The Calgary Stampede is back and better than ever.
After an extended absence of rodeo in Canada because of the COVID-19 pandemic, top-caliber competition will be back in Calgary, with the Stampede hosting the elite athletes of the sport July 9-18.
There will be 22 athletes competing in every event during the 10-day rodeo, with many of those being Canadian cowboys who consider it an honor to compete in Calgary.
The ProRodeo Tour stop takes place at 3:30 p.m. (EDT) each day and will air on The Cowboy Channel and PRCA on Cowboy Channel Plus App.
“It’s an amazing opportunity to be able to go to the Calgary Stampede 2021, it’s the biggest rodeo in all of the world,” said steer wrestler Scott Guenthner, a native of Provost, Alberta. “Growing up in Canada, I knew when I was in grade one or grade two that I wanted to win the Canadian Professional Rodeo Association world championships and the Calgary Stampede, following in my dad’s footsteps, of course.”
Guenthner won CPRA world championships in 2018 and 2019 and now will try add to a Calgary Stampede title like his dad.
Guenthner’s father, Ken, won the steer wrestling at the Calgary Stampede in 1983, the first year the event paid out $50,000. But whether you’re a Canadian or not it’s a special place to compete. Just ask Palestine, Texas, bull rider Laramie Mosley, who will be riding in his first Calgary Stampede.
“It’s a dream come true and a bucket-list rodeo for me,” said Mosley, 25. “I’ve always wanted to come here and compete. I really appreciate the committee for making it happen, it really does mean a lot to all of us.”
The rodeo is the single-largest payout on this year’s ProRodeo Tour. It will pay out $1.5 million in 2021, which will have a huge impact on not only the Tour standings but also the PRCA | RAM World Standings.
RELATED: PRCA | RAM World Standings
“It’s going to be a huge boost to some people, especially if somebody got in here that wasn’t in the Top 15, it may put them right into the Top 15 or even the top 10 for that matter,” Guenthner said. “You can go to a lot of two-header rodeos and still not win what you would in a round here at Calgary.”
But they won’t let the large payout north of the border effect the way they go about their business over the next 10 days.
“As always, it will be just one bull at a time, focus on the process and the not the outcome really,” Mosley said. “I know the whole country of Canada looks forward to it, and they worked their butts off to make it happen. So, we’re going to go up there and put a show on for them.”