Rodeo season has officially bucked into gear in Stettler County.
The first event of the season kicked off in Byemoor on April 18 with a well-attended Bull-a-rama held at the Endmoor Arena.
According to organizers, the event had about 400 people filling the stands.
The Byemoor Bull-a-rama drew bull riders from around the world, with several riders from Australia and Brazil taking part.
Done in three parts, the event had a 14-rider first round followed by an 11-rider second round, plus several re-rides, followed by a championship round.
Several contractors provided stock for the event. Most of the bulls proved generally uncooperative, allowing a grand total of seven scoring rides for the evening.
Meadow Lake, Sask. cowboy Marshall Senger was the first to score with a 76-point ride. Eric O'Flynn, from Quesnel, B.C., copied him two bulls later, earning the same score. Also from Quesnel, Elijah Gordon finished scoring in the first round, earning 79 points.
In the second round, Brazilian cowboy Rafael Parra kicked off scoring with an 81-point ride. Sundre cowboy Glen Erickson scored an 80-point ride, and fellow Albertan Brody Bandurka scored 77.5 points.
These six, plus Wyle Wells, of Browning, Montana, and Jeremy Maisonneuve, of Val-des-Monts, Quebec, the current Bull Riders Canada (BRC) leader, went to the championship round. Maisonneuve scored 84 points in the championship round, earning the winner's jacket.
The champion was determined by the cumulative points on two rides, or, since no one scored on more than one ride, the best overall score.
Following the Bull-a-rama, a dance was held at the arena deejayed by Dally-up and Dance.
