Were you suffering from #FOMO (“Fear Of Missing Out” for all you old-school cowboys out there) when you couldn’t make it to the 2018 Armstrong IPE & Stampede? With the level of competitors, bucking stock, contract acts, and the high stakes scenarios the Finning Pro Tour’s stop in Armstrong holds, your fears were correct. 

But don't worry, we've got you covered with the top five moments you missed in Armstrong:

5. The Bull Fight

We’re used to seeing Brett Monea and Scott Waye use their talents to protect bull riders from the bulls they’re trying to conquer, putting their bodies on the line to make sure they can ride another day. But the bull-fighting duo gave us a special little treat in Armstrong with a little freestyle bullfighting that included a backflip barrel hop that Monea had been just itching to check off his bucket list. 

4. Carlisle And Lucas’ Risky Wrap & A Hooey

One tie-down roper won the regular-season rodeo, the other won the tour finals, and both threw on a risky wrap and a hooey to do it. 

When the final performance of the regular-season part of the Armstrong IPE and Stampede came around, the lead was split between two competitors with a pair of 8.1-second runs, but Randall Carlisle must have wanted the win for himself. Carlisle came out and made a smooth 7.8-second run, throwing on just one wrap and a hooey to ensure the victory. 

The second notable wrap and a hooey of the weekend earned Kyle Lucas the Finning Pro Tour Finals win on the final day of rodeo action in the province. The competition was wide open when Lucas rode into the box as the last tie-down roper of the weekend, and in true Lucas style he took a gamble and threw on just one dangerous looking wrap. 

But the risk worked all the way to the pay window for both cowboys in Armstrong. 

3. Piper Yule Jumping Through The Ring Of Fire

Picture the olden days when fearless women precariously perched atop two horses as they roman rode for cheering crowds. Now picture it in one-quarter the size, and add fire. 

Eight-year-old Piper Yule wowed the crowds in Armstrong each night when she came out with fellow trick rider Shelby Pierson, standing tall above a pair of short little palomino ponies, barefoot. 

Oh, and did we mention she also jumped a ring of fire?

2. High Marked Rides courtesy of Hay, Taypotat, & Hansen

Dawson Hay had his hands full with this draw, but proved he could match Calgary Stampede T-38 Timely Delivery jump-for-jump. The pair danced to the tune of 87.25 points and the win in the Finning Pro Tour Finals. 

Ty Taypotat has been feeling confident and healthy and it’s been showing on the scoreboard all season long. Taypotat made the second-highest marked ride of the entire weekend at 88.5 points (tied with Garrett Green in the bull riding) aboard the young Calgary Stampede horse A-47 Arbitrator Joe.

Jordan Hansen made the highest marked ride of all the roughstock events with this 90-point ride beauty aboard Outlaw Bucker’s 269 Fish Camp. The effort helped him win the Finning Pro Tour Finals and a total of $5180.05 over the weekend.

1. Competitors Punching Their Tickets To CFR

I’m no mathematician, so I won’t call it a done deal until I see the Canadian Standings update, but Armstrong has huge implications for competitors hoping to secure their spots for the 2018 Canadian Finals Rodeo before the end of the season. As we discussed in our first bubble watch report, the top-12 roster is far from finalized and competitors near the bottom end can either be breathing a sigh of relief that they earned big checks in Armstrong, or preparing to really get their hustle on for the final five rodeos left in the CPRA season.

While Dawson Hay was the No. 8 man (actual — once non-qualified contestants are removed) in the saddle bronc heading into the weekend and could possibly have hung on to make his first CFR, the youngster is making sure of it by continuing to add checks to his total. Hay won the finals of the Finning Pro Tour in Armstrong, as well as the Nicola Valley Pro Rodeo in Merritt for a total of $3,675.77. 

That will put Hay at $20,508.70 unofficially to move him up a few spots in the standings. 

Craig Weisgerber was also the No. 8 man, but in the steer wrestling with a lot of fierce competition trying to catch him and bump him from his second CFR qualification since 2011. He picked up a 6/7 place split during the regular-season rodeo in Armstrong and then came back to the Finning Pro Tour Finals and won a first-place check – earning $3,951.00 and hopefully a sigh of relief for CFR.

A pair of names I almost missed in the team roping were Tuftin and Tyce McLeod. Just over a month ago one of the brothers told me it was going to be pretty tough for them to battle their way up the standings to get to CFR, but the season earnings record holders in the Canadian Cowboys Association may have made it happen in Armstrong after they each earned $2,400 for winning the Tour Finals in Armstrong. 

Tuftin and Tyce were sitting in the No. 7 and 10 spots in the standings respectively and should see their positions improve after the weekend and potentially have a spot in the 2018 CFR - which would be their first qualification to Canada's pinnacle professional rodeo event.

The Armstrong IPE and Stampede was definitely an exciting rodeo that we hope you didn't miss, and with only five rodeos left in the season each rodeo becomes a nail-biter. FloRodeo heads to Olds, Alberta next where we'll stream Oldstoberfest LIVE on FloRodeo, then again in Calgary, Alberta for the Grass Roots Final where contestants may be making their way to the CFR, or home for the winter.