Keanue Cardinal, 16, returned home from the 40th Indian National Finals Rodeo, hosted in Las Vegas from Nov. 3 to 7, as a young man that had the time of his life.
“It was all pretty great,” said the junior bull rider from Goodfish Lake. “The competition was exciting, the weather was nice, I made some new friends and it was fun travelling through the different states.”
Cardinal ventured down to Las Vegas in the company of his mentor/sponsor Dwayne Bull. On the journey down to Nevada they passed through Montana, Utah, Salt Lake City and Arizona. Cardinal pinpoints seeing the mountains as a highlight of the trek south.
When he arrived at the South Point Equestrian Center in Las Vegas, Cardinal found himself in competition with 31 other youth for the junior bull riding title. In order to earn a score the young bull-riders had to stay on the bull for six seconds.
Cardinal was the 10th rider to perform on the first day of competition for junior athletes (Nov. 5). He ended up staying on the bull for six seconds and earned a score of 67.
The next day Cardinal did not earn a score for his ride.
“I stayed on for five seconds and then I was bucked off by the bull,” said Cardinal.
The fall did take him out of contention for the title. Cardinal told the Journal that the winner of the event took it with a score of 81. This particular score happens to be Cardinal’s career high.
When he was not competing himself, Cardinal took the opportunity to watch the other rodeo events. Saddle Bronc caught his eye.
“I really hope to be doing Saddle Bronc riding in a couple years.”
With Cardinal every step of the way in Las Vegas was his friend Dwayne Bull.
“He was in the chute helping me and he always encourages me to ride better,” said Cardinal.
Cardinal would like to extend a thank-you to Bull and his company, Incredible Rodeo, for steadfastly supporting him. Cardinal also wants to extend a thank you to his family, friends and anyone else that have supported his journey in rodeo.
The next month-and-a-half is the quietest for Cardinal competition-wise. His main focus during this time is to continue to do well completing his assignments at Ashmont Secondary School.
He is looking forward to participating in winter rodeo events starting in January.
