It’s feast or famine for Tanner Milan.
After raking in close to $14,000 in winnings in the middle of June, the Cochrane steer wrestler missed out completely in three Canadian Pro Rodeo Association events over the Canada Day Long Weekend.
Ponoka, zilch. Airdrie, nada. Williams Lake, B.C., zero.
“I had some steers that ran,” he said of his dirt luck over the long weekend. “It just didn’t work out. That’s the way it goes sometimes.”
With those performances in the rear-view mirror, he’s in Wyoming, Montana and Oregon this week, tuning up for the 101st Calgary Stampede. And, while disappointed with his lack of results from last week, the current Canadian steer-wrestling champ is confident ahead of Stampede.
“That’s kind of the plan,” he said of his western U.S. swing. “We’ll be busy right up to Calgary. We should be in top shape by then, kind of in the groove of things.”
And when he gets in the groove, he’s tough to beat. When he was taking the money in Innisfail and Wainwright, he was running low, four-second times. It’s where he’ll need to be, consistently, at Stampede.
“Oh, yeah. You’re going to have to be quick there all week,” Milan observed. “You’ve just got to go at ’em. You’re competing against the best guys in the world so you can’t back off.
“You gotta go full bore and hopefully it all works out.”
As for the Stampede, which is working around the clock to ensure the show goes on following the flood which swamped the rodeo ground, Milan is confident it’ll be a good one.
“It’s going to be a go regardless,” he ensured. “I heard there might be some things that might not be back to normal.
“But they’re damned sure going to make a go of it.”
And he’s grateful for getting another shot at the big money. He made the final day of the steer-wrestling event last season, only to break the barrier and miss out on a $100,000 pay day.
“Its a pretty big deal.
“I hope I can go in there and make some good runs and everything just falls into place.”
