Saddle bronc rider glad to be home

An Oilfields High School grad had a nice homecoming at the Okotoks Pro Rodeo on the weekend.

Former Black Diamond area cowboy Kyle Thomson won the saddle bronc when he rode Wayne Vold’s Eclipse to score an 84.5 Sunday afternoon at the Murray Arena.

Thomson also teamed up with Lyle Hewitt of Cowley, AB to finish second in the team roping with a time of 5.7 seconds on Friday night.

“I’ve always found I do really well at this rodeo,” the 34-year-old Thomson said. “There are certain rodeos I seem to do well at. This is one of them.”

He knew this could be one trip to Okotoks that could eclipse all the others when he saw the horse he had drawn.

“This the third time I have been on him (Eclipse),” Thomson said. “I had a 79 on him in Ponoka a couple of years ago and an 87.5 in Wainwright this year and an 84.5 today. He is one of the best horses in Canada to get on.”

Thomson had his legs moving like pistons as he spurred Eclipse for the wildly-enthusiastic sold-out crowd at the Murray Arena. Thomson, who has called Lundbreck home for the past two years, had a flock of friends and family in the stands from Black Diamond where he was raised.

They nearly got to see him win two first place titles in Okotoks.

Thomson and Hewitt were sitting in first-place going into Sunday’s go round in team roping after looping their steer in a time of 5.7 seconds Friday night.

He was enjoying a well deserved cool one on Sunday afternoon when the second to the final team stepped in to the gate. That duo, Kyle Lucas and Clint Weston, roped the calf in a lightning fast 5.0 seconds.

“No, I don’t root against them,” Thomson said after watching Lucas/Weston’s winning time. “I knew there were a lot of good teams left and there’s nothing I can do about it.”

However, he did admit to saying “Rats” — or something similar — when he saw the first-place cheque slip away.

It was only the fourth rodeo Thomson and Hewitt have competed in together. Thomson is the heeler, while Hewitt is trying to rope the head.

Thomson finished out of the money in the steer wrestling.

He was sitting in sixth place in the Canadian Professional Rodeo Association standings in the saddle bronc going into Okotoks. The top 12 in the standings move on to the Canadian Finals Rodeo in Edmonton.

It’s a good thing Millarville’s Sam Kelts wasn’t relying on his performance in Okotoks to get to Edmonton. Kelts was fourth in the standings going into Okotoks, but the Millarville cowboy finished out of the money in Okotoks with a 73-point ride on Saturday night.

“The horse just wasn’t what I needed tonight,” Kelts said. “He was a little jolty and uneven and the horse just didn’t fit me.”

Kelts didn’t get to hang around Okotoks for long. He was driving to Ellensburg, Wash. for a performance Sunday. However, he did get to see family at the Okotoks rodeo. In fact, it was about one second after his ride. His dad, Canadian Rodeo Hall of Famer Jim Kelts, was one of the pick-up men at the rodeo.

Jim Kelts said he still gets a thrill every time he is in the arena with his son.

Sam also competed in the Wrangler Canadian Rodeo Tour final short-go in Armstrong, B.C. Sunday night. Results were too late for the Western Wheel’s deadline.

Sharing brothers

A pair of brothers shared bragging rights in the steer wrestling competition in Okotoks.

Straws and Baillie Milan from Cochrane split first-place money when they both pinned their steers in 3.8 second Sunday afternoon.

“I don’t think we have ever split first-place money before,” Baillie said. “There’s been a couple of times where we have both placed, but we have never shared first.”

Baillie was the first of the brothers to post the 3.8 on Sunday.

However, he wasn’t rooting against his brother when Straws got in the chute.

“Oh, for sure I root for him,” Baillie said with a chuckle. “We both need it. I think we need to split a few more first-place cheques to go up the standings.”

It wasn’t the first time Straws, who won the 2011 Calgary Stampede, has won in the Murray Arena.

He was a defenceman with the Cochrane Generals in the Heritage Junior B Hockey League in 2007 when they beat the Okotoks Bisons in the South Division final.

“We won the league that year,” Straws said. “I told the guys I have been to this arena lots, but never with this many people.

“We lost a lot more than we won here.”

He added the first-place finish on Sunday was the only time he has won money in Okotoks.

Local athletes may have had too much homecooking. Other than Thomson, there were no foothills cowboys or cowgirls who finished in the top four at the Okotoks Pro Rodeo.

To check out the CPRA standings, go to www.roderocanada.com