The Similkameen News Leader
Sports Page
WHO SAID THERE'S NOTHING GOING ON IN PRINCETON?
It all started Friday night with the first evening of performances at Princeton Airport - the site of "Let's Play Princeton."
The line up included Kristie McIvor, Justine Stewart, Duane Steele and Tracey James.
Princeton's 4th annual Pro Rodeo held it's first round of competition Saturday afternoon.
Aside from the heavy downpour in the beginning of the event, there was lots of exciting rodeo action where the rough stock won the day beating most of the cowboys.
The weather actually took away the punchline in Rodeo Clown Dennis Halstead's first stunt of the day. Without giving it away, the rain kept putting out a wall of fire, which was part of a daring stunt.
Leaders in the Bareback event after the one day were Rowdy Buechner of Moses Lake, Washington with a 75, with Andy Greenslade of Hanna, Alberta and Stephen Hohmann of Quesnel tied at 73.
Tie Down Roping saw Steven Thiessen of Stettler, Alberta take the lead with a time of 8.6 seconds. Mark Nugent of Water Valley, Alberta was second with 9.1 and Stacy Cornet third with 10.7.
In the Saddle Bronc Dustin Flundra of Pincher Creek, Alberta scored a 79 followed by Alan Bandy of Wainwright, Alberta with 78 and Luke Butterfield from Ponoka, Alberta and Levi Harbin of Peers, Alberta tied at 77. Harbin got that score in a re-ride.
In Steer Wrestling, Justin Guenthner of Consort, Alberta took the lead with a blazing time of 4.4 seconds.
Kyle Thomson from Black Diamond, Alberta was second with 4.8 and B. J. Zieffle third with a time of 4.9 seconds.
In Ladies Barrel Racing, Princeton's own Renee Willis captured the top spot with a time of 17.60 seconds. She was followed by Dena Millard of Vanderhoof with 17.82 with third going to Colleen Duggan of Cache Creek with a time of 18.14 seconds.
Bull Riding was split into two sections with a total of 14 competitors. Only two were able to complete an 8-second ride to score.
Ryan Wiesner from Olds, Alberta and Kyle German of Crossfield, Alberta both scored 71.
In the Team Roping event the pair of Troy Helmig of Devon, Alberta and Clint Olsen of Fort Saskatchewan, Alberta took the lead with a time of 6.3 seconds. Ralph Myers from Hanceville, BC and Willee Twan of Alkali Lake, BC finished in second with 6.5 and the team of Rod May of Abbotsford and Terry Ryall of Aldergrove took third spot with a time of 14.7, including a penalty.
Focus shifted back to Princeton Airport Saturday night for the final series of performances at the "Let's Play Princeton' Country Music Concert.
Following a slight delay, the evening started with Kristie McIvor followed by The Cruzeros, Justine Stewart, Ken McCoy and Emerson Drive.
Rush ticket sales at the Main Gate were brisk leading up to the headline act of Emerson Drive, which did not disappoint giving an amazing performance for the hundreds of people on site.
The "Meet and Greet" program at Princeton Arena went well into the night with performers from the weekend concert meeting their fans, signing autographs and posing for photos.
Those in attendance were treated to a live performance by Russell Brewer.
Sunday morning saw slack in the Steer Wrestling and Ladies Barrel racing events while the afternoon saw the second and final day of rodeo events at Princeton Fairgrounds.
The Wild Horse Race injured a total of three cowboys, with Terry Arnholtz of Okotoks, Alberta crossing the finish line first. He also won the event the day before.
As for the rest of the day, the cowboys did much better than the four-legged competitors.
In the Bareback there was a change in the leader spot three times with the top honours going to Dusty LaValley of Debolt, Alberta with an 82.
In Tie Down Roping Steve Thiesson's score from Saturday held for first with Curtis Cassidy of Donalda, Alberta taking second with a time of 8.8 seconds and Mark Nugent of Water Valley, Alberta holding on for third with his Saturday time of 9.1.
In Saddle Bronc Lance Mulvihill of Dawson Creek scored an 80 for first with Dustin Flundra of Pincher Creek, Alberta holding on with his Saturday score of 79 for second. A total of four cowboys were tied at 78, with three of them earning the spot Sunday.
In Steer Wrestling Matt Pasco of Ashcroft set the pace with a time of 3.9 seconds during the morning slack.
Justin Guenthner of Consort, Alberta was bumped to second place with his Saturday time of 4.4 and Kyle Thompson of Black Diamond, Alberta slid to third with his Saturday time of 4.8 seconds.
Princeton's Renee Willis held on to first with her Saturday time of 17.60 in Ladies Barrel Racing. Two other competitors from Sunday morning's slack ended up on the leader board.
Joleen Seitz of Savona finished in second with a 17.70 time with Sarah Gerard, also of Savona, in third with a time of 17.80.
In the Bull Riding only four cowboys scored out of the 13 competitors. They all ended up on the top of the leader board for their efforts.
Luke Ellingson of Weyburn was first with an 85 followed by Shane Lystang of Meyerthorpe, Alberta with an 80. Tied for third with 74's were Logan Hodson of Telkwa, BC and Dustin Morton from Lacorey, Alberta.
The News Leader thanks Bull Rider Scott Zigler of Anahim Lake, BC for sharing details on the bulls and describing what they were going to do once out of the chutes.
Zigler, who was chased by a bull in Saturday's competition after being bucked off, has ridden most of the bulls used during the weekend enough to know what to watch for.
In Team Roping the only change in the top three occurred when the pair of Murray Linthicum of Glentworth, Saskatchewan and Marty Becker of Cardston, Alberta recorded a time of 7.9 seconds to put them in third place overall.
Suddenly as rodeo announcer Dave Poulson was saying good-bye the rain started and turned into a downpour just as everyone was leaving the rodeo grounds.
