The stakes were high for the riders as the event was the final qualifier for the PBR Canadian National Finals in Saskatoon, Sask., Nov. 18-19. After may thrills and more than a few spills, Zane Lambert – who is originally from Manitoba, but now resides in Ponoka, Alta. – emerged the winner. Lambert had a great evening, scoring 87 out of a possible 100 points in the “long-go” (first round) and 89.5 in the “short-go” (final round) for a combined score of 176.5, edging out his closest competitor by 5.5 points.
He said his success in the final round was especially gratifying on a bull that had given him lots of trouble in previous encounters.
“The bull I had, Final Legacy, I’ve actually been on him three other times and he’s bucked me off every time,” he said. “There’s just something about him that is a little bit tricky, but today I just did everything right, I guess.”
Coming into the event, Lambert was ranked third in the standings, and the win bumps him up into second place behind number one ranked Tyler Thomson by 720.5 points. Lambert went into last year’s finals as the leader in the standings, but ended up finishing as the runner up is a close competition, and this year he is looking to redeem himself.
“I really want to get a title this year,” he said.
It was a great night for Lambert, and also the culmination of a great weekend for the Dawson Creek Exhibition Association. The Exhibition Association hosted a dinner and auctions at the Events Centre on Friday evening which raised over $48,000. At the bull riding event on Saturday, over $50,000 more was raised through a 50/50 draw, a share of the sponsorship revenues, and through the generous donations from local business owners. That money will all go towards the Exhibition Association’s campaign to put a roof over the grandstands in the rodeo infield at the fairgrounds.
