In soft-spoken tones Dustin Duffy explains why the bucking horse stock will go home before he does.
“It’s just a matter of getting them home, let ‘em relax,” explained Duffy, who said the horses will be more comfortable once they get back to home turf.
“They make us our living, so we gotta look after them.”
The soft tones are in contrast to his work, running rough rodeo stock around the rodeo circuit, which consists of delivering bucking horses and bulls so riders can test their mettle against the powerful animals.
His stock was in the top spots in both bareback and saddle bronc. One of the top bucking horses was a mare Duffy said is 16 years old and has made winners out of a few Williams Lake Stampede competitors.
But not many bucking horses have such a long career.
“She’s good at it and she enjoys it.”
Duffy said the horses are bred to do what they do and he is quick to explain they are not “mean” animals, and they can tell if a rider is nervous.
A scared rider can spook a horse, while calm and confident cowboys help keep the horse relaxed.
The group of horses which worked the Williams Lake Stampede would be turned out for a rest back home in Buck Lake, Alta., before being put back to work in Ponoka.
Duffy is a second generation stock contractor, and said he has been doing work with rodeo stock since he was born.
He works with his dad, John Duffy, running the stock contracting business Duffy Rodeo.
Dustin Duffy now has three sons who are also involved, two of the sons “live and breathe it.”
“They’re hooked on it.”
While his dad John was closer to home in Ponoka for the weekend with some novice stock, Dustin had the longer haul taking bulls and saddle and bareback horse bucking stock the 10 to 11-hour drive to Williams Lake for the 94th Williams Lake Stampede.
The family has been helping to supply stock to the Cariboo event for more than 15 years. The stampede is one of about 20 rodeos he’ll be taking stock to through the rodeo season, which runs May to October.
While it gets tiring by the end, it doesn’t sound like Duffy would have it any other way.
“You see lots of country and meet lots of good people,” he said with a smile.
The family also runs beef cattle on their ranch, but the rodeo stock is how they make their living.
“It’s a good way to do it,” stated the stockman.
Duffy was pleased there were some winning rides on his animals, with the top-scoring bullride on their nine-year-old bull Pig, who was so named due to a facial birth deformity which meant as a small bull, he looked just like a pig.
Bullrider Jacob Gardner scored 90.5 points (unofficial results as of July 2) on Pig, Gardner taking home a payout of $3,801.36 for top spot.
Duffy stock was also number one in saddle bronc and the top four spots in bareback.
Duffy himself was staying for the Bullorama event on Sunday and would be heading back tomorrow with the bulls.
Full results write-up coming soon.
Read more: A look behind the scenes at the 94th Annual Williams Lake Stampede
Read more: PHOTOS: Saturday, third performance, action-packed at 94th Williams Lake Stampede
ruth.lloyd@wltribune.com
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