Location: Twin Butte

Canadian Finals Rodeo junior steer rider graphic featuring Ridge Flundra wearing a white cowboy hat and shirt.

Ridge Flundra finishes second in Canada at first CFR

Written on October 10, 2026. Posted in Sports.

Ridge Flundra is coming home from his first Canadian Finals Rodeo as the second-best junior steer rider in the country.

The 15-year-old from Twin Butte finished the CFR in Edmonton on Saturday with $8,045 in season earnings, second only to champion Ryder Topolinski of Grande Prairie. Ridge came into the finals ranked third and moved up a spot over four rounds, finishing $281 ahead of Hayes Howe of Irvine.

He placed second twice in Edmonton. On opening night, he scored 74.25 points on C-Bar’s 46 Maneater, and on Friday, he rode Lazy 2’s C44 for 76.50. Those two rides earned him third in the aggregate and $1,600 at the finals.

It was a tough week to stay aboard, too: across the four rounds, only 11 of 24 rides were qualified rides.

In Saturday afternoon’s fourth round, Ridge was given a re-ride after starting on steer 915. That ride was on 46 Maneater, the same steer as opening night, and this time Maneater bucked him off.

Ridge turned pro in 2025, the same year he qualified for the National Junior High Finals Rodeo.

Congratulations, Ridge. Southwestern Alberta is proud of you!

K’s Thomson of Lundbreck rides in the final round of saddle bronc tonight on F-38 Freedom Express. The performance starts at 6:30 p.m.

Poster for Pincher Creek Chamber’s 31st Annual Awards of Excellence on October 23, 2026. Ticket prices and event details are listed, with a link for tickets at PincherChamber.ca/tickets.

Ridge Flundra places second again as CFR heads into final day

Written on October 10, 2026. Posted in Sports.

Ridge Flundra of Twin Butte placed second in junior steer riding Friday night at the Canadian Finals Rodeo in Edmonton, earning his second cheque of the week.

The 15-year-old scored 76.50 points on Lazy 2’s C44 for $600, finishing just behind Ryder Topolinski of Grande Prairie, who had already clinched the Canadian title. Ridge, at his first CFR, heads into Saturday second in the Canadian standings with $8,045 and third in the aggregate.

K’s Thomson of Lundbreck was bucked off 612 Falkland’s Playboy in the third round of saddle bronc riding. He has $37,219 in the standings, including the $2,654 he won for placing fourth on opening night.

Championship Saturday has two performances. In the 11 a.m. matinee, Ridge has steer 950 in the final round of junior steer riding, and K’s draws Vold’s 955 Enigma. K’s rides again in the final performance at 6:30 p.m. Results are posted online at rodeocanada.com/cfr-2026-live-results.

The Canadian Professional Rodeo Association’s report on Friday night follows.

An older couple smiles while leaning on a wooden railing outdoors, above text describing their $879 profit share from Vision Credit Union and a website link.

The stage is set for CFR Championship Saturday

By Barb Poulsen
Media Relations, Canadian Professional Rodeo Association

It has been said that the road to the Canadian bronc riding championship runs through Big Valley. And it’s true. That central Alberta community is the home of the man who has won six of those titles in a row, Zeke Thurston.

And at the start of this Canadian Finals Rodeo, Thurston was in his customary spot atop the Canadian standings. And he padded that lead Wednesday with a win in round one of the CFR.

Now, with three of the five CFR performances complete, one challenger has stepped to the forefront as Thurston’s biggest challenger. That man is Eckville cowboy Ben Andersen. With wins in each of the last two go-rounds, Andersen has climbed to within a few hundred dollars of Thurston, the No. 2-ranked cowboy in the world, and has the lead in the lucrative aggregate standings as well, where Thurston has fallen to second place.

In Friday night’s third round, Andersen rode H-51 Heated Western from the Calgary Stampede to an 88.5 score and his second go-round win to date.

“I’ve never been on that horse,” Andersen acknowledged. “I’ve seen him a lot this year. They put him in the Broncs right after Calgary and ever since it’s been awesome. I was pretty excited to get on him and it worked out for me.”

