Snakebit. Hexed. Jinxed.
Whatever.
Tanner Milan’s second Calgary Stampede Championship Sunday steer-wrestling final in three years ended the same way as the first – with no time. Except this time it wasn’t a broken barrier. It was a foul for improper technique bringing his steer to the ground.
The reigning Canadian Finals Rodeo steer-wrestling champ rode consistency straight to this year’s Stampede $100,000 Championship Sunday. He won three of four Pool A qualifying heats, finished third in the other, all with times at or near four seconds. He put in another 4.2-second pass in the July 12 final 10 to advance to the final 4 and a chance at $100,000. That’s where it all went south.
“It happened right quick at the end there,” he explained immediately after the Championship Final of the foul that resulted in no time. “I was just a little late getting to the nose. The steer kind of got around the corner on me. That’s why he fell the way he did. I don’t know if it set me off when he was pushing me that far or what. It just didn’t work out.”
He qualified for the final 4 in challenging final-10 conditions at Stampede. Following drenching overnight rains and an afternoon drizzle, Stampede infield was a slick mud pit. Three final-10 qualifiers missed their steers altogether in the greasy conditions. In the two hours between rounds, the infield was groomed twice as the sun came out and baked the top layer to a tacky, clay-like consistency.
“I thought it actually got a little worse,” Milan observed of the changing conditions between rounds. “I don’t know what the hell. It was pretty heavy on top but as soon as you got underneath it, you couldn’t get a hold of nothing. But it didn’t affect me. I just didn’t finish off very well.”
The Stampede is a huge bonus show for rodeo cowboys, and Milan is no exception. By the time the dust, and mud, had settled, he’d racked up $24,000 in Stampede winnings.
“Calgary, it’s a hell of a rodeo. But it’s bonus money for us throughout the year. I can’t complain. I’m really happy with the way things went. I had a hell of a week,” he recounted. “This is the best rodeo in the world. There aren’t many places you can go and win the money that I won here this week. So I’m really happy with it. I’m going to keep my chin up.”
With it being the middle of rodeo season, dozens of shows await the Cochrane steer wrestler – on both sides of the border. As Calgary Stampede continued in the background, he was loading up his horse, Smoke, and preparing to drive to Nampa, ID, for the Snake River Stampede. With a 2014 Canadian Finals Rodeo championship buckle on his belt, he’s hitting as many Pro Rodeo Cowboys Association shows in the U.S. as he can to qualify for the National Finals Rodeo in Las Vegas. At $39,771.16 in PRCA earnings, Milan is seventh in the world and firmly in the hunt for a top-15 spot for the big Vegas show in December.
“We’re shooting for the NFR here, so that’s my next main goal,” he said. “That’s my plan. I’m gunning for the World Finals and the World Championship and another Canadian title. So I’m going to keep my nose to the grindstone here and let none of this affect me. Just keep rodeoing and trying to win as much as I can.”
