A Black Diamond steer wrestler missed the opportunity to defend his Calgary Stampede title by the blink on an eye.
Lee Graves, the 2010 Stampede champion, pinned his steer in 4.2 seconds in the opening round of Showdown Sunday at the Calgary Stampede July 17. He needed a time of 4.1 seconds to advance to the final four and a chance of $100,000 later that afternoon.
“Being one-tenth away is like horse shoes and hand grenades,” Graves said.
Graves said he broke a barrier on the same steer earlier in the week, he didn’t want to make the same mistake on Sunday.
“I should have gotten a better start on the barrier – I missed it,” Graves said. “I had the same steer at a rodeo yesterday and I broke the barrier. I was just trying to make sure things were right (at Showdown Sunday) and I was too slow. It cost me.”
Despite missing out on a chance to ride for $100,000 Graves won more than $12,000 at the Stampede.
“I don’t know exactly what I made, but it wasn’t a 100 grand.”
The steer-wrestling title was won by Straws Milan of Cochrane who had a 3.6 in the final go-round.
Just Shorty
Another former Calgary Stampede champion came up just short of advancing to the final four in the barrel racing at Showdown Sunday.
Deb Renger and her horse Shorty finished seventh in the first go-round of the Showdown in a time of 18.10 seconds. She needed to better 17.68 to advance to the final four.
“You definitely wanted to be at the top of the draw today,” said Renger who won the 2004 Calgary Stampede. “It rained overnight, so the top times were at the start when they first worked it (the ground). That’s when you have no prints and no ruts. ”
Although she missed out on the finals Renger said she was happy with how Shorty did in his first Stampede.
“He tried,” Renger said. “He’s a new horse so you don’t know how you are going to do. He came out and worked and won a lot of money.”
Renger won $17,500 at the Stampede.
Lauren Byrne of Okotoks might have missed a shot at $100,000 when she toppled a barrel in the first go-round of the Showdown, but she was just happy to be there.
“I am really excited – I have never made it to the final Sunday,” Byrne said. “It gives me a real confidence boost. I have been hitting a lot of barrels – and I hit one today – but it proves I can ride with the best in the world.”
Byrne turned in a time of 22.60 on Sunday when her horse Macho knocked over the second barrel for a five-second penalty.
“If I had the choice to run wider, I probably would have taken it,” Byrne said. “But that’s kind of how my horse turns, so you just go for it.”
She admitted it’s tough to be in front of 30,000 people and hit a barrel.
“Your heart sinks a little bit but you go on with it,” she said.
Byrne qualified for Showdown Sunday by winning Wildcard Saturday in a time of 17.47.
Sierra Stoney of DeWinton missed out on qualifying for Showdown Sunday as she finished sixth in Pool B (July 12-15) and was ninth on Wildcard Saturday.
Sydni Blanchard from New Mexico won the barrel racing championship in a time of 17.21 just edging Nanton’s Lindsay Sears, who came in second at 17.26.
