Zeke Thurston at Ponoka Stampede 2023 (Covy Moore)

By rdnewsNOW Staff

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Zeke Thurston rides to third Ponoka Stampede championship

Jul 4, 2023 | 2:45 PM

Three is a significant number in the bronc riding career of Canadian rodeo superstar, Zeke Thurston.

The three-time Canadian and World Champion notched his third Ponoka Stampede title July 2 with a 92.5-point Showdown ride on the Calgary Stampede’s Dandy Delight.

The 87th Ponoka Stampede’s Showdown Final, a stop on the SMS Equipment Pro Tour, pits the top four finishers through the Stampede head-to-head on the final night for a shot at $15,000 in bonus money.

“It’s so awesome,” stated Thurston, moments after drinking in the crowd’s enthusiasm and picking up his latest rodeo treasures. “If you could bottle it up and sell that feeling, it would be worth a lot of money.”

“People in Alberta love bronc riding. We have a lot of support, and I’m just really thankful for all of that, and everybody that had a hand in putting this deal on.”

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Zeke Thurston celebrates at Ponoka Stampede after winning his third Ponoka championship. (Photo by Covy Moore)

Thurston, who turns 29 in two weeks, has been watching the seven-year-old horse he rode come into its own in the broncs pen.

“It’s a process to build a bucking horse, just like it’s a process to turn yourself into a bronc rider. That horse has been going through the steps the last few years and she’s ready to go on to bigger stages. They’ve got her here, and she did pretty good, I’d say,” said Thurston. “This winter that horse got five NFR bronc riders in a row, and went unridden. You get one that bucks hard like that and you just try to keep the aggression at an all-time high, and the composure level.”

With a sparkling resume that already includes three Canadian and World championships, the win Sunday gives Thurston a third Ponoka championship too, along with an $18,000 boost in the standings. And the thrill doesn’t get old.

“This is top five rodeos of the year in the entire world; it doesn’t matter where you go. This is one of the best rodeos you’ll ever go to. It’s a cowboy’s rodeo. It’s western, and great bucking horses. It’s darn sure my favorite rodeo.”

Zeke Thurston celebrates at Ponoka Stampede after winning his third Ponoka championship. (Photo by Covy Moore)

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At the other end of the arena, the world’s number one steer wrestler was enjoying similar success in his event.

Oregon cowboy, Dalton Massey, brought his Showdown round steer down in 4.6 seconds to collect the $9,750 bonus check as he too topped $18,000 in Ponoka earnings. Massey then added $4,661 for a 2-3-4 split at the Williams Lake Stampede (another SMS Pro Tour event) for a weekend haul that might result in his having to alter his schedule for the remainder of the regular season.

“I’m going to try to get my rodeo count in up here (15 to qualify for the Canadian Finals Rodeo),” said Massey. “I have six so far and I’ll probably never have a better opportunity to get to the CFR. I think it would be pretty cool to be there and have a Canadian back number on my wall at home. I’m rodeoing with some Canadians and they know how to make it work up there.”

Dalton Massey at Ponoka Stampede 2023 (Billie-Jean Duff)

The Oregonian drew the same steer he’d had for the short round earlier in the day.

“He wasn’t my favourite steer, that’s for sure, but a few things went wrong with that first run and I knew I could do better on him,” he said.

And that’s exactly how it played out for the 2023 Rodeo Houston Champion. Riding Stephen Culling’s horse, Buck, Massey bulldogged the steer in 4.6 seconds for a comfortable margin of victory over the only other man to record a time in the Showdown round, fellow American JD Struxness who was 10.8 for second place.

It’s been a spectacular season as Massey vies for a first trip to the NFR.

“The horses are working good, I’ve been drawing good and I’ve got a ton of confidence every time I back into the box… and that’s how you win,” he said.

Massey’s huge weekend, $22,721 in total, will propel him into the top five of the Canadian standings, leaving just the rodeo count box to check to ensure a trip to Red Deer, home of the CFR, in November.

Among the other big winners for the weekend were reigning Canadian Tie-Down Roping Champion, Ty Harris, with $22,032 in total money won including a Ponoka win, veteran barrel racer, Dona Kay Rule who amassed $15,278 at three Canadian stops—Ponoka, the historic Raymond Stampede and Airdrie Pro Rodeo, and a trio of Canadian team roping brother combinations who all made five-digit weekend hauls—Dawson and Dillon Graham with $13,890, Tyce and Tuftin McLeod with $12,174, and Logan and Keely Bonnett with $11,909.

Next weekend will see only one event on the Canadian Professional Rodeo Association schedule – the Benalto Stampede, July 7-9.

See full Ponoka Stampede results here.