If it’s Cowboy Christmas, Straws Milan got a lump of dirt in his stocking. The busiest week of the summer in professional rodeo, some 27 events in Western Canada and the U.S., and the Cochrane steer wrestler came up empty.
Ponoka Stampede; zilch. Williams Lake Stampede; cob. Airdrie Pro Rodeo; dust.
Just wasn’t Straws’ week.
Luckily, for him, pro rodeo’s big show fires up this week. And there’s nothing like a $100,000 jackpot to buy out those empty-pocket blues.
“I can’t wait for that,” Milan said of the Calgary Stampede starting July 4. “I’m feeling 100 per cent.”
He’s no stranger to the Calgary Stampede, as he took home the $100,000 top prize in 2011.
“It’s $5,500 every single day and, of course, if you make it into the finals it’s $100,000 the last day,” he said.
“I’m going to try and make as much as I can for sure. It’s a big bonus for the rest of the summer to keep going.”
But the pressure is on.
“Especially being a home-town guy,” Milan admitted.
“Everybody’s watching. Not only friends. Everybody in the community, for sure. Definitely want to try and make everybody proud.”
Cremona chuckwagon racer Jordie Fike, who now hangs his hat in High River, will be racing his BD&P Put the Boots to Hunger rig in the Stampede Rangeland Derby. His brother, Chad, will be out-riding at the show.
The Greatest Outdoor Show on Earth begins July 4 and wraps up with the championship final July 13 at the Calgary Stampede grounds.
