WIART WRAPS ANOTHER WIN AT BENALTO
July 12 , 2010

Rain certainly made for some muddy rodeoing on day two of the Benalto Fair & Stampede, but that didn’t deter fans as they packed the covered stands, or the contestants.

The soggy ground conditions certainly didn’t slow down Gene Wiart. The 34-year-old steer wrestler posted his fastest time of the season thus far after clocking in at a blurry 3.7 seconds at the Benalto Fair & Stampede in Benalto, Alta. The Alliance, Alta. cowboy’s time was also the fastest when the three-day rodeo was said and done, securing a first-place cheque worth $1,390.

Wiart’s 2010 season got off to a slow start, between entering only a modest number of rodeos and getting shut out at the ones he competed at. But Wiart, a regular on the pro circuit for about 12 years now, finally picked up a 7th place cheque at the Bonnyville Pro Rodeo at the end of May, followed by first place wins at the Rocky Pro Rodeo and the Coronation Pro Rodeo the following month, which nudged Wiart to a more comfortable place in the Canadian steer wrestling standings, and a little further down the road. The win at the Benalto Fair & Stampede is his third first place of the season.