Lacombe's Elliott sets sights on spectacular Showdown

Making it to Showdown Sunday for the second year in a row means “everything” to Justine Elliott.

Now, the 19-year-old barrel-racer from Lacombe, Alta., would like nothing more than to improve upon her showing from a year ago.

“I made it to the Showdown and I kind of lost my footing and lost my ground (in the 10-round), but we’re back,” said Elliott, who finished second out of 10 competitors at the 2022 edition of Wild Card Saturday to earn one of the two spots to compete in the championship finals of the Calgary Stampede rodeo. “I’ve dreamt of being here and just to make it here again and to make it to the top 10 again is unreal.

“We’re making it to the top four this year,” she predicted with confidence.

Aboard her horse Blondy, Elliott raced around the cloverleaf course in the infield in front of GMC Stadium and crossed the finish line in a quick time of 17.26 seconds on Saturday.

“My heart was racing the whole time,” said Elliott, who was the third competitor to race and then had to wait patiently to find out if she qualified.

Afterwards, she commended Blondy, her 13-year-old mare, for rising to the occasion under immense pressure.

“I’m so grateful for her,” said Elliott, who finished eighth in Pool A with $2,500 in earnings and earned an invitation back to compete in the wild-card event. “She’s phenomenal. She’ll do whatever I ask her to do and she just puts her heart into everything.”

And Blondy definitely enjoys performing for the fans, especially if they make lots of noise when prompted by arena announcer Brett Gardiner.

“She loves it,” Elliott said. “The louder they are, the faster she runs as Brett always says.”

Meanwhile, Jill Wilson started off the competition by stopping the clock in 17.17s, and her time stood up as the best of the day to win her a cheque for $4,500 and a spot alongside Elliott in the finals.

“I think being top of the ground made a huge difference,” said Wilson, while noting her 17-year-old gelding Blue Dean (just two years younger than Elliott) enjoys competing on the big stage. “I’ve had him since he was five, so we have quite a history together.

“I came out of Pool B (run from Tuesday to Friday), so we’ve already made four runs and today was his fifth. With a little age on him, I was just hoping to have a good solid, safe run.”

But she’s quick to add that Blue Dean has a lot more left in the tank for Showdown Sunday.

“He’s healthy enough,” said the 45-year-old cowgirl from Snyder, Texas. “We went to the NFR in 2020 (where she finished second in the aggregate and third overall for the season). I ran him all 10 rounds. There he just got better and better, so I guess he’s showing us this year, too.”

Like Elliott, Wilson earned $2,500 during the preliminary round of pool competition, which was enough to earn her a spot in Saturday’s event.

And like Blondy, Blue Dean has a propensity to perform when he hears the fans in a frenzy.

“He feeds on the crowd,” she said. “He’s been to a lot of rodeos in his career, so the louder the better for him. He knows when it’s time to show up.”

In her first time competing at the Stampede, Wilson has enjoyed the experience immensely.

“This is our first time,” said Elliott, who has been impressed by the hospitality shown to her wherever she goes. “It’s outstanding. I’ve never been to anything like it. It’s first-class. I love it.”

Joining Elliott and Wilson in Sunday afternoon’s finale — where the winner will earn $50,000 — will be Pool A qualifiers Stevi Hillman, Dona Kay Rule, Emily Beisel and Shelby Spielman, along with Wenda Johnson, Kassie Mowry, Ivy Saebens and Sissy Winn from Pool B.

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