Cody Cassidy of Donalda continues to be the king of the ring in steer wrestling after he won his second successive championship at the Canadian Finals Rodeo in Edmonton from Nov. 10 to 14.
“It was great to win it last year and to repeat it this year,” said Cassidy, 28, who has competed professionally for eight years.
“Winning the championship two years in a row is not something everyone gets a chance to do.”
“It was a pretty good week,” said Cassidy, who was spurred on by his teammates that include brother Curtis Cassidy, Tanner Milan and Bailey Milan, who are all competitive in rodeo.
“When your guy wins, it feeds off the rest of the group and you expect to win,” said Cassidy.
Heading into the CFR Finals with winnings of $39,000, he was ahead of his closest contender Hunter Cure.
“I didn’t really win until I had the last steer,” said Cassidy.
“By the time I went to the last go-round, I knew all I had to do was throw the steer down.”
“My average would let me stay ahead of Hunter.”
Overall, he collected won just over $71,000 in the season and around $32,500 in the CFR Finals.
Leading by $14,000 in winnings heading in the sixth and final go-round, Cassidy maintained his lead after Tanner Milan missed his steer.
With a time of 4.7 seconds, Cassidy split third, his fourth placing of the week which began with a spilt of first on the opening night.
“It was a great season,” said Cassidy.
“I won a total of $20,000 in Ponoka this summer and Calgary in October, so that helped me in the standings.”
Up next, Cassidy heads to Denver, Colorado in January on the circuit with the Pro Rodeo Cowboys’ Association.