Under the floodlights at the spectator-packed Brandt Centre, competitors at the 2017 Pro Agribition Rodeo showed they weren't holding anything back on the first day. 

Although Pool A athletes at the Pro Agribition Rodeo will have to wait to learn their fate until Friday, when Pool B competitors take their first-round runs and rides, it's never too early to break down the leaderboard — let's start with today's top bareback rider.

The freshly crowned Canadian all-around champion, Ky Marshall, took the lead in bareback riding with 83.5 points on Prairie Rodeo’s "Barcelona City” on the first day at the 2017 Pro Agribition Rodeo. Marshall will look to replicate his win from last year that saw him head home for the winter with more than $5,000 in his pocket.

Marshall after taking the lead in the bareback competition:

In team roping, Clay Ullery and Riley Wilson took the early lead with a 4.9-second run. After a less-than-perfect 2017 season, the team said they're hoping to make good runs at the “right rodeos” in 2018. With the Canadian Western Agribition having equal money in the team roping, this could be one of the “right rodeos” to win for 2018. 

Call Marr and C5 Rodeo’s “WD40” were a winning combination in the saddle bronc riding, scoring 82 points to take the lead. Marr rolled up from 32nd spot in the 2017 CPRA standings, so a win here could help him raise the bar for next year’s rodeo season. Looking ahead to Pool B, Marr will need to face eight more competitors, including a Canadian champion and National Finals Rodeo qualifier, before he can relax. 

After leaving the professional rodeo game in in 2013, Melissa Thiessen returned to the CPRA this year and earned an Agribition qualification. She wasted no time this evening with a 14.309-second run to take the lead. When we spoke after she exited the arena, Thiessen had yet to realize she was in the No. 1 spot, and laughed because she’d nearly fallen off her horse, “Fly,” during the whirlwind run. 

Veteran tie-down roper Al Bouchard competed at the Agribition more than a decade ago — before the event took a hiatus from the pro circuit — and hasn’t shown any signs of slowing down between then and now. 

His rapid 8.8-second run to take the lead provided further proof of that. Before this year, Bouchard was also the last Canadian champion tie-down roper (2009) to actually reside in Canada. For seven years, the tie-down title has been claimed by residents south of the border, but Bouchard said he’s proud that fellow tie-down roper and Canadian, Logan Bird, returned the title to Canada in 2017. 

To cap off the night, Marcos Gloria scored 84 points while riding on Prairie Rodeo’s “Big Deal.” The Brazilian bull rider has become a familiar face on the Canadian professional rodeo scene this year, and made a name for himself by winning the average at his first Canadian Finals Rodeo.

We’ve only completed night one of rodeo action at the Pro Agribition Rodeo! Pool A will take their second-round rides and runs tomorrow evening, while Pool B will take their shot on Friday and Saturday night!

Make sure you catch it all LIVE on FloRodeo!

By Katy Lucas