“You’ve got to be prepared,” Andersen added. “As I’ve matured, I do a little more homework, look at my horses and make a game plan. But really, I’m just having fun getting on bucking horses and hanging out with my friends.”

What all that comes down to is a heavyweight fight between two of Canada’s best during Championship Saturday’s two performances that will ring down the curtain on CFR 52.

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Bareback riding

Caldwell, Idaho, bareback rider Jacob Lees enjoyed a rematch with Duane Kesler’s 81 Felton Angus Hot Shot, and weathered a giant move out of the chute to win Round 3 with an 88.00-point score. Lees won the Lethbridge Pro Rodeo in August aboard the eight-year-old red roan. 2019 Canadian champion Orin Larsen remains at the top in the standings and the aggregate, with Ethan Mazurenko sitting right behind him in both races.

Tie-down roping

Marwayne tie-down roper Austin Hines stopped the clock in 8.2 seconds to make his second victory lap of the week. With the round win, he moved to the lead in the tie-down standings, while also adding a few tenths to his lead in the aggregate.

Steer wrestling

Ryan Shuckburgh dodged a bullet with a round-winning run on a slow-moving steer that makes it easy to break the barrier, a fate Shuckburgh escaped. The Innisfail cowboy threw his steer in 3.9 seconds for the go-round win in Round 3, having drawn the steer that Landon Beardsworth won Round 1 on. Scott Guenthner still holds a commanding lead for his sixth Canadian title, while Jonny Webb sits atop the aggregate standings.

Barrel racing

On a night with some of the fastest times to date, Montana’s Heather Crowley and Sherwood Park cowgirl Tammy Lee Taylor made identical 13.63-second runs to split the victory on Friday night. With her share of the winnings, Crowley jumps back to the top of the board after entering CFR 52 as the season leader, while Austyn Tobey sits right behind her in the standings while leading the aggregate. As many as 10 of the competitors still stay within the race for the event win coming into Championship Saturday.

Team roping

After back-to-back no times, team ropers Derek Hadland and Jeremy Buhler changed their fortunes with a rapid 4.4-second run to take the victory lap. Despite a barrier penalty being added to their 3.9-second run in the third round, Kavis Drake and Denim Ross still sit atop the year-end standings, while Logan and Keely Bonnett move into the lead in the aggregate.

Bull riding

Making his fifth consecutive CFR appearance, bull rider Coy Robbins rode Calgary Stampede’s 185 Debt Collector for 85.50 points and the go-round victory. After Grady Young made a major recovery early in his ride to earn his third straight score, he inched closer to clinching the title heading into tomorrow.

Breakaway roping

Reigning champion Bradi Whiteside bested the field of breakaway ropers for the second straight round, this time with a 1.8-second run, the fastest of the week. She holds a commanding lead for her second consecutive title, while Kendal Pierson made another smooth run to lead the aggregate.

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Two champions were declared as the novice bareback and novice saddle bronc riding wrapped up after three days of sudden-death competition. In the final round, bareback riding stalwart Quaide Skjonsberg completed a sweep of the rounds with an 83.00-point ride on Duffy Rodeo’s 213 Blue Bananas to capture his second title. And in the novice saddle bronc riding event, Sawyer Hutchinson dominated with his third ride of the weekend, a 79.25-point effort on Duffy’s 242 Tool Time to clinch the championship.

Junior steer riding

Ryder Topolinski had mathematically clinched the junior steer riding title coming into Round 3 before padding his lead with a 77.00-point score on Lazy 2’s No. 88. With steer riders competing in one more round Saturday afternoon, the young cowboy left the arena pretty gingerly, but will likely grit it out to finish off his second consecutive championship season.

Saturday is a big day at Rogers Place with two performances, the matinee at 11 a.m. and the final championship performance at 6:30 p.m.

Tough night for Flundra and Thomson in CFR round two

Written on October 9, 2026. Posted in Sports.

Thursday was a tough night in Edmonton for our two local cowboys, who were both bucked off in the second round of the Canadian Finals Rodeo. With three rounds still to come, there’s plenty of rodeo left.

