
But the rain did have an impact on overall attendance for the rodeo, which in past years has reached estimates ranging in the ballpark of 10,000-plus. This time, Crouch estimated there were between 7,500 and 8,000.
“We had close to 2,000 people there Saturday, but we can hold 3,000,” he said.
Regardless, he was glad to see that many come out, despite the weather.
“All things considered, we had three-and-a-half, four inches of rain, and we still got huge support from the fans,” he said.
“I am extremely happy with the turnout.”
As well, Miss Rodeo Sundre Jesse Miller was crowned and there was also a new rodeo clown entertainer – Ash “Crash” Cooper – helping the announcers keep the crowd engaged with numerous doses of levity in between events.
And to boot, organizers also upped the ante this year by offering the highest-ever cash prizes in the rodeo’s history.
Of course, the rodeo wouldn’t be the same without traditional elements like vendors and food trucks, including the famous mini donuts, as well as the B.S. Bingo, a family-fun area with inflatable playgrounds for the kids, and the cabaret featuring live music, which had initially been planned as an outdoor affair at the arena but was ultimately relocated over to the Sundre Arena, an effort facilitated by municipal staff.
“The team with the town were phenomenal,” said Crouch.
Although the annual pancake breakfast on Saturday morning at Freson Bros. ended up being cancelled, the wet weather didn’t rain on the community parade. Some entries withdrew, including the marching concert bands, but the procession nevertheless went on to make its way along an alternate route down James River Road – also Centre Street North – and throughout Sundre's northeast residential subdivision, due to the heavy construction on the traditional trek along the Highway 27-Main Avenue corridor.
Crouch added the rodeo wouldn’t be possible without sponsorship support and expressed gratitude for the amount contributed.
“We broke our sponsorship dollars record this year,” he said.
Any rodeo fans who missed the action will still get another chance during the upcoming Sundre Bulls and Wagons on Aug. 22-24.
Unofficial results of Sundre Pro Rodeo 2025 as per Canadian Pro Rodeo Association
Bareback riding
1. Ty Taypotat, 86.5 points on Calgary Stampede’s B-65 Born Fearless, $3158.93
2. Ethan Mazurenko, 86, $2594.83
3. Kody Lamb, 84.5, $2030.74
4. Richmond Champion, 84, $1466.64
5. Samuel Petersen, 83.5, $902.55
6. (tie) Chett Deitz and Dantan Bertsch, 83, $451.28 each
8. Orin Larsen, 82.5, $225.64
Steer wrestling
1. Dalton Massey, 4.5 seconds, $4391.08;
2. (tie) Clay Guthrie and Quentin Branden, 4.6, $3781.21 each
4. Landon Beardsworth, 5.0, $3049.36
5. Tim Kemp, 5.1, $2561.46
6. Mike Mcginn, 5.2, $2073.56
7. Chase Tkach, 5.5, $1585.67
8. Newt Novich, 5.6, $1341.72
9. Jonny Webb, 5.7, $1097.77
10. Straws Milan, 5.8, $731.85
Team roping
1. Tee McLeod/Chase Tryan, 4.5 seconds, $3925.78 each
2. (tie) Cash Duty/Trae Smith and Kolton Schmidt/Sid Sporer, 5.1, $3380.54
4. Garrett Brownlee/Riley Roy, 5.7, $2726.24
5. Brett Buss/Joey Romo II, 5.8, $2290.04
6. Levi Simpson/Kasper Roy, 6.1, $1853.84
7. Kolton Johnson/Carson Johnson, 6.2, $1417.64
8. Brody Groves/Cody Tew, 8.3, $1199.54
9. Grady Branden/Sloan Smith, 10.3, $981.44
10. Jesse Popescul/Rylan Brost, 10.4, $654.30
Saddle bronc
1. (tie) Dawson Hay, 85.5 points on Calgary Stampede’s E-81 Easy Margie and Dylan Young, 85.5 points on Northcott-Yule Rodeo’s 905 Black Elvis, $2728.75 each
3. (tie) Zeke Thurston and Quinten Taylor, 85, $1840.33
5. (tie) Ross Griffin and Kolby Wanchuk, 84.5, $888.43
7. Blain Pengelly, 84, $634.59
8. K’s Thomson, 83.5, $507.68
9. (tie) Leon Fountain and Kole Ashbacher, 82.5, $317.30
Tie-down roping
1. Beau Cooper, 8.0 seconds, $3934.24
2. Bo Pickett, 8.5, $3606.39
3. Austin Hines, 8.6, $3169.25
4. Clayton Smith, 8.9, $2732.11
5. Cooper Resch, 9.3, $2294.97
6. Joel Evans, 9.8, $1857.83
7. Jason Smith, 9.9, $1420.70
8. Stacy Cornet, 10.0, $1202.13
9. (tie) Murray Pole and Aaron Miller, 10.2, $819.64
Barrel racing
1. Madison Wilkerson, 17.61 seconds, $6683.78
2. Suzanne DePaoli, 17.63, $5347.02
3. Caitlin McArthur, 17.66, $4344.45
4. Kyla Simmons, 17.70, $3341.89
5. Dona Kay Rule, 17.73, $2673.51
6. Presley Hipkins, 17.75, $2005.13
7. Lynette Broadway, 17.79, $1670.94
8. Jennifer Neudorf, 17.81, $1503.85
9. Kirby Penttila, 17.82, $1336.76
10. (tie) Justine Elliott and Kirsty White, 17.86, $1086.12 each
12. Jill Parsonage, 17.88, $835.47
13. Lisa Zachoda, 17.90, $668.38
14. (tie) Brooke Wills and Jayden Wilson, 17.92, $417.73 each
Bull riding
1. Grady Young, 87 points on Calgary Stampede’s V9 Monday Merle, $3091.15
2. Dixon Tattrie, 86.5, $2447.18
3. Dakota Buttar, 86, $2060.78
4. (tie) Lonnie West, Kyle Brown and Tanner Skene, 84.5, $1159.19 each
7. (tie) Cody Fraser and Tyler Taylor, 84, $579.59
9. Auzyn Corr, 83.5, $386.40
10. (tie) William Barrows and Cody Coverchuk, 82, $128.80
Breakaway roping
1. Caitlyn Dahm, 1.9 seconds, $3794.65
2. Kylie Whiteside, 2.0, $3478.43
3. Brooke Belanger, 2.1, $3056.80
4. (tie) Reata Schlosser and Payton Smith, 2.2, $2424.36 each
6. (tie) Jessie Pearson and Kendal Pierson, 2.3, $1581.10
8. (tie) Ashley Gunsch, Isabella King and Taiga Thorsteinsson, 2.4, $913.53
Novice bareback
1. Jace Lomheim, 76.5 points, $743.19
2. Quaide Skjonsberg, 74.5, $615.06
3. Clay Greenslade, 72.5, $486.92
4. Ty Ferguson, 72, $358.78
5. Rhett Tattrie, 67, $230.65
6. Colton Stark, 64.5, $128.14
Novice saddle bronc
1. Clay Greenslade, 73 points, $878.22
2. Brody Hale, 69.5, $726.80
3. Cooper McNiven, 67, $575.38
4. Quinn Tallmadge, 66, $423.97
5. Jordan Cust, 64, $272.55
6. Cohen Larson, 62, $151.42
Junior steer riding
1. Ethan McPhee, 74 points, $1035.75
2. Ryder Topolinski, 73.5, $857.17
3. Tanner Loring, 72.5, $678.59
4. Cecil Baynton, 71.5, $500.02
5. (tie) Taros Thomson and Gunner Armstrong, 70.5, $250.01 each
