BREAKING- Kavis Drake is your 2023 Maple Leaf Circuit Overall Header!!
After delivering an electrifying performance at the Maple Leaf Circuit Finals, the 17-year-old sensation clinched two round wins, an aggregate title, and the Finals Champion title. What remained unknown was that Drake had also amassed enough earnings across the four rounds to secure the overall circuit championship on the head side.
Entering Regina with $13,722.61 in regular season earnings, Drake faced tough competition from the number one header, Grady Quam of Crossfield, Alberta, who started with $16,044.83.
Quam had a strong showing in Regina, earning $681.77 on opening night with a time of 5.9 seconds, securing third place. In Round #3, he and his partner, Devin Wigemyr, earned $1,022.66 for a second-place finish with a time of 5.2 seconds, also grabbing the third spot in the aggregate for an additional $1,022.66. In total, Quam's Maple Leaf Circuit earnings amounted to an impressive $18,771.92 between the regular season and the finals.
Drake's finals performance was nothing short of sensational. Partnered with Denim Ross, they earned $1,022.66 in Round #1, $1,363.54 for winning Round #2, and an additional $1,363.54 for the final go-round victory. Moreover, Drake & Ross secured the aggregate for $2,045.32 with a combined time of 13.4 seconds on three steers. Exiting Regina, each man took home $5,795.06, propelling Drake's total Circuit earnings to $19,517.67.
Quam's strong season and solid Finals performance secures him a spot at the NFR Open next summer, but the title of Circuit Champion belongs to Kavis Drake.
Reflecting on his success, Drake humbly stated, “Obviously, it feels good. Coming into the Finals, it felt so far, being only 17. Winning two rounds, the average, the Finals, and the Circuit overall – it was like WOW. I wanted to do well, but not those kind of expectations.”
For the 2023 Maple Leaf Finals, Drake chose the Triton XS as his rope of choice, and his mount was a 5-year-old blue roan gelding recently purchased from Kasper Roy and Rick Butler.
What’s next for the young superstar and his equally talented partner, Denim Ross?
When asked what the goal is within the next year, Drake replied “A Canadian Championship”, a goal that he is well on his way towards with the $5,800 from this week counting towards that race. He also mentioned that he and Denim have talked about going down south to try their hands at cracking the top 50 for the PRCA so that they can get into the lucrative Winter Rodeos. However, that plan is not set in stone yet.
The 5 year-goal? “Vegas”, said Drake, referring to the Wrangler National Finals Rodeo. “I want to do something like Jeremy does, rodeo up here and make the Canadian Finals but also be going down there.”
There is no doubt that both Drake and Ross have promising talent in the team roping arena and that the success this week is only an indicator of what is to come in the future.
-Around the Saddle Horn
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