Ridge Flundra of Twin Butte came off Lazy 2’s steer 969 in junior steer riding, on a night when four of the six junior steer riders didn’t score. The 15-year-old, at his first CFR, still holds third in the standings with $7,045.38. That’s $544 behind Gunner Armstrong of Shellbrook, Sask., who was also bucked off. Ridge’s 74.25 from opening night puts him fourth in the aggregate.

K’s Thomson of Lundbreck was bucked off Y-38 Yesterdays Delivery in saddle bronc riding. He slipped from eighth to 10th in the standings with $37,218.63, and his opening-night 83.75 has him 11th in the aggregate.

Round three starts tonight at 6:30 p.m. Ridge has steer 623, and K’s draws 612 Falkland’s Playboy, the horse that carried Layton Green to 81.5 points in the first round. Results from every round are posted online at rodeocanada.com/cfr-2026-live-results.

The Canadian Professional Rodeo Association’s report on round two follows.

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Races heat up in round two of Canadian Finals Rodeo

By Barb Poulsen
Media Relations, Canadian Professional Rodeo Association

It was a good night to be a Bonnett.

Three of the four members of the prominent Ponoka rodeo family enjoyed a productive and profitable round number two at the Canadian Finals Rodeo. It started in the barrel racing when Colby Bonnett bounced back from her challenging opening round to turn in a blazing 13.78-second run for the win and the accompanying $11,550 first-place payout.

Then later in the performance, Colby’s husband Logan and his younger brother Keely were just as dominant in the team roping as they blistered a run of 3.9 seconds to take top honours in their event. For Logan and Colby, the twin wins provided a $23,100 injection into the family coffers with three performances still to go at CFR 52.

Colby was marking a return to the CFR after a 10-year absence from CFR competition, while the brother tandem had failed to qualify for the CFR in 2024 and 2025, and had made a return to Edmonton and the Finals a goal for the 2026 season.

Riding Rio, a six-year-old gelding, Colby was elated after her second run.

“It’s my first round win and it feels amazing. I’ve watched lots of go-round wins with our family, Kash, Logan and Keely… you know, like that victory lap around the arena, and afterwards, getting the buckle. It’s a special experience; you work hard for it. And winning it with so many family members present makes it even better,” she said.

Event flyer for International Credit Union Day at Vision Credit Union on October 15, inviting community members to bring food bank donations in exchange for a wall calendar.

It’s been a hectic couple of weeks for Canadian saddle bronc rider Ben Andersen. In the days leading up to the Canadian Finals Rodeo, the Rocky Mountain House cowboy was locked in a down-to-the-wire battle to catch one of the final qualifying spots at the Wrangler National Finals Rodeo slate for December in Las Vegas, Nevada. He accomplished that goal courtesy of a dramatic finish at the final rodeo of the PRCA season.

That job done, the talented 27-year-old had to pivot as he looked to check another box, a first Canadian saddle bronc riding title. And in round two of the 52nd edition of the CFR, Andersen took a big step toward realizing that dream with a second go-round win aboard Canadian Saddle Bronc of the Year from the Yule Rodeo firm, Mary Lou.

Andersen’s 89.5 wowed the huge Rogers Place crowd and earned him the critical $11,550 he needed as he continued his pursuit of six-time Canadian titleist Zeke Thurston, who, after a first go-round win, was blanked in the second round, allowing Andersen to close ground on the Big Valley cowboy.

Andersen reflected on his ride after the performance. “I got on Mary Lou here last year… I was 86, and we did good still, and then I had her at Caldwell for 90 and a half. She handled this arena really well, she’s kind of floaty. She wheels out flat and low, then has a little jump then a big one. She helps you as long as you’re aggressive.”

Andersen has taken the lead in the aggregate with 174.25 points on two rides and has closed to within $8,000 of perennial leader Thurston.

Other highlights

The night started with a powerful opening ceremony that saw a touching tribute to C5 Rodeo’s much-celebrated and now retired bucking horse legend F-13 Virgil.