As one of Canada's top five highest-paying rodeos and top 50 in the world, the Strathmore Stampede in Strathmore, Alberta, plays host to some of the best rodeo competitors both north and south of the border. The draw is posted, and we’re previewing some of the best matchups in the roughstock, and competitors that are on a roll in the timed events leading up to one of the most crucial Canadian rodeos to hit big at in August. 

Watch the Strathmore Stampede LIVE on FloRodeo August 3 to 6, 2018.

Finning Pro Tour Stop: No. 7

Committee Purse: $140,000 (7 Major Events)

Format: The Strathmore Stampede is a straight one-head rodeo.

Bareback Riding: Reigning Canadian Champion On Iconic Canadian Horse

Key Athletes: Seth Hardwick, Richmond Champion, Orin Larsen

Analysis: Fresh off an 86.5-point ride that earned Seth Hardwick a second/third/fourth-place split at the Medicine Hat Exhibition and Stampede, the reigning Canadian champion bareback rider has drawn a Canadian icon of a horse at Strathmore. Hardwick will ride the great Calgary Stampede horse S-83 Special Delivery in the second performance on Saturday, and it should be a great one to watch.

Another matchup that falls into the same category is between Richmond Champion – the No. 1 cowboy in Canada and No. 8 in the world – and Vold Rodeo’s 73 True Grit. Manitoba’s Orin Larsen will also have a great matchup with Calgary Stampede’s T-29 Trail Dust. 

All three of these horses score over 21 points on average and should help their riders to high scores and big paydays.  

Steer Wrestling: Weisgerber On A Winning Streak, Dollery And Chambers Close Behind

Key Athletes: Craig Weisgerber, Kody Dollery, Bridger Chambers

Analysis: We mentioned the name Craig Weisgerber as one to watch two weeks ago when he was getting ready to head to the Manitoba Stampede and Exhibition in Morris, and he hasn’t made a fool out of us yet. Weisgerber won Morris with a time of 3.8, then came back this past weekend and won the Bruce Stampede with a time of 3.6.

Those wins added $3,766.58 to his Canadian Standings total (unofficially) and – because there were a lot of competitors within the top 12 that placed over the last weekend – we’ll wait to see where that puts him in the standings. What we do know is Weisgerber has been on a roll and may be putting himself in a position to make it to his second CFR – the first time he’ll be back since 2011.

Two names from South of the border that haven’t been well-known in Canada in the past are Bridger Chambers and Kody Dollery, but this year they have been spending a good share of their time North of the border and have been collecting checks at many of the events. At No. 7 and 8 in the Canadian Standings before the Medicine Hat/Bruce/Bonnyville weekend update (where the pair collected checks to add to those standings) they are ones to watch out for at Strathmore.

See the run that Dollery won the Medicine Hat Exhibition and Stampede with:

Weisgerber and Dollery will compete in the third performance on Sunday, while Chambers is set to compete the next day in the final performance. 

Saddle Bronc Riding: Young Hay Has A Strong Draw At Strathmore

Key Athletes: Dawson Hay, Dustin Flundra, Taos Muncy, Clay Elliott, Justin Berg

Analysis: We’ve said it before and we have no problem saying it again: Watch out for young Dawson Hay. 

The song of the eight-time Canadian champion saddle bronc rider has been carving his own name into the results this year and making even the most veteran rodeo fans turn their heads. He’ll have his hands full, but if he can ride Calgary Stampede’s U-38 Urgent Delivery (a horse that has scored an average of over 22 points on every ride so far this year), it will be one to watch. 

The contestant draw and the stock list at Strathmore is full of familiar names, and a few more to keep an eye on will be:

Dustin Flundra – Calgary Stampede’s W-34 Wanaka Rocket

Taos Muncy – Calgary Stampede’s T-38 Timely Delivery

Clay Elliott – Outlaw Buckers 508 Lunatic Party

Justin Berg – Calgary Stampede’s X-12 Xhile Hills

Tie-Down Roping: Canadian Tie-Down Ropers On A Roll Heading Into Strathmore, Brazile Headed North Again

Key Athletes: Lee Rombough, Kyle Lucas, Trevor Brazile, Rhen Richard, and Cory Solomon

Analysis: Two Canadian tie-down ropers that have been on a roll lately are Lee Rombough and Kyle Lucas who sit at the No. 4 and 5 positions in the Canadian Standings, respectively, before the Medicine Hat weekend has been added. Just in the last two weekends, Rombough has earned $8,783.60 unofficially with checks from K-Days, Bruce, and Medicine Hat and has more than doubled his earnings in the last two weekends.

Lucas earned two solid checks at Morris and Medicine Hat for a total of $3710.19 over the last two weekends and has steadily picking away like that all season long. Rombough’s total earnings will become $14,581.15, while Lucas should stay right behind Rombough with a total of $14,423.68 (unofficially).

Looking at the draw, Rombough ropes in the first performance, while Lucas ropes in the third.

