Al Bouchard has been a winner more times than he cares to count over his pro rodeo career, but there’s just something special about Innisfail that keeps him coming back to Daines Ranch.
Bouchard booked the top time in tie-down roping with a cool 7.9-second run to collect the $2,199.60 prize on Championship Sunday at the 58th annual Innisfail Pro Rodeo.
“This was always one you wanted to win, right from the first day I started rodeoing at the pro level. They’ll let anybody can enter this rodeo,” said the 46-year-old rodeo veteran.
“There’s an atmosphere around here. It used to be a two header so everybody stayed all week long at Innisfail. It’s just one of those rodeos you really like to have.”
Bouchard added that receiving his buckle for the victory from Canadian Professional Rodeo Association Hall of Fame roper Larry Robinson made the win even more special.
“He taught me. I went to his roping school when I was a kid. It was pretty cool to get a buckle from the guy that taught you so much,” Bouchard said.
“The one thing I always remember about Larry is he told me one time, if you win 30 per cent of the time, you’ve had a great year.”
The veteran cowboy is currently seventh in the CPRA standings this season and will likely compete this fall in Red Deer at the Canadian Finals Rodeo.
Crowds flocked to the Daines Ranch for the four performances over the weekend and organizer Dustin Daines said when the weather is hot, the hill just beyond the arena fills up quickly. He added that overall it was a successful weekend.
“Weekend was great, the weather turned out great which is the big thing for any outdoor event. The community supported us greatly, lots of guests out here at the Daines Ranch,” he said.
“After six months of planning, the whole rodeo played out well. That’s what you want to see and successful with the crowd we had.”
Other winners included, Bareback riding: Cole Goodine (Carbon, AB), 87.5 points on Kesler Rodeo’s Uptown Flash, $1837; Steer wrestling: Lucas Parker (Marwayne, AB), 4.1 seconds, $1988.10; Saddle-bronc riding: Zeke Thurston (Big Valley, AB), 87.5 points on Kesler Championship Rodeo’s 253 Sundance Kid, $2001.08; Team roping: Chase Tryan (Helena, MT)/Brenten Hall (Jay, OK), 4.9 seconds, $1971.82 each; Barrel racing: Renee Rae Willis (Princeton, BC), 15.777 seconds, $3214.80; Bull riding: tie, Cody Coverchuk (Meadow Lake, SK), 85 points on Kesler Rodeo’s 277 Goose Bumps and Ty Ellis (Sonningdale, SK), 85 points on Kesler Championship Rodeo’s 346 Times Up, $1865.38 each.
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