Travelling 5,300 kilometres, four border crossings with a horse trailer, competing at seven different rodeos – for less than eight seconds at a time – in just six days is another week during ‘Cowboy Christmas’ for Airdrie’s Todd Maughan.
The 35-year-old steer wrestler didn’t have his best performance on day two of the Airdrie Pro Rodeo, on June 29, 5.5 seconds, but he said it’s all a part of the sport.
“I didn’t bulldog very good; I didn’t do what I was supposed to do, as that’s the steer you’re supposed to win the rodeo on and it didn’t turn out that way for me today,” Maughan said.
“Just wasn’t my day today. I don’t know what to say. It didn’t go very well and didn’t go as planned, that’s for darn sure. Just had a slower steer and kind of missed the barrier a little bit and the steer didn’t really cooperate where I was hoping.”
His 5,300-kilometre, seven-rodeo trek, took him from Airdrie on June 29 to Williams Lake, B.C. on June 30, down to Cody, Wyo. on July 1, stops at Red Lodge and Livingston, Mon. on July 2, back to Ponoka for July 3 and down to St. Paul, Ore. on July 4.
Busy schedule aside, Maughan said his season has been filled with highs and lows.
“You want to do good wherever you’re at. Obviously, I wanted to do good here, you know, my family and friends are here, and it sucks that it doesn’t go the way you want it. But that’s rodeo. One day, you’re on top of the world and the next day, you’re in the bottom of the deepest valley,” he said.
“I guess I’m in a valley right now. But we’re heading to Williams Lake tonight and will start over there tomorrow morning (June 30) I guess. You definitely want to do good at your hometown rodeos and when you don’t it sucks. But it still sucks when you’re not at your hometown rodeo, too.”
