Gaylene Buff isn’t at all upset that real life got in the way of the opportunity to celebrate her Canadian barrel racing championship.

Buff, a Westwold cowgirl, is the Canadian champion after an excellent weekend at the Canadian Finals Rodeo in Edmonton from Nov. 11-15. The 31-year-old rode her horse, Vador, to two first-place runs and two thirds, securing the overall title.

The brilliant performance helped elevate Buff’s season earnings to $67,555.57, the most of any cowgirl on the circuit and $928 more than Rana Walter of Lethbridge, who finished second.

Buff didn’t go crazy celebrating after her final run— instead, she got into a truck with her husband, Erik, and children, Peter and Gloria, and drove back to Westwold, where the family runs a sawmill and a logging outfit.

“We drove all night and got home about 1 a.m., Monday,” says Buff, who finished second in the 2008 standings. “I was up in the next morning, working in the office.”

She did get a chance to celebrate Friday — the Westwold Community Hall held a reception for Buff at the Legion in Westwold.

The victory was a special one for Buff, who moved to Westwold from Utah in 1998, when she married Erik. Buff’s mom and a couple of her sisters — including her twin — were in Edmonton to watch her ride.

Her father couldn’t make it — it’s gathering season at the family ranch in Utah and he had to tend the farm.

“He couldn’t leave,” Buff says. “Everybody was saying, ‘I can’t believe he isn’t here,’ but there was just no way, there’s just too much to do.

“The day I won, Nov. 15, that’s his birthday, so it was good to get to tell him I won.”

The key to the victory was Vador, Buff says. She didn’t run him much after August, which likely helped when it came down to the finals.

“I held him back a lot,” she says. “He was really fresh and running well. I figured that every run we did (earlier) would tire him out for the end of the season.”

Despite her hectic schedule, Buff has had a chance to sit back and enjoy her success. Her riding is a bit of a family venture — Buff often takes Gloria, 5, on the road with her, and Gloria and Peter, 9, both compete in Little Britches events.

“I have moments (to enjoy the victory) every day, I just think back to it,” Buff says.

“But I also have my life, my family and kids, and they make everything that much more special.”

mhunter@kamloopsnews.ca