You can excuse Bruce Stewart for riding a little taller in the saddle these days. He’s got a new silver belt buckle, and it’s quite the sight.
Stewart teamed up with steer wrestler and saddle bronc rider Mason Cockx of Strathmore and rancher Mike Street of Penticton to capture first place in the 7 Class Team Cattle Penning event at the Calgary Stampede on Sunday (July 13) to win his second ever Stampede championship. The win allows the team to walk away with $21,000 in prize money and the prestigious silver buckle.
“We’re over the moon,” Stewart said. “Quite frankly, the day it opened on Friday in the Saddledome, we weren’t looking at top spot. We thought anywhere between sixth and 10th would be good for us. Instead, we got a cheque for $21,000.”
Stewart won his first Calgary Stampede cattle penning event two years ago, and his team put together a lightning fast effort to bring home the top prize. He credits the team’s communication and horsemanship for the win.
“We communicated, sat and talked a lot, studied the cattle and the entry methods,” Stewart said.
Team cattle penning requires exceptional teamwork. In an arena with 30 marked head of cattle, judges call out random numbers that correspond with the cows. The cowboys must then work to separate those cows from the heard and corral them into a 16x24 pen. The fastest team wins.
It wasn’t a smooth ride to victory for the newly formed team. They rode well at the Ponoka Stampede, but at their first qualifying event in Airdrie, the team finished 16th out of 100 teams. It was a respectable result, but they finished 19 seconds out of first place, and thought they’d be lucky to crack the top 10 at the Calgary Stampede.
But under the bright lights, the team caught lightning in a bottle. Partnered with his horse Maggie, Stewart rode like the wind to give his team a huge advantage.
“The first Stampede run was the best of my career, landing us in second place by half a second. Our fourth run was solid and we ended up on to win the average,” Stewart said.
Stewart moved to Canmore in 1989 and built Chez Francois before partnering with Frank Kernick in 1992. Although he’s still a partner with the Iron Goat, he traded in his work boots for cowboy boots. While he’s been around horses all his life, he came to cattle penning after meeting a sub-contractor who introduced him to the sport. He’s been hooked ever since.
He’s got a few more competitions coming up, and while this year’s Stampede wasn’t as large as the 2012 centennial event, the victory still tastes just as sweet.
“We’re real proud of this one.”
