WHSRA member Canton Afdahl – Western Edge Photography
story by Sierra Spratt
The first Wyoming High School rodeo went off with a bang for senior Canton Afdahl out of Torrington, Wyo. The tie-down roper and heeler cracked out the new season with winning Saturday’s tie-down roping in Lander, Wyo. “Drawing good has a big part it in,” Canton explains. “I had a first run on my calf and I had no idea what he was going to do, but he ended up being great.” The weekend winnings weren’t done just yet, and Canton earned the fifth place spot in the team roping the next day with partner, TC Havley on the heading side from Wheatland, Wyo. The duo pair is a consecutive team from last year, and they are determined to carve a name for themselves. “After those runs this weekend I thought, man, this is going to be a good year,” says Canton.
Born in Spearfish, SD but raised in Torrington for the last 16 years, Canton calls Wyoming home. He’s been riding and roping since he was six, slowly branching out to the associations that brought him to the WHSRA. “I went to a few junior rodeos, but I started in eighth grade and did the Junior High Association for the first time, and I’ve been doing the high school rodeos all four years since then.” In eighth grade Canton qualified for the Junior High National Finals in Gallup, NM, coming into the big rodeo as the state champion. “Gallup was awesome,” Canton recalls. “I didn’t do very good but just being there and getting to be surrounded by all of that was such a good experience.” The Junior High Finals was held in Gallup, NM for years, however recently it was moved to Des Moines, IL. Canton cheered on his little brother, Blake the last two years in the new location. He liked the indoor arenas to secure the dry ground, but Gallup’s setup and unique location was hard to beat for Canton. “How the arena was down in that valley, it just made the whole thing that much cooler,” he says of the old place.
Canton’s father, Duel Afdahl, was the tie-down roping trainer for Canton growing up and still is. His dad is the first person Canton always goes to for advice. “He spends hours with me in the practice pen helping me train horses. He can always see things that I can’t. I’m so glad I have that.” And of course there’s his mother Tami Afdahl, who helps Canton out by “always giving me clean clothes,” he adds with a laugh.
The cowboy graduates from Torrington High School in May, leaving behind memories of school buses and cross-country. “I’ve been doing cross country since 6th grade. We run 3k’s and try to improve our times each year.” Canton explains. He likes it best considering it gets him into good shape for rodeo.
When he leaves the nest, Canton is torn between staying close to home or venturing out when picking a college. “I will most likely stay close to home so I can still have a good practice facility,” he admits. His neighbor, NFR qualifier Jake Nilton, also influenced his decision. “He helps me with heeling and horse training also,” he says along with adding his rodeo idol, Levi O’Keith out of ND to the list of reasons he wants to stay close. “Levi lets me go over there and rope with him and it’s great to learn his roping style and it’s good for me to just be around him.”
Canton aims to qualify for nationals this year. “I want to do the best I can all throughout the season and have a good State.” At last year’s Finals Canton won the first round in the tie-down roping in Douglas, Wyo. The next two rounds were not in the stars for him, and the standings had the roper just a few slots below the qualifiers.
Canton however has a good grasp on the importance of getting up and trying again. “Sometimes you have to be a good loser to be a good winner,” he says, and Canton has certainly proved this in the successful season he’s made for himself so far.
