WOODWARD USES SASKATOON TO SPRING INTO FINALS SPOT

By Courtesy Canadian Professional Rodeo Assn.
Posted Tuesday, October 3, 2006

Todd Woodward doesn’t think he’s a procrastinator.
“Just a little pig headed,” he said—sort of—in defence of himself.
You see, the Magrath, Alta.-based steer wrestler waited until the second-last weekend of the CPRA’s rodeo season to find himself a horse that he got along with.
And then, he waited until the last weekend of the season, at the New Holland Saskatoon Stampede, to actually secure his spot at the Canadian Finals Rodeo.
Over the course of the 2006 season, the 30-year-old Woodward had been having problems finding a mount that he got along with. So, before the Hanna and McCord weekend, he called up fellow steer wrestler Les Deschamps and asked him if he could enter with his horse. Deschamps asked Woodward if he was a procrastinator, too.
Regardless, Woodward and his new horse placed second in Hanna and fourth in McCord, and with one rodeo to go, he was 14th in the standings and still had a shot.
Because Montana bulldogger Beau Franzen had qualified for the CFR through the Canadian Rodeo Tour, the top 11 contestants from the Canadian steer wrestling standings would be used to fill out the requisite 12 contestants needed for the Finals.
So, Woodward needed to be 11th or better after Saskatoon.
At Saskatoon Stampede Woodward turned a decent red steer in 3.6 seconds, good enough for a split of second place and $1,739.
It boosted his seasonal total to $15,045 and moved him into tenth hole in the Canadian standings.
Not long after his run, which he took during the final performance of the three-day rodeo, Woodward was still absorbing everything that had happened.
“I’m still kind of in shock, I guess,” he gasped.
Since it was the only pro rodeo on that weekend, Woodward had taken advantage of the situation and come to town early, thus getting to see the steer he had drawn in action a few times before he actually took his shot.
“I got to watch him go twice,” he explained. “I came out early thinking that these steers were going to be a little more uneven than they were, but they ended up being pretty nice steers.”
Woodward will be using Deschamp’s horse in Edmonton this November as he makes his fifth Canadian Finals Rodeo appearance.

Go to link below for Current Standings and latest rodeo results.