Danny Vandenameele is a Canadian Professional Rodeo Association (CPRA) member who hails from humble roots in Langenburg.
Vandenameele started his professional career at an early age. “I was first out of high school and moved down to West-Texas at 17 years old and I’ve been on the road since.”
“I’ve got to ride in some pretty amazing places. All the way from the West Coast to Australia. Fort Worth Texas, Calgary and Toronto.” Throughout his success, Danny continually represents the area. “I’m proud to have Langenburg beside my name”
Danny’s family includes Warren (dad), Rhonda (mom), Alex (brother) and Abigail (sister).
This past year Danny returned from some injuries to compete with the best at the CPRA with hopes of winning the big prize.
Success is nothing new to Vandenameele, after winning the Canadian High School Finals in 2014 and the Canadian College Championship in 2017. With the addition of the CPRA award, Danny would have a trifecta of championships from the various levels of the sport in Canada.
Vandenameele said, “In my graduating year, through the Manitoba High School Rodeo Association, I qualified for the Canadian high school rodeo finals and ended up winning it all in 2014 which is my first Canadian championship. From there, I thought I should go to school to continue to learn more about rodeo. I went to Vermilion, Alberta to enjoy the rodeo team and then in 2017 I happened to win the Canadian College Championship as well.”
His current focus is maintaining his health and preparing for the national championship.
“This year, I set my goals and I reached them which I was very happy about. It was my rookie year this year in the Canadian Professional Rodeo Association and to qualify to be in the top 12 was a big accomplishment. Going forward, I fell a bit short here in the finals due to my injuries and I was unable to compete for the Canadian championship. Next year, I would like to give myself a fair shot of winning a Canadian championship; that would complete the trifecta. I won the Canadian High School Championship and the Canadian College Championship and now I would like to win the Canadian professional [championship].”
Speaking about the family-oriented values of rodeo, Danny mentioned how he sees his opposition as the competition, but also values them as individuals.
“Everybody always wants to see everyone succeed in the rodeo world. Especially as a youngster, you get lots of help, more help than you could ever ask for. I have an Australian friend, who is now a Canadian citizen, but he’s been over here rodeoing for over six years professionally. When we were together two weeks ago at the finals he said, ‘this is my family’. It’s the only sport where you’re competing against each other, but you’re also rooting for each other and cheering for each other; it’s the only one where you want your competition to do better.”
Danny is good friends with the top 12 riders in Canada. “We’re best friends and we’re competing against each other for the top money.”
Due to injuries, Vandenameele hasn’t been as active as he would like in the rodeo circuit but is looking forward to next year. He said, “In a perfect world I would be heading down to Las Vegas for the finals but I have a few injuries that I have to take care of this off-season. For my next year’s goals, I will be looking to head down to Texas in early January, starting down the professional circuit down there in the US and slowly working my way back to Canada.”
The rodeo circuit for Danny is about a nine month season and resting is part of his schedule. “When training you work your body pretty dang hard. It’s a pretty physically demanding sport and you’re pushing your body all season long. You have to overcome a lot of injuries in a short amount of time. We’re training all season long for an eight second ride, but all week long we carry a yoga mat and weights along with us which we haul around and do workouts on the side of the road.”
Speaking about his injuries, Danny said he broke his back in 2019 and took a couple years off. He also popped his shoulder out early in the spring and had a custom brace built as the shoulder kept falling out. He will need an operation one day.
“This year I happened to be knocked out on the back of a bucking horse. Thank God for good cowboys who got me out of that wreck. They’re all friends of mine but they’re all top cowboys in the world. They got me out of that wreck.”
Vandenameele spoke about caring for your body in the physical sport and yoga helps in many ways as the athletes spend many hours in a vehicle travelling from event to event.
“It’s a big mental game, so I mean if you’re physically fit you’re going to be a lot stronger. Mentally, the greatest skill in life is to remain calm in all situations. So, if you’re on the back of a 1200 pound animal, the last thing you want to do is sit there with the jitters and be shaking. For one, that animal is going to be able to feel that, and for two, you won’t be able to perform at your best.”
The energy passed on to the animal has a large effect on its performance. “Energy has been big in our rodeo world. I owe a lot of that knowledge to my papa Roni because he told me a lot about horsemanship. At the end of the day, they’re still wild animals and ready to buck; they’re not trained like your little pony that you can leave around on the farm.”
Danny states that his biggest success would be that this year he reached the qualifying for the Canadian Finals Rodeo in the open senior league. Also, he qualified in 2016 in the under 21 league and the same in Calgary at the stampede where he got to ride twice there in the under 21 category.
