The Nebraska cowboy takes three Ponoka Stampede events, and two

By Dianne Finstad

The Ponoka Stampede’s busiest cowboy finds himself in the standings after making the most of his multiple opportunities Wednesday afternoon.

Riley Wakefield took the lead in the roping after adding a solid run of 9.1 seconds to his morning run of 8.1 seconds during the second day of action at the 88th the biggest rodeo in the Canadian professional circuit.

His combined 17.2 seconds puts him on top and a good bet for a round trip to Ponoka for Monday’s final.

Wakefield is from O’Neill, Nebraska. It’s only his second trip to the Central Alberta city, but he was eager to get back. The timed event specialist is one of the few who really likes the famous, or infamous, long Ponoka score, which gives the animals a generous running lead over the competitor.

“Last year we made it to the final four of live wrestling,” says the 27-year-old.

“These lane configurations suit me.”

In an afternoon of bullfighting where only three of the 11 competitors posted a time, Wakefield was the first to do so, his 6.9 seconds the best of the set and is the third fastest of the round.

But for a broken barrier in the morning, Wakefield would have been in excellent form in that event as well.

Wakefield focused more on his roping for a few years, but the long score enticed him to bullfight at Ponoka in 2023, and then added to the team this year, along with his partner Clay McNichol.

It is the only event where Ponoka is not likely to get some money. Why all three?

Wakefield has some championship buckles in his sights.

“Here in Canada, we’ll hopefully get to about 50 rodeos. So with this rodeo number, you can do all three. It’s not easy. Getting in is not easy, but you can do it.

“I have goals that I’ve had since the beginning of winter. I would love to make CFR in all three events and I would love to win the All-Around,” states Wakefield.

The long score can be hard on the heart for timed racers trying to get the timing right at high speeds.

Holding horses back or spurring them on from moment to moment is common. But Wakefield was calm, cool, and quiet as he nodded, three times.

“I’m going back to doing my job. When I go wrong is when I try to go too fast, I don’t care what event it is. When I try to skip steps, that’s when bad things happen. I don’t know if my bullfights will get me a lot of money in the second round, but if it gets me a portion of the round, I’ll be happy.

“The calf roping has been decent this year. It was a little tough, I would say, so to have a shot like that here in Ponoka, Canada’s biggest rodeo of the year, feels good.”

Traveling with a trio of horses, one for each event adds to the challenges. Especially when you blow a few tires on the flatbed, which forced Wakefield to abandon his southern Alberta home trailer on the way to Ponoka.

“It looks like we’re going to have to take a stock trailer to Williams Lake, 13 hours away, and we might do it for a short time. It’s gonna be wild. But when you do well, a rodeo cowboy doesn’t care. Like I could drive all night right now!

“Hopefully this pays for some trailer expenses.

“But it’s not about the money. I just love what I do and I’m lucky to live this life,” says Wakefield.