By Troy Gillard

Bensmiller wins Ponoka Stampede for second time

Jul 4, 2017 | 6:57 AM

Kurt Bensmiller really likes the Ponoka Stampede.

The Dewberry native raced to victory Monday night, claiming the $50,000 Tommy Dorchester Dash for Cash for the second time in three years, beating Gary Gorst, Layne MacGillivray and Evan Salmond in the final.

“It seems my outfits really like this Ponoka track the last few years,” Bensmiller said following his big win. “I don’t know if it’s just the long home stretch or what, maybe it’s the few extra days we put in this spring and they just had the endurance to finish it out. We seem to do well here.”

Having also won in High River prior to Ponoka, Bensmiller is heating up heading into the WPCA’s most prestigious event, the Calgary Stampede Rangeland Derby.

“I would say we have a little momentum,” Bensmiller admitted. “Last year we didn’t know what we were going to be like. So winning the last two shows it makes a guy a little higher on himself because the horses are working so good. It gives us a little more confidence, which is nice to have going into the bigger shows.”