Tonn crowned Cowgirl of the Year

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Published on Saturday, April 8, 2017

Pictured: Hailey Tonn with her parents Brenda and Darren Tonn.

By Kate Jackman-Atkinson

The Neepawa Banner

Hailey Tonn marked the end of the college rodeo season with a couple of big wins last weekend. The Plumas-area cowgirl ended the Canadian Intercollegiate Rodeo Association (CIRA) season as goat tying leader, was the Canadian College Finals Goat Tying champion and was also named Cowgirl of the Year.  The Cowgirl of the Year Award is voted on by all of the association’s membership and recognizes leadership and sportsmanship throughout the season.

Tonn has been competing in rodeos for 10 years and began competing in high school rodeos when she was 13. She’s in her third year as an Animal Science Technology student at Lakeland College, in Vermilion, AB.

The college rodeo season begins in September, stops for winter at the end of October, starts again at the end of February and ends in March. This year, points were accumulated at seven rodeos. The season ends with CIRA Finals, held March 30 - April 1 at the Agrium Western Event Centre in Calgary.

Leading the goat tying event going into finals, Tonn’s success continued in the finals arena, where she won her first two rounds and finished second in the third. This strong performance netted her the finals Goat Tying championship.

This is the most significant award Tonn has won to date and she explains, “I was completely shocked when my name was announced as this year’s recipient. I'm still beside myself that I was chosen [as Cowgirl of the Year] and extremely humbled about what all took place this past weekend.”