OLDS — The Olds College Broncos rodeo team has another Canadian College Rodeo Association (CCRA) champion in its stable.
Becky Bradley was rewarded for her consistency at the 2024 Canadian College Finals Rodeo in Brooks over the May long weekend, winning the title in breakaway roping as the only competitor to place on all three days.
She also turned in a strong weekend performance in goat tying, earning the distinction of being the weekend’s reserve All-Around Cowgirl.
For Bradley, it was a matter of keeping things simple.
“I didn't need to win every round, just catch,” she said of her breakaway runs. “Thinking of it as just three runs definitely made it feel less intimidating. Having the two events was definitely helpful in its own way.
“When I made a good run in goat tying, I was able to keep that good momentum moving into the breakaway, and even when I had less than ideal goat runs I was able to forget about it and stay focused for breakaway.”
Bradley, who was 10th in the breakaway roping competition during the CCRA regular season, broke away from the field early on Friday.
Her three-second catch time topped the charts with fellow Bronco Lexi Kathol, who finished fourth for the weekend, having the only other catch of the day.
Bradley then completed her weekend by catching in 3.3 seconds on Saturday to tie for third before another three-second catch on Sunday for another third-place, giving her a total of 375 points for a winning margin of 80 points.
The strong performances carried over to goat tying, where she finished tied for fifth with 200 points for the weekend.
She finished behind fellow Broncos Dalyce Shannon (second place, 340 points) and Cassidy Maffenbeier (third place, 255 points), who was also the recipient of the prestigious Darrell Paulovich Memorial Award, which was handed out at the end of Sunday’s performance.
Bradley admitted she was initially caught off-guard by being named reserve All-Around Cowgirl for the weekend, though she was excited about the recognition.
“I have been rodeoing for a good portion of my life, and this is my first all-around title,” she said. “To win it at the college level makes it even more special, as this was the last major rodeo I will be goat tying at.”
It was a winning weekend within the Bradley family, as Jake Bradley was also recognized as the CCRA’s regular season leader in bull riding, though none of the CCFR participants secured a qualifying ride over the three days of competition.
“It was definitely cool to be able to win our titles together,” Becky Bradley said. “It would have been even cooler if he was able to get a qualified ride during the finals, but he still definitely deserved that title.”
Rhett Tattrie (bareback) and Cohen Larson (saddle bronc) both finished second in their events, while Haley Palmer (pole bending) and Greg Mulhall (steer wrestling) each picked up third-place finishes.
Meanwhile, Wyatt Brown also left the weekend with hardware as he was named the CCRA’s Cowboy of the Year.
In Brooks, he was the heeler for Brayden Byrne as they tied for fifth in team roping with another Broncos duo in Maffenbeier and Kaycee Scobey.
For complete weekend results, visit canadiancollegerodeo.com/ccfr2024.
— Geordie Carragher is with the Olds College of Agriculture & Technology Sports Information department.
