Scott Guenthner is rolling — and when that happens, things always get interesting in the world of steer wrestling.

The four-time Canadian champion moved past Ryan Shuckburgh in the 2025 Canadian standings with a winning 3.4-second run at the Teepee Creek Stampede, worth $3,028. Teepee Creek is stop No. 8 on the SMS Equipment Pro Tour, and Guenthner’s 100 tour points from the event vaulted him (unofficially) to the lead in those critical standings as well.

The northern Alberta win, coupled with a second Calgary Stampede bulldogging title that saw the Provost cowboy on stage to receive the $50,000 Stampede bonus cheque (along with go-round earnings), moved the Canadian superstar to 11th on the world earnings leaderboard. It was a momentous week for the 2023 Canadian Cowboy of the Year, who also received the Stampede’s prestigious Guy Weadick Award — a fitting tribute to one of the sport’s most genuine and respected personalities.

Of the Teepee Creek win, the six-time NFR qualifier was clear: “That’s huge,” he said. “It seems like in the bulldogging, every week and every rodeo is really important. You want to solidify your spot, and obviously I was trying to catch Shuckburgh if I could. And these SMS Tour rodeos are so important. The way the Finals are set up, there’s a lot of money out there at Armstrong (IPE and Stampede), so the Tour and the Finals are kind of a make-or-break deal.”

Guenthner rode a new purchase at Teepee Creek — he and Owen Schauer went together to buy the now-retired Ty Miller’s grey gelding, Rattle. Guenthner was pleased with his mount.

“He’s been really good, and I’ll ride him pretty much all the time up here in Canada. I got on Eddie (2023 Canadian steer wrestling horse of the year and 2024 reserve world steer wrestling horse of the year owned by Tanner Milan) in Calgary just because I’m so comfortable on him, and you just can’t make even a little mistake there.”

The finals results at the Stampede were clear evidence that the 33-year-old (who turns 34 in three days) made no mistakes — not even little ones.

As he heads off to Kennedy, Sask., and Morris, Man., this coming weekend, Guenthner hinted that plans for the rest of the season will likely include some of the bigger stops south of the 49th parallel — particularly in the U.S. northwest — rodeos that are closer to his east-central Alberta home, in a potential bid to get to a sixth Wrangler National Finals Rodeo.

The Dahm family enjoyed a successful trip to the second CPRA weekend stop at the Bowden Daze rodeo. Caitlyn, the talented Kansas native who was sixth in the breakaway standings, turned in a lights-out 2.1-second run to take home $1,756 as she vies for a fourth trip to the CFR.

Meanwhile, her bronc-riding husband, Dawson, continued his string of recent successes with his third win in the last two weeks — adding to his Benalto and Bassano titles with an 83-point effort on Macza Rodeo’s 615 Montana Cat to add another $996 to the Dahm coffers. He remains in 11th spot in the Canadian standings as the season moves into its final third.

While action was hot and heavy on this side of the medicine line, the uber-lucrative NFR Open was taking place in Colorado Springs, with several Canadians having qualified through their performances in last year’s Maple Leaf Circuit rodeos and finals.

Among those who earned enough in their early brackets to secure finals berths at the July 8–12 event were steer wrestlers Landon Beardsworth and Ryan Shuckburgh; team ropers Grady Quam and Brady Chappel; bronc riders Nicholas Patterson and Lucas Macza; bull rider Edgar Durazo; tie-down roper Logan Bird; and barrel racer Blake Molle. A number of other Maple Leaf finals competitors earned money in earlier rounds.

Shelby Boisjoli-Meged (representing the Montana Circuit) was the breakaway roping winner with a 2.0-second run in the finals for a $13,000 winner’s cheque, bringing her NFR Open winnings to over $17,000. It was a perfect prelude to her Calgary Stampede championship a day later, as the Langdon, Alta., native won the Stampede bronze (and $50,000) at the inaugural breakaway roping competition at the Greatest Outdoor Show on Earth.

For complete NFR Open results, visit prorodeo.com.

This week’s CPRA action will take athletes to the Manitoba Stampede and Exhibition in Morris for an SMS Equipment Pro Tour stop (July 18–20) and to Moose Mountain Pro Rodeo — a Maple Leaf Circuit event — in Kennedy, Sask., July 19–20.

For results and upcoming events, visit rodeocanada.com.