Carencro’s Kade Sonnier Wins Bareback Championship at Prestigious Calgary Stampede

It was quite the weekend for Carencro native Kade Sonnier. The professional bareback rider was the top cowboy in his event at the 2023 Calgary Stampede on Sunday.

The college baseball player turned bareback rider made it to the finals with a solid ride on Saturday in the semi-finals, with a score of 88.5.

But on Sunday, 23-year-old Sonnier blew that out of the water, posting an impressive 92-point ride to claim the crown.

Here's what that ride looked like.

The horse that Sonnier rode in the finals, Virgil, was subsequently chosen as the Stampede's top bareback horse.

“With great horses like that, they’re always going to do something a little bit different and always be on their ‘A’ game and try to have a little bit of an edge on you,” Sonnier said. “I just kept my chin down, set my feet hard, lifted up my rigging, and did the basics, and it worked out.”

The win came with a pretty hefty paycheck, to the tune of $50,000.

The amazing part of Kade Sonnier's meteoric rise to the top of the professional rodeo's bareback riding mountain is that he only began riding a little over three years ago.

Like, early 2020 was the first time in his life that he ever got on a bareback!

Before that Sonnier was a highly regarded catcher at Teurlings Catholic High School in Lafayette. He went on to play for Nicholls State University for two seasons in 2018 and 2019.

However, he would quit baseball to pursue his rodeo dream, enrolling at McNeese State in Lake Charles and joining the school's rodeo team.

The rest, as they say, is history.

Congrats Kade! Way to represent Cajun Country. We wish you well as you continue to ride atop those wild horses.