Oklahoma's Lesh family dominates Calgary Stampede's team cattle penning
Joel, wife Collette, son Jackson, 11, post aggregate time of 119.15 seconds
Keeping it in the family appears to work for Joel and Collette Lesh.
The couple from Stillwater, Okla., joined their 11-year-old son Jackson Ammerman for the first time in the team cattle penning open class and rode to victory at the Calgary Stampede on Friday night with an aggregate time of 119.15 seconds with 12 cattle penned.
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"We knew if we put Jackson on our best horse, which we did through qualifying, and told him to hold the line, he was our best pick," Collette said in statement released by event organizers.
When Joel is going to bust into the herd, he knows we've got his back.— Oklahoma's Collette Lesh on teaming with her husband and 11-year-old Jackson to win the Calgary Stampede's team cattle penning open class
Nine of the top 20 teams entered in Friday's competition were disqualified for not holding the line, or keeping undesired cattle in one section of the arena. In the final, Joel, Collette and Jackson stopped the clock in 24.39 seconds, nearly 10 seconds faster than their closest competitor.
The feat was more impressive given Joel was hampered by a sore right leg after a horse fell on him at an event in Colorado last week. But he didn't hold back, riding aggressively.
"When Joel is going to bust into the herd, he knows we've got his back," said his wife.
Soaring in popularity
The fact Jackson is an American Quarter Horse Association champion helped. His sister, McKenzie, is a champion as well.
In the penning open class event, teams of three riders have 60 seconds to separate three cattle wearing designated number from a herd of 30 and guide them into a 16-foot by 24-foot pen at the opposite end of the arena. The rest of the herd must remain behind a line or the team is eliminated.
The event is soaring in popularity as Stampede organizers expanded qualifying this year to three days from two to accommodate 800 teams, with the top 20 in each advancing to the third round and half of those moving to the finals.
The Reserve Champions, Graham and Russell Armstrong from Armstrong, B.C., along with Tom Thorlakson of Airdrie, Alta., posted the highest team rating in the class at 21.
Texan takes cutting horse event
Also Friday, Texan Tatum Rice took the open finals of the Stampede's cutting horse competition on the stallion Hashtags, a five-year-old blue roan ranked No. 1 in the National Cutting Horse Association. Rice's wife, Kylie, was Reserve Champion in the non-pro finals.
Tatum Rice and Hashtags laid down an inspiring 228-point ride for the title on the lone Canadian stop on the Mercuria NCHA World Series of Cutting. Rice also took home two belt buckles, a blanket and a cheque for $11,304.
A horse and rider attempt to cut at least three individual head of cattle from a herd within two minutes 30 seconds. Once a cow has been "cut," the rider drops the reins.
The title of Reserve Champion went to Brent Erickson of Wilton, Calif., for his 221-point performance on Spookys Catching Reys.
In other events Friday:
- Zeke Thurston of Big Valley, Alta., posted 89 points for the win on Stampede Warrior in saddle bronc riding.
- Cory Solomon was in 2017 championship form, blazing through his tie-down roping run in 6.9 seconds.