Foremost bull rider makes most of last-minute call to compete

Southern Alberta Newspapers Photo Submitted. CHAMPION: William Barrows, 2024 CFR Canadian Bullriding champion.

William Barrows is the 2024 Canadian Bullriding Champion

By Anna Smith
Southern Alberta Newspapers
Local Journalism Initiative Reporter

Foremost’s own William Barrows enjoyed something of a hero’s welcome when returning home following the recent Canadian Finals Rodeo as the 2024 Canadian Bullriding Champion.

The entire string of events was a surprise, said Barrows.

“After I didn’t initially make the CFR, I kind of stopped thinking about it and started focusing on my 2025 season,” said Barrows. “But they called me about two days beforehand and I had to get up there. It wasn’t the way I wanted to make my first CFR, but I made the best of it and took advantage of the opportunity I’d been given.”

Barrows would ride four out of his five bulls, and said that as he was leaving, he was confident he had won his aggregate. However, anything further than that was a total surprise.

“When I walked to the gate, I was told that I was in the running for the Canadian title, and then I found out I’d won during an interview,” said Barrows. “It’s always been a dream of mine since I was a little kid, so to hear that for the first time, I was quite speechless.”

He added that bull riding runs in the family to some extent, with several relatives that had taken up the art; Barrows himself took his first steps in regards to training when he was about Grade 6, and got on his first bull at 16 years of age.

These days, he’s been offering mentorship to some of the students at the Foremost Rodeo Academy as a way of giving back to the community, and looking forward to next season already.

Barrows secured the title by $1,500, speaking to the level of competition he had faced while up in Edmonton. He said the possibility had never even crossed his mind, but now that he’s accomplished it, all that’s left is to try and do it all again as he plans to try and make the cut for larger rodeos, and to find himself at Calgary Stampede.

“I’d like to just thank my community and my friends, family and everybody who supported me along my way. I wouldn’t be here without them,” said Barrows.