Issac Janzen, 15, from Quesnel placed second overall in junior steer riding at the Calgary Stampede Rodeo.
His first ride on Wednesday (July 11) was a masterful performance he won’t soon forget.
“We came out of the chute and the steer faked left and turned right,” he says.
“She spun right for two jumps and then hopped around a bit across the ring.”
Janzen says he felt really excited as soon as he heard the buzzer signifying he had managed to stay on long enough.
“As soon as I hit the ground I was already yelling to myself.”
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Although he was bucked off in the finals on Friday (July 13), he is still very happy with the overall second place finish.
He participated in the Stampede last year as well, but says it was on tier II cows, so was not televised.
The young rider just finished up at Quesnel Junior School this year and will be entering Correlieu Secondary School in the fall.
Janzen has aspirations of going pro sometime soon and making it to the B.C. Rodeo Association Finals and winning it.
At this weekend’s Quesnel rodeo, he will be competing in junior steers as well as novice bull ride.He should be cheered heartily.
sports@quesnelobserver.com
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