Where there’s Smoke, there’s fire.
So someone had better call the fire department on Tanner Milan.
Riding his new mount, Smoke, the Cochranite and reigning Canadian steer-wrestling champion has burned through Calgary Stampede’s Pool A steer-wrestling field straight to the big show’s Championship Sunday.
Milan won three of four Pool A qualifying events July 3-6 at the Greatest Outdoor Show On Earth, finishing first in the group with a hefty $19,000 for his work. He also fit in a July 2, four-second run worth $8,636 US (on a borrowed horse) at the Buffalo Bill Cody Stampede Rodeo in Cody, WY.
He’s where he needs to be heading into Calgary Stampede’s big jackpot final July 12, where he could pick up a Championship Sunday check for $100,000 like older-brother Straws Milan did in 2011.
Riding Smoke, and with brother Baillie Milan hazing, Tanner Milan’s been a model of consistency at Stampede. His pool-winning Calgary runs were 3.6 seconds, 4.2 seconds and four seconds. His third-place finish in the July 6 Stampede go was also four seconds.
“My confidence is sky-high with that little horse we got and having Baillie over there hazing,” Tanner Milan said. “It’s just a good combination.”
In prior years he had success on mounts Itsy and Peggy Sue. But Smoke has been leaving the competition in the dust. As of July 8, Milan and his new mount were holding second place in Pro Rodeo Canada steer-wrestling standings at $7,734.25 from 13 shows.
“It’s a little horse we bought this winter (March), me and my brothers bought him. We got him out of Oklahoma,” Tanner Milan related. “Ever since we got him it turned my whole year around. I’ve been having a lot of success with him.”
They’ll be aiming for their biggest success yet July 12 at Calgary Stampede’s Championship Sunday.
Complete Stampede Rodeo and Rangeland Derby results at calgarystampede.com/rodeo.