It’s also hard to ignore the three American ropers occupying the top spots in the Canadian tie-down roping standings. Trevor Brazile tops the standings with $29,441.77 in earnings thanks to big paydays at both the Ponoka Stampede and K-Days, while Rhen Richard and Cory Solomon sit in the second and third spots with $18,613.19 and $15,757.97 in earnings. 

The bulk of Richard's earnings come from the Finning Pro Stop in Edmonton last weekend for the K-Days Rodeo. This 7.3-second run gave Richard a split of the win with Brazile and nearly $10,000 a man.

Brazile and Solomon compete in the final performance on Monday, Richard will compete in the slack on Friday. 

Team Roping: Kidd/Anderson Could Be Roping Their Way Out Of A Slump, Johnson/Woosley and Hall/Tryan Consistent Winners

Key Athletes: Cory Kidd/Caleb Anderson, Denver Johnson/Tristen Woolsey, Brenten Hall/Chase Tryan

Analysis: Cory Kidd was the first to admit that he hadn’t been performing to his best ability for this last little while, but they turned that around at the highest-paying CPRA rodeo of last weekend and should have confidence back as they head into Strathmore. The pair earned the No. 1 spot at the Medicine Hat Exhibition and Stampede and $1,996.56 each to go to their Canadian Standings. 

“There’s no secret – you gotta catch one,” said Kidd after his run at Medicine Hat. We’ll see if his against-the-grain mental game plan works when they compete at Strathmore on Sunday. 

Two other teams that have continued to not only be consistent this season – but to win consistently – are the teams of Denver Johnson and Tristen Woolsey, and Brenten Hall and Chase Tryan. In an unusual move, Johnson missed at K-Days, but they were able to hold their No. 1 position in the Canadian Standings and then bounce back to win Bonnyville last weekend for another $1,124.24 each.

Hall and Tryan have been relentless all season and have not only put themselves in a good position for the Canadian Finals Rodeo in October, but also the Wrangler National Finals Rodeo in December. Hall sits in the No. 20 spot in the World Standings, just over $2,000 from the 15th spot, and Tryan – who has a few more dollars won than Hall – sits in the No. 10 spot in the heeling standings and could be on his way to his second WNFR. 

Barrel Racing: Manning/Pozzobon Battled At Medicine Hat And It’s Time To Look At Bertina Olafson

Key Athletes: Carman Pozzobon, Taylor Manning, Bertina Olafson

Analysis: Carman Pozzobon added another $2,500 to her already over $30,000 in earnings by winning second at the Medicine Hat Exhibition and Stampede last weekend. Who did she win second to? A worthy, little rival. 

Pozzobon came out and made a 17.469-second run to go to No. 1 during the Friday night performance at Medicine Hat, but a few short runs later the 14-year-old phenom by the name of Taylor Manning squeezed ahead of Pozzobon and would ultimately win the rodeo with her 17.467-second run.

Looking ahead to Strathmore, both barrel racers have drawn the top of the ground with Manning getting to run first on Saturday, and Pozzobon out first on Monday. 

Before the 2018 season, the pro rodeo world in Canada hadn’t heard about a Hudson Bay, Saskatchewan cowgirl named Bertina Olafson, but if she continues to do what she has been doing all season she can bet they’ll remember her name as she rides into her first Canadian Finals Rodeo. The CPRA rookie has been picking up checks left and right and now sits in the No. 8 spot in the Canadian Standings with $13,353.40 earned so far – with a few more bucks to be added from Medicine Hat.

Olafson will compete in the first performance on Friday. 

Bull Riding: Scott Schiffner Competes As Hometown Cowboy One Last Time

Key Athletes: Scott Schiffner, Sage Kimzey, Brock Radford

Analysis: Isn’t it fitting that on the final day of the 2018 Strathmore Stampede–typically known to rodeo fans and contestants as the best day to compete–the crowds at Strathmore will have the chance to watch a Canadian legend compete in his hometown rodeo one last time. Scott Schiffner is getting a few of those “one more time's” this season, but you can bet this one will be extra special.

The cowboy that resides just outside of town has drawn Calgary Stampede’s -193 Compton Bound for his final hurrah at Strathmore and fans should be on the edge of their seats to watch this historic ride. Strathmore could have been one of the final rodeos he entered if things weren’t going well, but If Schiffner continues to do as he’s done the last two weekends, we should get to see a few more rides from him this season before he retires. 

If things go really well, he may even compete at one final CFR.

The other matchups to look out for at Strathmore come from the No. 1 bull riders in Canada and the World. Sage Kimzey, who has over $200,000 in the World Standings, will ride Vold Rodeo’s 008 Heavens Basement during the Sunday performance, and Canada’s No. 1 Brock Radford has drawn Vold’s 413 B.A.M.F. and will ride Monday. 

Garrett Smith is also back at the CPRA rodeo for the first time since taking home the Canadian title in 2017. The Rexburg, Idaho cowboy was out for most of the winter after undergoing knee surgery and has only crossed the border to compete at Cloverdale and Calgary, until now. 

Smith has drawn Vold's V41 Twisted and will compete Monday.