Lowe wins $100,000 round at Calgary Stampede

Ann Bleiker

 

Canyon, Texas – July 14, 2008 – Three-time world champion bareback rider Will Lowe added another major accomplishment to his already impressive resume. The Canyon, Texas, cowboy got on eight head of horses en route to a payday worth $100,000.

            “In 2003, I won the Calgary Stampede Rodeo but that was before it paid $100,000,” said Lowe, following his victory. “It is such an unbelievable feeling and it will rank right up there with my world titles.”

            Lowe was in the second pool of contestants in Calgary for the first four rounds. He started off with a bang tying for first in the first round with an 86-point ride on Kesler’s Street Dance. The second round was not as impressive and he finished with a score of 74.5 points on Kesler’s Country Wages. The third round found him back in the 80-point range with an 81.5 on Faded Dice, which was good for fourth. Needing a solid fourth round to automatically advance to the Sunday round, Lowe was paired with a horse known as Bell City. Unfortunately, he was only able to muster 76.5 points on the ride, which left him sixth in the Pool B standings with $6,500.

            Therefore, Lowe had to ride on Saturday, July 12 and he needed to be in the top two to advance to Showdown Sunday. Lowe left nothing to chance and scored 86 points on Calgary’s Mad Money to win the round and advance to the next round.

            Showdown Sunday was filled with intense drama and in the elimination round Lowe scored 85.5 points on Shootin Stars finishing second and moving on to the final four round. Once there, he spurred Flying Five Rodeo’s Miss Amerititle for 88.5 points and finished in a tie with Canadian Russ Hallaby for the top spot. As a result, Lowe and Hallaby had to get on another horse and have a ride-off to determine the $100,000 champion. When the dust settled, Lowe finished as the champion scoring 87.5 points on Kesler’s Cool Pieces, while Hallaby turned in a score of 83.5 points on Calgary’s French Wake.

            “Calgary is a great rodeo and I am honored to have won the event this year,” Lowe said. “This makes a great birthday present for my wife, Tiffani, and I look forward to being back next year to defend my title.”

            For more information on Will Lowe visit www.willlowe.net. Also be sure to watch the latest Wolf Pack video blog at www.rodeoup.com.