Canadian Finals Rodeo 2026 Results: Champions, Top Horses and Format

Canadian Finals Rodeo 2026 results: the champions from Edmonton

Update (2026-10-11): CFR52 is over, and Pro Rodeo Canada (the Canadian Professional Rodeo Association) published the official 2026 Canadian champions on Oct 11. Ben Andersen won saddle bronc, Orin Larsen bareback, Grady Young bull riding, Scott Guenthner steer wrestling, Austin Hines tie-down roping, Karli Cowie barrel racing, Bradi Whiteside breakaway roping, and Kavis Drake and Denim Ross team roping.

The Canadian Finals Rodeo 2026 (CFR52) is Canada's national pro rodeo championship. It ran Wednesday, Oct 7 to Saturday, Oct 10 at Rogers Place in Edmonton, with the top 12 money earners of the season in each of eight events competing over five performances.

This was the 52nd edition of a finals that started in 1974. Edmonton hosted it for decades, Red Deer took over from 2018 to 2023, and the CFR came back to Edmonton's downtown arena in 2024.

2026 Canadian champions and aggregate winners

Pro Rodeo Canada's champions list names both the Canadian champion and the CFR aggregate winner in each event.

The all-around titles went to Braden Brost (men's) and Bradi Whiteside (ladies'). Pro Rodeo Canada also crowned Quaide Skjonsberg in novice bareback, Sawyer Hutchinson in novice saddle bronc and Ryder Topolinski in junior steer riding.

The storylines that stood out:

• A new saddle bronc champion. Ben Andersen won his first Canadian title and the aggregate with 438.75 points over five rides. Shootin' the Breeze reported his earnings at $118,895. Going into Saturday, Pro Rodeo Canada noted that Zeke Thurston had won six straight titles; Thurston won the final round with 91.5 points, but the title went to Andersen.
• Larsen's sweep. NetNewsLedger reported Orin Larsen won $58,534.59 at the CFR for a season-plus-Finals total of $110,011.26, along with the aggregate at 428.50 points.
• First titles. After Friday night, Pro Rodeo Canada said Grady Young had only inched closer to clinching. He mathematically locked up his first bull riding title on Saturday afternoon, even though he bucked off in the matinee, before Championship Night. And Austin Hines won his first in tie-down roping.
• Back-to-back for Whiteside. She came in as defending breakaway champion with record regular-season earnings and added a second straight title plus the ladies' all-around.
• A tight barrel race. Before the last round, Karli Cowie led the aggregate by just 0.06 seconds. She finished with both the aggregate and the Canadian title.

Canadian champion vs CFR aggregate: why they differ

Newcomers often assume the cowboy with the best week in Edmonton is the Canadian champion. Not always. There are two separate prizes.

1. The Canadian title is about money. CFR earnings, from go-rounds and the aggregate cheque, are added to regular-season earnings. The contestant with the most total money wins the title.
2. The aggregate is about the Finals only. It goes to the best combined score (roughstock) or fastest combined time (timed events) across all five CFR rounds, and it pays its own cheque.
3. They can split. A contestant with a big season lead can win the title without the best CFR. In 2026, Scott Guenthner won the steer wrestling title while Landon Beardsworth won the aggregate, and Grady Young won bull riding while Jordan Hansen took the aggregate.

In bareback, saddle bronc, tie-down, barrels and breakaway, one contestant won both. That's the dream week: a strong season and the best Finals.

How Canadian rodeo finals qualify: the top 12 money earners

The CFR doesn't use judges' rankings or invitations to fill the field. Contestants qualify on season earnings: the top 12 money earners in each event in the Pro Rodeo Canada standings get a spot.

That makes the season a long road trip. Defending barrel racing champion Jayden Wilson told the Strathmore Times she ran about 42 rodeos this year to get back to Edmonton.

Every performance is a go-round, with money paid in each. Official standings and earnings are on rodeocanada.com.

The eight CFR events, explained

The CFR's own event guide lists eight championship events. They fall into three groups.

Roughstock: rides judged on points

• Bareback riding: the rider holds a rigging with one hand, no saddle, for eight seconds.
• Saddle bronc riding: the same eight seconds, on a bronc saddle and holding a thick rein. See how bronc riding is scored.
• Bull riding: eight seconds on a bull with one hand on a flat braided rope.

