April 11, 2009

Former Toughest Cowboy competitors Wade Sundell and Clovis Crane capture top honors at the Dodge National Circuit Finals Rodeo.

Courtesy PRCA
POCATELLO, Idaho - When saddle bronc rider Wade Sundell took off his hat and fanned his horse with it at the end of his winning ride Saturday night at Holt Arena it wasn’t merely youthful exuberance. It was a tribute to his late grandfather.

Cloyd Sundell Jr., 77, died last week and at the April 10 funeral in Boxholm, Iowa, Wade pledged to his family and friends that if he made to the final round of the Dodge National Circuit Finals Rodeo, he was going to do something to recognize a man “who was always there for me.”

Sundell did a good deal more than just reach the final four, winning the competition with an 87-point ride on Spring Blues of the Flying Five string. It was the biggest title of his career and it came with the biggest paycheck of his life ($15,088), use of a Dodge Ram truck for a year, a Montana Silversmiths buckle and a Justin Boots gift certificate for a pair of exotic boots.

There was special satisfaction for Sundell, 24, in being able to make this breakthrough performance when his grandfather was so much on his mind.

“He never rodeoed, but he was always there for me,” Sundell said. “Me and him were about as close as we could get, I imagine.”
“I knew he would want me to be here more than anybody in the world, and want me to win and do well, so I just kept thinking about that. But when I climb down in there (into the chute) I just concentrate on the horse.”

Sundell competed in the 2008 Toughest Cowboy season until a shoulder injury forced him out of the competition.

Clovis Crane, who was a competitor on the first two seasons of Toughest Cowboy and suffered a severe broken leg during the 2009 Toughest Cowboy tryouts, made history at the DNCFR by becoming the first cowboy to qualify for the DNCFR in three events. Crane won the all-around title on the strength of earning $3,368 in the bull riding. He is only the second First Frontier Circuit cowboy to be named all-around champion.       

Crane made his own history earlier in the year, by capturing four championships in First Frontier Circuit Finals Rodeo held January 15-17, 2009 in Harrisburg, PA.

Crane reached an achievement unprecedented in PRCA history, claiming the year-end circuit championships in four categories — all-around, bareback riding, saddle bronc riding and bull riding.

And he did this with a broken leg. Wearing an air cast and in constant pain. “The doctor who did the surgery (Oct. 9) was very adamant that I not do this, that I stay off the leg,” Crane said, “but I felt like I had a chance to do something special, and I didn't want to give that up.”