DADDY LAVALLEY STORY OF STOMPEDE XXXIII RODEO
DUSTY LAVALLEY WON BAREBACK WITH RECORD-TYING 88 - Terry Farrell photo
By TERRY FARRELL
Daily Herald-Tribune
It’s a good thing Dusty LaValley won the bareback competition at this year’s Grande Prairie Stompede, because he’s going to need the extra cash.
His living expenses just took a major spike upward.
LaValley tied the arena record on Saturday, riding Royal Trapper to an 88.
As good as that ride was, LaValley said it was nothing compared to the thrill he experienced one week earlier, when he helped with the delivery of his son, Austin Outlaw.
“It was sure an eye-opener,” he said, of the childbirth experience he shared with his girlfriend, Stephanie Nicholson. “Holy smokes, what women go through, it’s just tremendous.”
As was LaValley’s performance at his home rodeo, which came as a bit of a surprise to him.
“That horse is an older horse, been around for a while and he’s not very… not that great, usually,” said LaValley.
“Boy, he just had a really good day today. It felt like a little bit of work for me. He isn’t one of those horses that’s just easy to ride. But it feels really good.
“I’ve had about a two-month break so it’s nice to jump out there and have a good score.”
Not just good. Tie for the best ever, at Evergreen Park.
It was a theme that played itself over again and again at the Stompede grounds this year.
Stompede records were either set or tied in five of the six individual rodeo events over the course of the past five days.
Unfortunately for the large grandstand crowd at the final performance, Sunday was the only day that did not feature at least one arena record.
It was also the only day that did not produce a champion.
The records started falling in Wednesday’s slack, when Rana Koopmans became the first barrel racer to ever post a time lower than 15 seconds at Evergreen Park. Her time of 14.99 was never threatened.
Thursday was the first full day of rodeoing, and it took all of three cowboys before another arena record was established.
Luke Butterfield rode Blue Eyed Trapper to an 89 as the third man out of the chute in the saddle bronc – the day’s first event.
“No one ever comes to post arena records, but that is by far the highest score I have ever had so I was pretty happy,” said Butterfield, who was in Bonnyville for its pro rodeo when contacted about his win on Sunday.
“I was in Maple Creek and then came here (Bonnyville), but didn’t do nothing at either. In Bonnyville it was raining like a son of a gun, so I didn’t do real well. There was even snow here during (Saturday’s) show, but that’s rodeo, I guess.”
One cheque out of three shows is not perfect, but it’s one cheque more than a lot of his peers received.
“Yeah, yeah … and it’s a big one, too,” he said. “I’ll be back to Grande Prairie, for sure.
“It’s close to home (Ponoka) and it’s a great rodeo.”
Jake Hannum of Ogden, Utah, tied an arena record on Thursday, by roping a steer in 7.0 seconds. It was his first-ever appearance at the Stompede.
Friday was Ty Miller’s second-ever Stompede appearance, and he did one better than in 2009.
Last year the 22-year-old Wainwright cowboy won more than $2,600 by finishing second in steer wrestling.
He was 0.1 second behind Lee Graves, who had set the arena record with a 4.0.
One year later, Miller has gotten faster: One-tenth of a second faster.
He tied Graves’s 2009 arena record this year and took home the top money and belt buckle.
“I like Grande Prairie – it treats me good,” said the second-year pro, who had never won a rodeo before this week.
“This is the first time that I have done much in the bull-dogging this year, was today, so hopefully it’s the start of something.”
Miller left Grande Prairie immediately following his performance, to head to Sask-atchewan for the Maple Creek rodeo. He finished in a tie for third there, giving him two paycheques on the week.
“It was a real good week, for sure,” he said on Sunday. “If I keep pickin’ away like this, hopefully I can make the top 12 and get to the (Canadian Finals Rodeo). It’s a long season yet though, so I’m not getting too excited just yet. A long way to go.”
Ty Pozzobon of Merritt, B.C., won the bull riding with his score of 87 on Saturday. While Pozzobon did not post an arena record, it was the second straight year that the winning ride was posted on Archie, an Outlaw Buckers Rodeo Corp. bull reputed as a “spinner.”
