The 88th annual Ponoka Stampede got off to a action-packed start on June 25, with an evening opening with a grand entry, and a line-up of events from bareback riding, tie-down roping and saddle bronc to team roping, ladies' barrel racing and bull riding.
The One-armed Bandit provided in-field entertainment, and country singer Gord Bamford rounded out the night with a collection of his hits.
In terms of results, Orin Larsen of Inglis, MB. took the top spot in bareback with 86.75 points, and Emily Beisel of Weatherford, OK. was number one in ladies' barrel racing with a time of 17.380.
Cody Fraser of Sundre landed 82.65 points in bull riding for the top spot, while Sage Newman of Melstone, MT. snapped up a performance time of 86.50 in saddle bronc for first place.
Layne Delemont of Cardson grabbed the top spot in steer wrestling with a total aggregate of 12.5 seconds, and Didsbury's Morgan Grant was first in tie-down roping with a total aggregate of 19.6 seconds.
Finally, team ropers Braden Brost of Consul, SK. and Levi Schmidt of Barrhead took first with a total aggregate of 12.0 seconds.
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