Many Canadian cowboys and cowgirls hunker down for the winter and get back to the realities of being in the western lifestyle: feeding cows when it’s 40 below zero, pulling vehicles out of the snow, and calves that always seem to come a little too early. The 2014 Canadian all-around champion Ky Marshall knows what that's like and is looking forward to the change of pace his first Canadian rodeo of the year will bring. 

“I finished off at Regina and won that one, and then I guess I’ve kind of just been home working on our feedlot,” Marshall said. “Right now we’ve been busy calving cows—since Christmas, it’s been rather cold—so it always creates a little more work around home.”

Photo supplied by the Marshalls

The majority of Marshall’s time since he rode out of Regina, Saskatchewan, as both the champion of the Agribition Pro Rodeo and the early CPRA season leader with $5,440.31 has been spent in the feedlot taking care of his cattle. The busy schedule—coupled with a cold and snow-ridden winter—has left little time for the five-time CFR bareback riding qualifier to practice, but good-old-fashioned ranch life never hurt a rodeo cowboy. 

“The work that we do is pretty physically labor so it definitely keeps you in shape, and I have practiced roping a little bit so that definitely helps too,” Marshall said. “I think I’ve been working hard enough to stay in shape and I have my mindset.” 

Although the 2018 CPRA season officially kicked off the end of November, the season really takes off this weekend with Medicine Hat’s “Broncs and Honky Tonks” indoor rodeo. Snow is still covering the province of Alberta, but competitors are brushing it off their ponies and rigging bags to head to Medicine Hat from the April 6-8.

Marshall is entered in his main event, the bareback riding, as well as the tie-down roping at Medicine Hat in pursuit of another all-around title. 

“My plan is to go in and start riding how I finished off my year last year, and in the roping I have a pretty positive attitude going so it’s like going to any other rodeo: you're going in to win first in both events.”

The CPRA differs from the PRCA in that it awards the all-around title to competitors who earn checks from both ends of the arena, while the high-point award in Canada compares to the PRCA’s all-around, awarded contestants who compete in any two events. 

“My goals are the same year to year now: get qualified for the finals and definitely try to pick up that all-around again,” Marshall said. “That’s what means the most to me, is winning that one working both ends.”

While this is the first full rodeo event of the year, the CPRA hosted two sanctioned bull ridings over the winter in Red Deer and Claresholm. During the course of the season, there will be approximately $3.7 million up for grabs that will count both towards the Canadian and world standings.