RODEO NOTES: Is a double win in Wrights' sights during Calgary Stampede's Showdown Sunday?

RODEO NOTES: Is a double win in Wrights' sights during Calgary Stampede's Showdown Sunday?

Imagine a Showdown Sunday at the Calgary Stampede with two Wrights in the winner’s circle. It could well happen with the way Wright brothers Stetson and Ryder are ripping it up at GMC Stadium. They head into the final day among the favourites to win in their respective rodeo events — Stetson in bull riding, and Ryder in saddle bronc.

The older Wright talked Saturday about the chance at a double championship for the brothers from Utah after he qualified for the final day. “We’ve never done that here,” said 28-year-old Ryder, who’s the second-oldest Wright brother of four — younger than 30-year-old Rusty but older than 26-year-old Stetson and 23-year-old Statler — competing here this week in Calgary. “I don’t know if I’ve ever even been here with Stetson, actually,” continued Ryder.

“One year in 2019, me, Rusty, and (uncle) Spencer all made the four rounds, so three of the four were Wrights (in the saddle bronc finale), so that was pretty cool. “But that’d be a fairy-tale ending to the awesome week it’s been here so far if we both win.” Two Wrights have won the championship in back-to-back years at the Calgary Stampede.

Rusty did it in 2019, a summer after Ryder rode to the honour. But two in one rodeo would be something new — and something to celebrate together as a family. “It’s always been a healthy rivalry, for sure,” Ryder said.

“You know ... we push each other to be better, and I think that’s why we’ve had so much success. “It just fuels my fire when they do good — it makes me want to do good. We’re always just feeding off each other, and it seems like one of us is always doing good.

So we always got that to look up to. “And we’ll tell somebody when they’re doing something wrong and not sugarcoat it to make them feel good. So we always push each other to do our best.

So I attribute a lot of our success to that.” If the double comes Sunday, it’ll be Ryder himself with the first title take in saddle bronc. Then, Stetson will gun for the marquee bull-riding triumph, which — of course — is the always-hyped final event of the Stampede.

“Hopefully, just keep the ball rolling till (Sunday) afternoon,” added Ryder, who finished off tops in Pool C with the week’s best ride — a 91.5 effort on Suspicious Minds — on Saturday after sharing Thursday’s first-place payout with Idaho’s Kade Bruno with matching 88.5 scores and also winning Friday’s go-round with a fantastic 90 ride. “Hopefully, I can do good first, and we can get his motor rolling — get Stetson ready for the bull riding.” TIE-ROPING REVENGE Macon Murphy came to the Calgary Stampede on a tie-down roping mission.

That is to win the title he narrowly missed a couple years back when it was won by Montana’s Haven Meged. And he’ll get his chance during Showdown Sunday at GMC Stadium. “Yeah ... a little revenge tour for me,” said Murphy, with a smile moments after receiving his bronze for winning Saturday’s go-round.

“I come back here in 2024 and won second — lost by about one- or two-tenths,” continued the Louisiana cowboy. “So it’d be pretty cool to hoist that $50,000 cheque up (Sunday).” Indeed, during in that edition, Murphy was a gunner out of the gate to rope the fastest time in the finale of Showdown Sunday.

His 7.1-second time was sharp enough, it seemed, to score the championship. That is until Meged came along and posted a 6.9-s trip to take the bronze away. Turns out, the two will meet again on this year’s last day of Stampede, as both are among the final nine in tie-roping in a bid to grab the 2026 title.

“Haven’s a ropin’ sucker, you know?” Murphy said. “And I don’t wish any bad on him, just like I know he doesn’t on me.

But it’s all strict business, you know, when it comes to that final. So we’ll duke it out on Sunday.” Meged advanced out of Pool A with the most money — $14,250 — after 7.8s, 7.0s and 11.2s wrap-jobs.

Meanwhile, Murphy needed Saturday’s top time of 7.7s to join Meged and seven others in Showdown Sunday tie-down action. The Louisiana cowboy claimed a first-day share of the top day-money Thursday after a 7.0s time, but then he stumbled in Friday’s second round of Pool C and was saddled with a no-time, putting the pressure on him to do something special Saturday. “That’s usually not like me,” Murphy said.

“You know... I kind of go out there and attack no matter what, whether it’s easy or not. (Friday) was an easy day, and I think I just kind of safety’d it up a little bit.

You know... you don’t get to the top by safetying up. You get to the top by going for first, and I think that’s what I changed from (Friday) to (Saturday).”

And he got the job done. “I knew I had a good calf day,” added Murphy. “The weather’s been great.

That horse of mine’s just automatic. I knew if I just kind of got a good start, got around the calf’s neck and did my deal, it was going to work out good.” AROUND THE CHUTES • Bareback rider Jacob Lees needed a strong third round Saturday to score his spot in Showdown Sunday — and he got it with a tie for first with an 86.5 aboard Monkey Wrench.

Tilden Hooper also scored 86.5 with his ride on Cosmic Stardust, but it wasn’t enough to advance the Texan. • In ladies barrel racing, Hailey Kinsel, Kassie Mowry and Michelle Alley were amazing in Pool C, seemingly forever outdoing one another throughout the competition.

And Kinsel outdid herself Saturday with her best time of the week — 16.77 seconds — to win a share of the top day-money and edge out Mowry for the most dollars earned in the pool. Kinsel pocketed $16,250, while Mowry made $16,000 after winning the races both Thursday and Friday. Alley wasn’t far behind with $14,500 earned over the three days.

Kathy Grimes matched Kinsel’s clocking on Saturday but wound up fourth overall in the pool. • Five steer wrestlers pocketed five-figure winnings from the three days of Pool C action.

But only three advanced to Showdown Sunday, and two of them needed big runs Saturday to make it happen. That was Colin Fox and Will Lummus, with respective first- and third-place finishes — in 3.8s and 4.5s times — to squeeze past veteran JD Struxness and Riley Reiss, who finished second on Saturday with a 4.0s job. It was Riley Duvall and Fox each with $12,500 total and Lummus with $11,500, followed by Struxness with $10,750 and Reiss with $10,000.

• The co-winners of Saturday’s ladies breakaway roping are advancing to Showdown Sunday. Aspen Miller and Madison Outhier — both Texans — scorched the infield with lightning-quick 2.6-second times for $6,250 payouts apiece.

With that money, they join California’s Rylee George in scoring spots in the championship day. • The 2025 Canadian junior steer riding champion is also the 2026 Calgary Stampede king in the event.

Ryder Topolinski, of Grande Prairie, Alta., won all three rounds of action this week at GMC Stadium, capped by Saturday’s best-of-the-week 83.0 score, to take home the honour and $5,000 first-place prize. “There are no words to explain it,” Topoliski told the stadium crowd when receiving his championship bronze. “This is awesome.”

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