Twenty-five bull riding competitors from across the globe visited the Eriksdale Recreation Centre on Oct. 4 for the Crossfire Bull Riding’s tenth Bull Riding Canada event of the year.
Crossfire Bull Riding, a local bull riding organization, hosted the Boneyard General Repair Boyz & Bullz, presented by Westrans, and welcomed competitors worldwide, including those from Australia and Brazil.
Riders tried to stay on their bucking bull for at least eight seconds to be awarded points based on their ride. The rider and the bull are awarded a maximum of 50 points from each of the judges.
“Good rides are 75 points and up, with elite rides being 85 to 90 plus points,” explained Crossfire Bull Riding President Ben Kinkead.
“This was a regular season event sanctioned by Bull Riders Canada to qualify riders for its season finals held in Sylvan Lake, Alta. Nov. 15 and 16,” Kinkead noted.
Kinkead was once a rider himself. He was born into a family of bull riders, and his dad and uncle introduced him to the action when he was young. He added, “It is a long family tradition I suppose!”
Express Photo by Carey Lee
Since March, the event has seen competitors vying for one of the top 20 spots in the final competition. Twenty riders competed as they tried to rack up enough points to secure a position in the finals.
“It is a diverse group of riders coming from all over the world to compete for the national title,” said Kinkead.
“There were also five novice bull riders. This was the season finals for our novice riders,” Kinkead added. “It (the novice category) is to help develop the next generation of bull riders.”
In the novice division, Jett Lockie from Waskada claimed victory scoring 77 points.
For the open category, Lucas Ozirney, Trinity Bear and Aaron Roy, all of Saskatchewan, are currently clenching onto the top spots as they head into the final two qualifying events in Saskatchewan and Alberta later this month.
The Boneyard General Repair Boyz & Bullz competition raises funds for the Eriksdale Recreation Centre, specifically to assist with operation and management costs.
“The Eriksdale Community Club works together to put the Boyz & Bulz together. We want to help keep it (the recreation centre) running for community use,” Kinkead explained.
Crossfire Bull Riding has hosted the fundraiser for over 25 years, and the most recent events have raised approximately $20,000 each for the recreation centre.
“We had another capacity crowd this year,” said Kinkead, who helped welcome fans from varying Canadian communities.
More than just bull riding took place; guests were greeted with a mouthwatering rib dinner made deliciously by Tortuga’s Smokehouse, and there was a bull riding pre-show featuring sheep riding from local musters.
Crossfire Bull Riding hosted an afterparty for the riders and fans to end the exhilarating event.
Attendees danced, sang and made new memories while celebrating the competition’s end.
If you missed out on Crossfire Bull Ridings’ excitement, you can visit Crossfire Bull Riding and Bull Riders Canada’s Facebook pages for more images and videos of the event.
