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"This is one of the funnest times of the year," bull rider Rob Bell said. "There is a lot of stress when you rodeo but we can come up here and just have fun." Bell of Water Valley, Alberta, competed with 71 other skiers in the dual slalom and a chaotic Western Stampede on skis." To win the dual slalom, a cowboy must navigate the slalom course, lasso a person, saddle a horse and cross the finish line as fast as possible. The Stampede, utilizing a mass start, pits cowboy against cowboy in a winner-take-all race. Canadian bareback rider Kyle Bowers swept the event, winning both the slalom and Stampede races. "I just wanted to come out and beat my brother Robert and Rob Bell," Bowers said. "We look forward to this every year. It's just a blast." The Canadians claimed the first three spots with Bell taking second, while Bowers' traveling partner, Reid Rowan of Seven Persons, Alberta, finished third. "I guess since we grew up skiing, we (Canadians) have an advantage out here but there are some Americans that are getting pretty good and making us work for it," Bowers said. Cowboy Downhill participants must be entered at the National Western Stock Show & Rodeo in Denver, be a member of the PRCA, and wear chaps and a cowboy hat on the slopes.
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