Sad as Calgary Stampede retires X-9 Xplosive Skies after serious injury
The storied career of X-9 Xplosive Skies, the bucking horse of the Calgary Stampede, has ended.
When the 14-year-old star horse was being carried to the Lea Park Rodeo in Marwayne, Alberta, in early June, an injury occurred that prevented it from competing.
According to Calgary Stampede stock contractor spokesman Keith Marrington, retiring Xplosive Skies was the right course of action given the circumstances, even though competitors and rodeo spectators will miss her dearly.
“We decided to basically retire her when she sustained an injury that ended the season. In our opinion, we may still view this positively,” Marrington remarked.
“At just 14 years old, she is an amazing mare. We may now use our Born to Buck program to breed her and produce some really nice colts.”
Since her bareback National Finals Rodeo debut in 2016, Xplosive Skies has been without a doubt one of ProRodeo’s best horses. Only four horses have won two competitions and PRCA Horse of the Year, including X-9.
She was voted Saddle Bronc Horse of the Year just last season, and in 2021 she won the World Champion Bareback Horse of the Year title. Logan Hay riding Xplosive Skies set the PRCA Saddle Bronc Riding World Record in 2022. At Pollockville, Alberta’s Hardgrass Bronc Match, the pair combined for 95.5 points.
She attended six National Finals Rodeos during her career (one in saddle bronc and five in bareback), winning the titles of Bareback Horse of the NFR in 2016 and Saddle Bronc Horse of the NFR in 2023. At the Finals, six cowboys, led by three round victories (Kaycee Feild, 91.5 points, Round 3, 2020; Jess Pope, Round 8, 89 points, 2020; and Zeke Thurston, Round 5, 91 points, 2023), reached the pay window on her back.
“She’s done so many great things in the rodeo arena in a short amount of time and now she will continue to hopefully produce world champion bucking horses on the ranch,”
Marrington stated. “She is so beneficial to the program we have up here, and I know she’ll be a great mare for years to come.” Sage Newman rode X-9 to an 88-point ride in the Championship Shootout at RodeoHouston on March 17, marking Xplosive Skies’ final outing.
The next years of her life will be spent at her home on the 23,000-acre Stampede Ranch in Alberta, the granddaughter of the ProRodeo Hall of Fame horse Grated Coconut.
