A pair of Stampede Rodeo rookies is racing to the Greatest Outdoor Show on Earth.
Millarville area barrel racers Toni Dixon and Jenna O’Reilly will make their debut at the Calgary Stampede Rodeo when Pool A kicks off the competition on July 9.
“It means everything,” said Dixon. “It’s probably the biggest thrill of my life and I’ve wanted to compete at the Stampede forever and it’s a dream come true.”
Out of the disruption and chaos and COVID and what’s going on with the world, things were different this year from normal qualifications for the Calgary Stampede, Dixon explained.
An exhaustive process played out with the first Calgary Stampede Ladies Barrel Racing qualifier in Innisfail last week.
Using a three-run average time to determine the qualifiers, the field was whittled down from 132 in the first round, 92 in the semifinals and 25 into the finals with the top six finishers booking their ticket to the Stampede.
“I was ninth in the first round, I won the semifinals and then I won the average so I won it all,” Dixon said. “It’s an unbelievable opportunity for all Canadian barrel racers to have had that.
“I’ve got a great horse and I just tried my best and it worked out for me. He liked the ground and liked everything. It was tough competition, the times were extremely close to each other.”
Navigating the cloverleaf pattern with Dixon is Fabulous Zone, a 12-year-old Palomino Quarter Horse Gelding and her riding partner since 2019.
“We have a pretty good connection,” she said. “He’s a cool horse.”
In the condensed lead up to the rodeo, Dixon is focusing on keeping fitness levels up and preparing every detail for competition.
“It’s fantastic after last year with no pro rodeos in Canada,” she said. “There were the odd bigger jackpot (events) which was great to go to, but the rodeos in Canada start up the first weekend of Stampede.
“It’s been a bit of a different year, but it’s been different for all of us. We’re all in the same boat.”
Dixon is competing in Pool A from July 9-12 with O'Reilly in the Pool B group getting underway on July 13. The top four out of each pool move onto the championship round with the remaining competitors getting a second shot on Wildcard Saturday.
“This is the first time I’ve been invited and I’ve always wanted to run there,” said O’Reilly, a Holy Trinity Academy alumnae. “My family has competed there in various events, I remember being little and running over to watch the barrel racing so it’s pretty cool.
“It’s really nice this year that they’re inviting more Canadians.”
O’Reilly’s Stampede roots run deep with both her parents and sister Jesse O’Brien having competed in the cutting and cow horse events along with participation in team penning and the side-saddle races.
As O’Reilly takes her turn at the Stampede she’ll be riding with a new partner.
After receiving word in mid-June the rodeo invitation was imminent, O’Reilly scrambled to find a horse with her partner sidelined from competition for the better part of two years.
“I’ve been barrel racing my younger horses, but I haven’t been competing at rodeos,” she said. “I called a friend of mine (Lakota Bird), she’s been rodeoing in the States pretty hard, I used to travel with her, she’s a good friend of mine and I asked her if I do get the invite could I use your horse Scooter?”
With only a couple weeks to get prepared, Scooter and O’Reilly have quickly formed a connection.
“We got him shipped up here and I’ve just been running him a little bit just trying to get my timing with him,” she said. “He’s a super nice horse, but it was a little bit of a challenge just because I couldn’t keep my own horse.
“I’ve jockeyed horses in the past and it’s actually pretty fun, I enjoy it. But this horse in particular, he’s a nice horse, he’s a gentleman and just takes care of me so it’s been really good. I’ve tried some different things, but he’s always worked well and already won me some money.
“I don’t want to say it’s been easy, but it definitely could have been harder.”
In the bull riding event, Foothills Composite graduate Jordan Hansen will battle it out for the championship buckle. Hansen, who now calls Amisk home, is the 2016 Canadian champion and no stranger to the infield at the Stampede Grounds.
The 2021 Calgary Stampede Rodeo will feature a number of title winners including Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association (PRCA) world champions in steer wrestler Luke Branquinho and tie-down roper Shad Mayfield, saddle bronc superstar Zeke Thurston out of Big Valley along with bull riding stalwarts Zane Lambert and Dakota Buttar, to name a few.
A cool $250,000 dollars in prize money is on the table for the winners of each event.
For more information go to calgarystampede.com/stampede/rodeo/