Judges score both the rider and the animal, so a strong, honest bucking horse or bull matters as much as the rider. The Calgary Stampede presented the saddle bronc riding at CFR52.

Timed events: fastest clean run wins

• Tie-down roping: the rider ropes a calf, dismounts and ties three legs. The horse has to hold the rope tight while the cowboy works.
• Steer wrestling: the cowboy slides from his horse onto a running steer and brings it to the ground. A second rider, the hazer, keeps the steer running straight.
• Team roping: a header ropes the horns and a heeler ropes the hind feet. Our team roping explainer covers the barrier and penalties.

Women's events

• Barrel racing: a cloverleaf pattern around three barrels, against the clock. Here's the barrel racing pattern, including the penalty for a tipped barrel.
• Breakaway roping: the roper catches a calf and the rope, tied to the saddle horn with a string, breaks away. It's often the fastest event in rodeo, with runs that can take only a couple of seconds.

In every timed event, the horse is a full partner. A good rope horse rates (keeps a set distance from) the cattle and stops hard on cue.

The horses behind the buckles

Rodeo honours its animal athletes too. Pro Rodeo Canada named the top stock of CFR52:

• Bareback Horse of the CFR: Stevie Nicks, from Macza Rodeo.
• Saddle Bronc Horse of the CFR: Falkland Playboy, also from Macza Rodeo.
• Bull of the CFR: Hang Loose, from Duffy Rodeo.

Before the Finals, the Strathmore Times profiled Jayden Wilson, the 2025 barrel racing champion, and her nine-year-old horse, Whiskey. She said she wasn't changing her routine for the Finals, and that because the CFR comes soon after the regular season, Whiskey was still fit. The 2026 barrel title went to Karli Cowie.

A few takeaways for any horse owner:

• Consistency beats cramming. A fit horse on a steady routine handles a big week better than one that's suddenly asked for more.
• Rodeo runs in families. Wilson's father rode saddle bronc and made the CFR a few times, and her mother and sister barrel raced.
• The field is open to all ages. She said this year's barrel racing qualifiers ranged from late teens to a competitor in her 70s, all in one division.

How CFR52 was run: five performances in four days

The CFR's official schedule had five performances over four days, each with its own optional dress theme.

The CFR says a typical performance runs about 2.5 hours, with a grand entry, all eight events and in-arena entertainment. Around the shows there was a free Tailgate Party, the Premier's Pancake Breakfast, the Canadian Country Expo and an After Party.

CFR vs NFR: how Canada's finals differ from Las Vegas

The Wrangler National Finals Rodeo (NFR) is the US championship, run by the PRCA. Our NFR 2026 guide has the full picture, but the key differences are:

• Field size: the CFR takes the top 12 per event; the NFR takes the top 15 from the PRCA world standings.
• Length: the CFR has five performances over four days in October. The NFR runs ten rounds, Dec 3-12, 2026, at the Thomas & Mack Center in Las Vegas.
• Events: the CFR includes breakaway roping in its main performances. The NFR's main show has seven events, and breakaway has its own national finals.
• Titles: the CFR crowns Canadian champions, while the NFR crowns world champions.

Some Canadian contestants compete on both circuits, so it's worth following a favourite from Edmonton to Las Vegas.

Going to the CFR with kids: tips for next time

If you're planning a future CFR, the Saturday Family Day matinee is the one to pick with young children. In 2026 the show started at 11 am, and from 10 am there was a kids' zone with inflatables, face painting, balloon artists and gift bags for the first 500 kids.

Tickets for 2026 were sold through Ticketmaster.ca, with single shows, 3-packs, 5-packs and a group discount for 20 or more.

Before you go:

• Check the bag rules. Rogers Place lists a 12 x 12 x 6 inch bag limit, but its prohibited-items list is stricter, so confirm before you leave home.
• No outside food or drink, and no re-entry. Eat before you go in.
• Bring ear protection for little ones. Arena music and crowd noise get loud.
• Talk about the animals. Explain that the horses and bulls are athletes with handlers and vets behind the chutes. The kids section has more horse basics.

What to watch next

• Full results: final standings and earnings are on rodeocanada.com.
• Late November: Wilson told the Strathmore Times she is also entered at the Maple Leaf Circuit Finals in Regina.
• December 3-12: the NFR in Las Vegas, where some Canadians chase world titles.

Want to understand the horses better? Start with western disciplines or browse more trends.