A Foothills cowboy has a tight grip on a share of two titles from a rodeo close to home.
Steele De Paoli was fit to be tied for top spot in two events at the Okotoks Pro Rodeo, coming away with a share of first place in the team roping and tie-down roping event with a memorable Aug. 29 performance at the Millarville Racetrack.
“We’re only about 10 minutes from the rodeo grounds, it pretty much is the hometown rodeo — between this and High River,” said De Paoli, a Longview native who now calls the Turner Valley area home. “It means quite a bit, it always means quite a bit when you win no matter what. That’s our business, we’ve got to make it happen.
"But it definitely means more when you have family and friends and everybody close that are there as well.”
In the tie-down event, De Paoli and Kyle Lucas posted the top finishes at 7.6 seconds, each earning a cool $2071.
“I’ve been fortunate enough that a friend was able to lend me his good horse (Chingy) and he’s just a really solid horse and I feel confident on him,” De Paoli said. “And I drew what looked like a really good calf, I didn’t get a very good time on him in the first run, but he looked really good and I just opted to play it safe and have a solid run.”
De Paoli, with Stettler’s Riley Warren, tied with Dawson and Dillon Graham out of Wainwright with 4.3 second finishes in the team roping. Both teams took home $1731 in winnings.
“They had the steer riding and mutton bustin and a few things in between so I wasn’t in too big of a rush and I’m pretty used to going one event to the other,” De Paoli said. “That steer didn’t completely outrun us, but I missed him in a previous rodeo and he looks really good, but he’s strong and can really run.
“I knew him pretty well and I guess it was a little revenge on him, you could say. And Riley did a great job and heeled him really well.”
It was a big performance for the De Paoli and Warren duo after a tough weekend of results in Drayton Valley and Regina prior to the Okotoks show.
“This was one of the last big weekends where all three rodeos have a little bit added,” De Paoli said. “We kind of needed something to keep us in the mix (in the standings) and that really helped us out.”
When it comes to the Pro Rodeo Canada standings, the tie-down roping triumph places the Foothills cowboy in excellent shape to qualify for the Canadian Finals.
He wasn’t the only Foothills athlete to walk away in top spot.
Okotoks barrel racer Lisa Zachoda completed the cloverleaf pattern in a rodeo best 15.43 second finish to earn the $2481 paycheque.
The other winners were High River’s Lucas Macza in the saddle bronc with 85 points, Saskatchewan’s Dantan Bertsch with 88 points in the bareback, Mexico’s Edgar Durazo with 84.5 points in the bull riding with Ponoka’s Walker Guthrie’s blistering 4.2 second performance topping the steer wrestling and Drayton Valley’s Brooke Pomeranz finishing the breakaway roping in just 2.48 seconds.
In the novice category, Nash Loewen won the steer riding, Brody Irving was tops in the saddle bronc and Cruz McNulty was number one in the bareback.
Time was also taken on Aug. 28 to pay homage to Okotoks bull rider Jordie Thomson, who was posthumously inducted as a Legend into the Canadian Pro Rodeo Hall of Fame in 2020.
Thomson, along with brothers Lonnie and Kirk, grew up on the rodeo trail with his father Ken and mother Barb. As outlined in the hall of fame's website, he began his rodeo career as a teen, taking part in the CPRA at the age of 15, riding Verne Franklin's bull Wilfred for a score of 88, setting a record at the time.
He also holds the record as the youngest qualifier in bull riding at the Canadian Finals Rodeo when he qualified in 1975 at the age of 17 years old, 8 months, and 11 days. He subsequently finished in the top five in bull riding for the CPRA from 1975-1980. Thomson passed away at his Okotoks home in 2010 at the age of 56.
For more information go to okotoksprorodeo.ca
With Files from Brent Calver
Bareback rider Jacob Stemo clings to Fallen Timber during the Okotoks Pro Rodeo at the Millarville Racetrack on Aug. 28. The performance yielded a score of 79.50. By Brent Calver/OkotoksTODAY
Chance Butterfield comes in for a landing in the steer wrestling during the Okotoks Pro Rodeo at the Millarville Racetrack on Aug. 28. By Brent Calver/OkotoksTODAY
Bull rider Kaydunn Henry clings to Uptown Funk during the Okotoks Pro Rodeo at the Millarville Racetrack on Aug. 28. By Brent Calver/OkotoksTODAY
Longview barrel racer Bradi Whiteside sprints for the finish during the Okotoks Pro Rodeo at the Millarville Racetrack on Aug. 28. She finished with a time of 15.788. By Brent Calver/OkotoksTODAY
Barrel racer Nina Smith sprints for the finish during the Okotoks Pro Rodeo at the Millarville Racetrack on Aug. 28. By Brent Calver/OkotoksTODAY
The bullfighters distract a bull as the rider makes a getaway during the Okotoks Pro Rodeo at the Millarville Racetrack on Aug. 28. By Brent Calver/OkotoksTODAY
Okotoks tie-down roper Clay McNichol spins up his lasso during the Okotoks Pro Rodeo at the Millarville Racetrack on Aug. 27. By Brent Calver/OkotoksTODAY
Rhett Zoratti tumbles during mutton busting during the Okotoks Pro Rodeo at the Millarville Racetrack on Aug. 27. By Brent Calver/OkotoksTODAY
Wild pony racing team Alberta Ranch Kids Taros Thomson (left) and Noah Hummel help Jack Emerson get atop their pony during the Okotoks Pro Rodeo at the Millarville Racetrack on Aug. 28. By Brent Calver/OkotoksTODAY
A member of the Blackie Bandits wild pony racing team is taken for a ride during the Okotoks Pro Rodeo at the Millarville Racetrack on Aug. 28. By Brent Calver/OkotoksTODAY
