Vernon’s Ty Elliot is the No. 1 bull rider in Canada, and his roommate is right behind him.

Elliot rode Speed Dial for an 89.5 to claim first the bull riding event at Wrangler Canadian Professional Rodeo Tour Championship last weekend in Calgary, pushing his annual CPRA earnings to $28,230.

He was the only rider in the final four to stay on for the full eight seconds. In addition to the $9,000 he pocketed in the finals, Elliot estimates he earned close to $13,000 overall from his winnings in the earlier rounds.

Tyler Thompson, who Elliot moved in with this year, is a mere $17 behind him on the money list.

“This is definitely a career year for me,” said Elliot, 23. “This year is really coming together for me. I’ve been taking it way more serious than before, and I’m treating it more like a career than a sport. I’ve surrounded myself with guys that I look up to, and that’s the biggest difference.”

The tour championship win also gives Elliot a berth into next year’s Calgary Stampede.

He remembers the last one all too well.

While Thompson was competing in the final-four in bull riding, Elliot was back at Thompson’s Turner Valley home (near Okotoks) building a fence.

“I had to race inside watch the TV once in a while to see how he was doing,” chuckled Elliot.

In addition to the last weekend’s event, Elliot also won rodeos in Ponoka, Alta., St. Tite, Que. He was also runner-up in Cloverdale.

But Elliot isn’t the only one in the family making noise on the rodeo scene.

His little brother, Clay, 14, is ranked third in Canada in steer riding and, as a top-six rider, will join his older brother at the Canadian Finals Rodeo in Edmonton.

Recent changes to CPRA guidelines allow competitors carry their annual earnings into the CFR, where previously the top rider at the event took the overall title.

“It’s definitely a big deal to be in the top three or four heading in,” said Elliot.

Elliot plans to come home to help his parents, Vern and Mona, run their store, The Cowboys Choice, over the Christmas holiday. After that, he’ll head down to the southern U.S. in January to start the winter rodeo circuit.