Tournament- or bracket-style competitions were all the rage over the weekend with both the Duvall’s 40th Annual Steer Wrestling Jackpot hosting the “Battle Royale” competition and the PBR hosting Canada’s first bracket-style Iron Cowboy competition. Both of these tournaments included some upsets that made them exciting right until the last run and ride. 

Crane Comes Back From No-Time In Battle Royale To Win Tournament 

After coming in second place in the Duvall’s Steer Wrestling Jackpot’s Battle Royale tournament last year, Chase Crane was setting himself up for redemption this year when he once again made it through his bracket and moved on to the final head-to-head battle. Crane went up against Ace Campbell as the two took four more steers to see who would win the tournament style competition. 

A penalty of 60 seconds was given for every no-time during the battle, and when Crane went out and missed his first steer, he could have easily lost focus and let the final three steers fall apart. Maybe it was the experience from last year’s battle, or maybe it was a winning attitude, but Crane kept his focus and went on to make solid runs in rounds two and three.

The competition came down to the final steer — Campbell hadn’t missed a steer in the final battle and was sitting at a time on three of 31.8, Crane had made some faster runs but his 60-second penalty in round one saw him sitting at a time of 74.5 — but you never know what could happen in a multi-round event. Campbell nodded his head for his final run in the lead, but when he missed his steer the doors opened for Crane who now just had to make a decent run to win the battle.

A final nod of the head and 6.6 seconds later made Crane the champion of the battle, winning the event just one year after coming in second place.

Three-Way Tie In Team Roping Average At Redding

Three teams were 14.8 seconds in the team roping average at the Redding Pro Rodeo in Redding, California, to split first, second, and third. 

Both the team of Dan Williams Jr. and Brush Minton, and team Jeff Flenniken and Jake Minor saw themselves placing second-third-fourth-fifth in round one for $1,099 each, then coming back and splitting seventh-eighth in round two for $248, plus their average check of $2,127 for a total of $3,474 each over the weekend. Just behind them for total dollars earned was Aaron Macy and Wyatt Cox who split second-third in round two for $1,099, along with their average check for a total of $3,226 each. 

While the other two teams are not currently within the top 50 in the PRCA World Standings, the win sees Macy’s total earnings at $14,945.41 and Cox’s total at $17,225.21 to sit at No. 32 and No. 25, respectively. 

See full results from the Redding Pro Rodeo HERE.

Marcos Gloria Beats Out Reigning World Champion and No. 1 In Canada To Win Canadian Iron Cowboy

Marcos Gloria faced some tough competition at the PBR Canada Monster Energy Tour’s Canadian Iron Cowboy event, held in the Videotron Centre in Québec City, Quebec. It was Canada’s first bracket-style PBR International Major event according to PBR’s Kacie Albert, and as Gloria worked his way through each bracket, he went up against both the reigning PBR world champion, Jess Lockwood, and Canada’s No. 1 bull rider, Brock Radford.

Although he battled through to victory, Gloria didn’t start off the night with success and could have gone home empty-handed. His first ride aboard Wild Hoggs Bucking Bulls’ Tykro Total saw Gloria coming down at the 7.99-second mark, but luckily for the Brazilian cowboy, he rode longer than his competitor and was the only bull rider to advance on a time instead of a score.

It was success from there on out, as Gloria beat out Lockwood in the quarterfinals with a higher score of 82.5 aboard Tykro Checkered Flag, another Wild Hoggs bull. The semifinals saw Gloria with a score of 84 points on Minion Stewart from Skori Bucking Bulls, eliminating Tisdale, Saskatchewan’s Justin Lloyd. 

Video courtesy of PBR. 

Gloria’s final match was a tough one: not only did he face Canada’s No. 1-ranked PBR cowboy, Brock Radford, but he also drew the bull that has won four event titles in 2018 alone, Two Bit Bucking Bulls’ Happy Camper. Neither competitor was able to cover their final bull, but Gloria’s time of 6.26 seconds saw him as the event champion. 

Canadian Champion Jake Vold Could Be Back In Action Soon

We spoke to three-time Canadian champion bareback rider and three-time WNFR qualifier Jake Vold last week, and he says he’s “chomping at the bit” to start competing again. Vold hasn’t been able to ride since the eighth round of the 2017 WNFR, and after months of rehabilitation, he’s tentatively entered his first rodeo back. 

If all goes well over the next two weeks, you’ll be seeing Vold compete for the first time since December at the Grande Prairie Stompede in Grande Prairie, Alberta. Vold has drawn 633 Smokin Gun for his first horse back. 

Read more about Vold's injury and recovery plan from our January article.