A Black Diamond cowboy was disappointed his performance didn’t match the spectacle of the 100th anniversary of the Calgary Stampede.
“It was my worst Stampede ever, but it’s a great experience to be able to ride in front of that many people with the best in the world for that much money,” said bull rider Tyler Thomson. “It was cool to be a part of the 100th Stampede especially since my family was involved with the early ones.”
The Thomson family has been involved with the Greatest Outdoor Show On Earth since the 1930s and continues to be. Tyler’s cousin Kyle Thomson out of Lundbreck, Alta. is a regular on the saddle bronc circuit at the Stampede rodeo, finishing out of the money in 2012.
For a fleeting moment it appeared Thomson was in for a memorable Wild Card Saturday at the 100th incarnation of the Stampede.
The 31-year-old drew one of the loudest cheers from the packed grandstand after what seemed to be a clean run on the heels of a bevy of cowboys being bucked off.
An official ruling quieted the applause as Thomson was penalized for his free hand making contact with the back of the bull.
“The first round that bull just kind of brought me down and I used two hands,” Thomson said. “I knew they were going to call me for it, it wasn’t a surprise and it was the right call.”
Thomson was awarded a re-ride and after a significant delay with an unruly bull was allowed to switch bulls and finally got his opportunity aboard Speed Jam.
“Same thing as getting on the first one you just kind of forget about what happened and get on the next one,” said Thomson on his mindset for the re-ride.
The delayed re-ride is something that might throw other guys off, but when you make it to the Calgary Stampede it’s because you’re one of the best, he said.
“You should be able to handle that adversity and the other things going on,” Thomson said. “Let it run off the back and do the best you can.”
When the Black Diamond cowboy boarded Speed Jam it was a short ride.
“It didn’t go very well,” he said. “I had seen that bull one time, but it wasn’t until after I had got on him that I realized I had.
“I would have changed a few things getting on him where I set my rope and just the way that I left the chute just because he got me forward right away.”
The defending PBR Canadian champion would finish out of the money to cap off what was certainly a trying week.
Thomson was bucked off on two of the first four days of competition. It took a turn for the frightening on July 9 during which Thomson was stomped on by bull Scuba Steve and taken to the hospital to check for internal bleeding.
“I wasn’t going to argue with them when they took me away in the ambulance,” Thomson said. “It was a little scary.”
The bull rider was diagnosed with separated ribs to go along with a bruised spleen and kidney, but Thomson insisted the injuries didn’t affect the performance.
“I knew it was going to be sore when I got on and off, but I didn’t notice during the ride,” he said.
Thomson’s trials in Calgary came just minutes after Okotoks barrel racers Lauren Byrne and Deb Renger narrowly missed a top-two spot and berth to the Stampede finals through Wild Card Saturday.
Byrne posted her best time in five days on July 14, riding Macho to a brisk run of 17.74. The Okotokian finished just .23 seconds off the pace set by second place finisher Sue Smith.
“It was my fastest time, but it was definitely not my nicest run of the week,” Byrne said. “I haven’t had a chance to watch it yet and haven’t decided to blame him or me yet, but he wasn’t able to come off (the first barrel) as straight as I would have hoped.
“I just felt like he didn’t really finish any of his turns… I thought he clocked pretty good for the run we had so I was happy with that aspect of it.”
First out of the gate, Utah’s Jody Sheffield paced the ladies with a 17.35 run.
“What’s going through my mind is that’s one spot taken up right now right off the hop,” Byrne said. “It’s funny, I was the first girl out last year in the Wild Card round and I won the round as well.”
Byrne took a glass half full approach when reflecting upon her third year at the Stampede rodeo.
“I had a wonderful time, the weather was beautiful it was just a welcome surprise,” Byrne said. “I think I ended up with around $10,000 over the course of the week so anytime they call you a loser and pay you $10,000 in the same breath I’ll take it.”
Byrne was a late replacement for Pool A of the Stampede when Jill Moody from South Dakota was unable to attend.
Meanwhile, 2004 Stampede champion Renger tied her best mark at the 2012 Stampede Rodeo with a run of 18.05 on Wild Card Saturday. Renger finished sixth overall, one spot behind Byrne.
Claresholm’s Chad Besplug won the bull riding title, the lone Canadian to finish first in the Stampede Rodeo. Wade Sundell took home first in saddle bronc, Kaycee Feild took the bareback, Trevor Knowles won the steer wrestling competition, Cory Solomon was tops in the calf roping and Sue Smith finished first among barrel racers.
All the division champions took home $100,000 in winnings.
