Day 7 of the Calgary Stampede Rodeo: Dawson Hay has 'wild' bronc-busting' day
A 91.5-point party aboard buckin' bronc Enigma became the top score — of any event — through seven rodeo shows at GMC Stadium.
And the Albertan was quick to credit family for the rowdy ride that set him off right in front of home-province fans.
'I don't know if it really sunk in yet — that was pretty wild,' said Hay, a 27-year-old saddle-bronc star from Wildwood. 'I seen this horse earlier this year. My cousin, Ben, got on him, and he kind of had some trouble with him.
'We had a little pep talk before the round (Thursday), and I ended up trying something new … and that seems to be the ticket on that one.'
'Ben' is cousin Ben Andersen, who's also competing in the Stampede's Pool B saddle bronc event and had an interesting first round himself.
First, the bronc rider from Rocky Mountain House, Alta., was fortunate to come away unscathed when his ride, Mistress, went down to the ground right out of the chute and trapped Andersen's leg under him.
Then the 25-year-old scored 84 on a re-ride on Betrayed Cankaid, earning a small payout of $1,500 for a share of fifth spot.
Not nearly the delightful $7,000 Hay pocketed for first-day cash and not quite what his other cousin, 28-year-old Logan Hay — Dawson's older brother — grabbed after his third-place 88 on Alberta Moon for a fat $4,500 start.
But it helps to pocket early-round dollars of any amount with the Stampede's new format of advancing just the four top aggregate money winners — instead of the four forwarded in previous years — after three rounds.
'Everything can change,' said the younger Hay, who might now be bending Andersen's ear in a reversal of advising roles moving into the Friday and Saturday Pool C rounds. 'I mean … you see in that last set when Brody Wells, I think, ended up winning the set after he fell off in the first round. So anything can happen around here.'
Especially since it's a packed pool, with so many top-shelf competitors in the mix. Included is reigning Stampede champ Kade Bruno, the Idahoan who was shut out on Day 1 despite a solid 83 ride aboard Frontier Acres.
'Jeepers … you talk about a stacked pool,' Hay said. 'But it seems like there's no easy pools in any tournament-style rodeo or any rodeo at all. It's pretty amazing. There's guys that are 40th place in the (world) standings that are liable to go and beat you at any point.
'So there's really no easy set … that's for sure. It's stacked all the way through every rodeo.'
Having family support, including legendary dad Rod — a four-time Stampede king — helps find their way to the top of that stack.
At least that's the hope here, with Alberta's first family of bronc busting trying to turn Hay day into family days for the rest of the week.
'I know there's only three of us (going through to Showdown Sunday from Pool C),' added Hay. 'So hopefully me, Logan and Ben can keep picking our way through to that.
'Hopefully none of us get left out.'
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RODEO NOTES, Day 6: Barrel racer Carlee Otero 'ready to be a champion' at Calgary Stampede
WHAT MADE FOR THE 91.5 RIDE?
Enigma took Hay for quite the ride.
The Vold Rodeo Company bucking horse broke from the chute and got rocking, bouncing up and down and taking major air on the third jump.
But Hay was ready for every single move, staying in full control for the full eight seconds.
It didn't hurt that Enigma took the cowboy out to the far end of the ring right to the front of the raucous crowd, spurring on a loud roar from the fans in the grandstand.
'I think I got about four bronc rides worth of him because we were having heck getting off of him after the ride,' said Hay, with a chuckle, of Enigma. 'No … he had a couple really good (jumps). And if you can hold them up with your feet, there's really no better feeling in the bronc-riding world than when one quits moving forward and is just coming straight up at you.
'So that's kind of what everyone's dream of a great bronc ride feels like.'
Not bad at all for not having a feel for the horse ahead of the trip.
'Yeah … I didn't know what to expect coming into this round,' added Hay. 'I kind of like that when you don't really know what the horse is going to do, and you're just ready for anything. You gotta ride wide open.
'You know … sometimes it takes a year or two to figure out all the kinks. Every horse is a little different. And you kind of just got to figure out what works with some of them ones that haven't been bucked a whole bunch.'
tsaelhof@postmedia.com
http://www.x.com/ToddSaelhofPM
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