Going back to what sparked his enjoyment of rodeo, Vandenameele said, “When I started out I wanted to be a bull rider just like every other kid watching Eight Seconds with Lane Frost. Then my uncles talked some sense into me. They said if you want to make 40 rodeos in a year, you can’t ride bulls because you only make 20 rodeos. I had a load of injuries and eventually I’m sure glad I chose that role, because to this day it doesn’t make sense to jump on the back of the bull bareback whereas saddle bronc riding comes from the traditional way of breaking a horse.”
In Smithers, B.C. Danny set his new record of 87 points. To achieve this he slowly kept rising. In 2014, he had a 84 point ride and had a hard time breaking that. Then Danny was in Grand Prairie in the spring and achieved 85 points. Then, he went to the Ponoka Stampede in central Alberta and received 85.75, then 84 1/2 and 85, then 86. “I was happy to see improvement. There are politics involved. A small town Saskatchewan boy with no name, I was talented, but you had to make a name for yourself. I had to earn my way in a little bit. There’s nothing for free in this life.”
Speaking about mentorship, Danny said, “Bareback riders are a dying breed, which is understandable as not many people want to tie their hand into a 1200 lb animal. That being said, there is a school I’ll be helping out here in Fort Qu’Appelle. I’ve helped out a few kids in Alberta ages 15-22. You’re consistently helping each other. I was able to work with a 19 year old kid from Alberta this year. I could see how he looked up to me so I took him under my wing and brought him along to a few rodeos introducing him to the guys. You try to pay it forward.”
Corey Buchberger was Danny’s mentor. “I idolized him growing up”.
Speaking about giving back, Danny spoke from the heart about some of his friends in the rodeo industry. “Another friend of mine, a 4-time Canadian champion, Dusty Lavalle lives in Alberta. I’ve spent quite a bit of time with him as he’s been diagnosed with ALS. He showed us so much and I always looked up to him. He’s got that winning attitude where even when he gets a disease like ALS he’s still saying bring it on. I like to bring that attitude towards everything.”
“Another guy I look up to is Ty Taypotat from Regina, the 2022 CFR Bareback Champion. I idolized Ty growing up, and being another Saskatchewan boy, I’m very proud to watch him this year.”
Danny is involved with a foundation called the Ty Pozzobon Foundation. “A friend of mine, who is no longer with us, took his life due to mental illness and the family ended up donating his brain. He was the first ever diagnosed bull rider with a CTE concussion. We created under his name the Ty Pozzobon Foundation which is more for mental health and brain injury awareness.”
Vandenameele can relate to the head injuries involved in the sport as he was knocked out earlier this season. “As soon as I went though that knock out, I was out for 5 minutes and I didn’t remember anything for an hour or two after. They sent me to Calgary and I went to the top brain clinics and they put me through all the tests. They really look after the cowboys.”
Giving back is part of Danny’s motivation while rodeoing. “I was at the PBR Canada Finals recently and I did a benefit charity auction which raised $24,000 for the foundations. It feels good to give back to them in a way.”
Mental health is important to every sporting association and rodeo is no different. “I have met some phenomenal people through my years and you would hate to see someone go down the wrong path because they aren’t being looked after. It is the rough test sport in the world I think. At the end of the day, it is an individual sport without a team or an agent so you have to look after yourself. There’s always a number to call. I could list a dozen people who I could call if I was feeling wonky due to concussions that they would drive right out here to Langenburg to help.”
Danny is very thankful for the community support he receives.
“I want to say a thank you to my local sponsors. DJ Miller and Sons, and Prairie Livestock as well as my family members and friends in the area for their encouragement and support. It feels like you’re riding with town support. Having that logo on your vest feels good.”
Each event Danny participates in has an entry cost, and the transportation from and to each event is costly. Those interested in helping with entry fees and mileage costs will benefit from sponsoring Danny as he showcases sponsors on the national stage in competitions such as the Calgary Stampede next year.
Rodeo is not popular in our area but that being said, anything is possible. If you love something enough then anything is achievable if you have the right mindset. Hard work pays off in the end.
Speaking about helping youth, Danny said, “I would be willing to help out any youth interested in rodeo in the area to guide them in the right direction. Who would have thought a small town boy from Langenburg would be in the Canadian Finals. I sure as heck didn’t. I believed it from day 1 but it shows anything is possible.”
Danny is currently working at the Asessippi Ski Hill helping out while getting his body ready for the 2022-23 rodeo season. “I set the goals high to win a 2023 Canadian Championship next year to complete the trifecta.”