2022 Canadian Champion Nick Tetz Breaks Down his Title Experience While Planning Bigger Goals for 2023

AIRDRIE, Alta. –  When the dust settled Nov. 12 in Edmonton, Alberta, Nick Tetz took home his first PBR Canada Championship. The 22-year-old bull rider went 2-for-4 at the National Finals to surpass regular-season No. 1 Dakota Buttar and hold off a hard-charging Brock Radford. 

Spending no time during the final weekend looking at the standings, Tetz said that he had about 90 seconds to digest the fact he had won the title before the pyro went off and he was crowned the champion. 

“I never knew and no one really looked,” Tetz explained. “I was in the dressing room about to take my jeans off, everything is already folded up in my bag. Packing my bag up. Jayden Vold comes running down the hallways, finds me and says, ‘Nick they are looking for you.’” 

“I wasn’t exactly sure until that last minute,” Tetz continued. “I had enough time to jump down into the alleyway, shake Jared Parsonage’s hand and share pleasantries, and then he was called to go get his cheque on stage. That was it.”

The 2018 Rookie of the Year said the accomplishment was about three years in the making.

“It was a crazy feeling knowing that goal got accomplished and that I got to cross it off the list,” Tetz said. “I always said I wanted to conquer Canada before I really went south. You look at the list of winners and everyone who has done that fared well down south as well.” 

“It was just kind of a soaking it all in in the moment. I did what I set out at the beginning of the year. I don’t think it quite sunk in in that moment, because to me that was always the end goal, been the goal for three years or so. I have always believed I can do it. But then Brett [Gardiner] said his line about etching your name in the history books, and it all kind of hit me.”

This year was a successful season for Tetz, beyond the come-from-behind title win.

Having logged five event wins across both tours, including back-to-back Cup Series victories in Lethbridge, Alberta, Tetz was always within striking distance of the No. 1 rank, and briefly held the position in the final months of the season.  

“I remember watching Jess [Lockwood] and Jose [Vitor Leme] having their world title race, and I always wondered what it would be like to be in that,” Tetz said. “Your mind just shifts to not caring what’s going on around you, you get tunnel vision. You stop hearing the announcers, you don’t really hear what’s going on in the bucking chutes. Everything is just quiet, and all you see, and sense, is where you are looking. It’s super cool to experience that at this age, and come out on top of it.” Tetz said. 

Competing against the likes of Radford, Buttar and Coy Robbins for the series title, Tetz said there isn’t another group of guys he would want to go head-to-head with for a title with so many in the running. 

“In Round 3, I had Brock, Dakota and Chad [Hartman] helping me on. Dakota was telling me to get it right, that I have a lot riding on it. I remember looking up and seeing Dakota there. He has always been that quieter guy but has really come out of his shell these last couple years. He has become one of my better friends in that locker room apart from the guys I am always going with.”

“Brock was there giving me a hand, pulling my rope and I made sure I was there giving him and hand. Coy has been riding lights out the last two weeks. Nobody hotter honestly right now. It’s super good to see considering how many old injuries he had, he is coming into his own. He is someone I have competed against and with since I was 14. We have always been next to each other through this whole ride.”

“Seeing all the camaraderie in this locker room is great,” Tetz continued. “Everyone wants everyone to do good, but still if you are 88, they want to be 89. That is what it boils down to, and it’s awesome to be a part of a locker room like that.”

As for what is next for the Calgary native, he says he will be making a run at qualifying for the PBR World Finals in 2023. 

“I want to qualify for the World Finals,” Tetz said without hesitation. “I don’t think I will be in much of a title hunt being a shorter season now, and I might still be getting used to the caliber of bulls down there, but I think qualifying for the World Finals is something that is attainable. I think it would be a good starting block down there. The other thing would be to go back-to-back in PBR Canada. I would be open to PBR Teams, but we just have to see how it goes come July.” 

When asked what kind of PBR Canada Champion he wants to be, and how he wants to carry the flag of defending title holder going into 2023, Tetz said he wants to bridge the generational gap and be an example for those his age and younger of what they can achieve in the sport of bull riding. 

“The NFP Podcast had Cooper Davis on,” Tetz began. “They were talking about when Cooper Davis won the title in 2016 and Tanner [Byrne] was talking about rolling with him. After he won it, Tanner said he realized that he could be a World Champion too, because his own traveling partner won the thing. That ran through my head a little bit. I am thinking of the guys I am rolling with -- Tyler Craig, Dawson Shannon, Ashton Sahli -- all those friends of mine, friends I have had since I was 15. Making them realize that if Nick can do this, we can do this. There is no reason we can’t go after and accomplish this same thing too.”

“I always want everybody to know that I am all about good vibes,” Tetz concluded. “It’s about having fun, let the bull riding take care of itself, and being a good person out of the arena too. Being friendly to everyone, being available for everyone, because you don’t really know what someone might be going through and a little chat might just make their day that much better.