Team ropers Clint Weston and Devin Wigemyr set out with modest plans to attend 15 rodeos this year, competing in the sport they love.
Early success, and some good paycheques, convinced the ropers to keep entering rodeos and their continued success earned them a spot in the Canadian Finals Rodeo.
“We held our spot in the top 12 in Canada for the last two months of the season, but it all came down to the final rodeo in Merritt, B.C.,” Fort Macleod’s Weston said. “Two teams had to beat us to bump us out of qualifying, but we had a little luck that day. It was a surreal feeling to make it back 10 years later — it took about a week for it to really sink in.”
It was the 31-year-old Weston’s second trip to the CFR, having qualified in his rookie year 2015 with partner Travis Booth, realizing a long-time dream to compete in the championship.
After that experience Weston cut back on rodeo to concentrate on growing Weston Manufacturing Ltd. for about seven years. The past two years he has roped in about 15 rodeos a year, and that was the plan for this season too.
Reaching the Canadian Finals Rodeo at Rogers Place in Edmonton was just a bonus.
“Riding your horse across the street downtown is a pretty unique experience — but riding into that arena in front of about 12,000 people gives you goosebumps,” Weston said. “There’s no real way to describe it.”
Header Weston and heeler Wigemyr posted a time of 27.1 seconds on four head at the CFR, which put them in third place in the aggregate standings.
They had times of 5.6, 5.2, 6.5 and 9.8 seconds, along with a no time in the fourth go-round.
“We went to the CFR with the goal of winning the aggregate and picking up some go-round money,” said Weston, who is president of the Fort Macleod Agricultural Society. “Devin and I placed in three rounds and ended up finishing third in the aggregate after some bad luck in Round 4. You can go there and get on a roll, or you can go there and not win a dime — so we were happy with our result.”
Weston and Wigemyr won $41,571.46 in the season and another $15,346.50 at the CFR for total season’s earnings of $56,923.96.
Weston has long lived the western lifestyle, growing up on a ranch near Leavitt and attending junior rodeos with his parents from age 11. Neighbour Bob Robertson was key in Weston’s development, teaching him roping fundamentals and even sourcing an old roping horse named Doc in Arizona that seven-time world champion Clay O’Brien Cooper rode to the National Finals Rodeo.
Weston said that support from his parents, Robertson and now his wife Kayla made it possible for him to lasso a spot in the CFR, along with having a steady partner like Wigemyr.
“We travel across western Canada to about 45 rodeos from May through September. Every weekend you’re gone, so it takes a lot of support from friends and family to make it all work.”
The two cowboys met through high school rodeo, roping together at jackpots and at the semi-pro level. They were the 2014 Canadian Cowboys Association team roping champions and turned pro in 2015, reaching the CFR for the first time that season.
“We share the same strategy,” Weston said of his roping partner. “This year we caught a lot of steers by staying consistent and not beating ourselves at our own game. You don’t need to win first at every rodeo — a bunch of third- to fifth-place cheques add up a lot faster than a few firsts.”
Another important factor is Rocket, the seven-year-old stallion Weston rode this season, a full sibling to the famous Louie, owned by 18-time NFR qualifier Lisa Lockhart.
“At the professional level, you need a horse that’s powerful, athletic, and consistent. A good head horse needs to score solid, run hard and rate to the cow, stand up through the turn, pull the steer up the wall, and face fast. You want a horse that can do all that every time — so your partner always gets the same shot.”
Their success this season has Weston and Wigemyr planning to team up again next year, and Clint looks forward to going down the road with Kayla and their two daughters.
“My biggest supporter is my wife, Kayla. She loves the sport just as much as I do. My parents and close family have always supported me through the years as well. Rodeo has always been more than a sport for me — it’s a lifestyle that teaches hard work, perseverance, and gratitude . . . I’m thankful for the people who’ve helped me along the way and for the opportunity to represent our community doing something I love.”