SEITZ CLAIMS TOP SPOT IN BARREL RACING AT THE HAT
April 20 , 2010
It was two wins in a row for B.C. barrel racer Joleen Seitz when the Broncs and Honky Tonks Indoor Pro Rodeo wrapped up in Medicine Hat, Alta. on April 18.
The 2004 barrel racing Rookie of the Year from Savona, B.C. earned a first place cheque of $1,956 for her 12.78-second run around the barrels during the slack performance at the three-day rodeo.
Last weekend, Seitz earned $1,029 with a first place time of 13.51 seconds in Lethbridge at the Dodge Extreme Pro Rodeo.
But Seitz isn’t taking much of the credit for the wins. She points to her eight-year-old barrel horse Judge, who is the younger of the horses she races and is still learning the rodeo ropes.
“He worked good at those two,” she said of the horse she’s had for just two and a half years.
“I (rode him) a little bit last year and I’ve been taking him out to jackpots quite a bit over the last couple of years and running him at rodeos a bit too. And he placed, he just hadn’t won one yet.”
Lethbridge was Judge’s first rodeo win, so to win again just one week later “was pretty exciting,” Seitz smiled.
“I just kind of went in there and tried to let him work,” she said of their performance in Medicine Hat. “I stayed out of his way, and he just turned all the barrels nice and was running hard. I was pretty surprised with his time, just because he hadn’t really clocked that fast at a rodeo before.”
Seitz hopes this means Judge is coming into his own and the back-to-back wins are a sign of things to come, but overall, “I’m just taking one rodeo at a time.”
Next up for the pair is the Kananaskis Pro Rodeo in Coleman, Alta.
In the tie-down roping, J.C. Crowley from Poplar, Mont. raced into first place in 7.6-seconds. He earned $1,687 for the win, while first place in the steer wrestling was split by three bulldoggers who got the job done in 3.7 seconds. Lorne Knittig of Vanscoy, Sask., J.D. Hays from Rocky Mountain House, Alta. and Sexsmith, Alta.’s Jerry Stojan each received $1,937. It took 5-seconds flat to earn a first place cheque in the team roping, and that honour went to Claresholm, Alta.’s Chase Simpson and Nanton, Alta.’s Rocky Dallyn. The duo earned $1,418 apiece.
Albertans dominated in the roughstock events. Dustin Flundra of Pincher Creek, Alta. took first place in the saddle bronc with an 85-point ride on Kelser’s Alley Agent during the second performance earning $1,429. Michael Solberg of Sunnynook, Alta. Three Reasons 81.5 1,085 in the bareback riding during the final performance, while bull rider Jason Finkbeiner of Wardlow, Alta. shook things up with Shake Down with a solid 87.5 for $1,410.
In the novice saddle bronc, featured at Medicine Hat for the first time, Jake Brown from Eckville, Alta. won first with a 67, worth $349. Austin Nash of Sangudo, Alta. won in the steer riding with an 80.5, worth $359.
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