Courtesy PRCA
For the second year in a row, Grant Denny, the older brother of WNFR bareback rider Wyatt Denny, was the winner of the slalom competition at the 43rd annual Cowboy Downhill in Steamboat Springs, Colo., Jan. 16. Denny clocked a 27.75-second time to edge fellow bareback rider Joel Schlegel (28.46). Saddle bronc rider Jesse James Kirby of Dodge City, Kan., won the Stampede for the second-consecutive year. Best crash of the day went to 2017 Miss Rodeo Canada Ali Mullin. There were 92 cowboys and cowgirls participating in the event. The Cowboy Downhill is held in conjunction with the National Western Stock Show and Rodeo in Denver, and began in 1975. The Downhill has become a fundraiser for the Justin Cowboy Crisis Fund, which provides financial assistance to injured PRCA cowboys. JCCF President & CEO Cindy Schonholtz attended the Downhill, and said that more than $6,000 was raised through a silent auction and merchandise sales.