Game Notes – Regina

RETURNING RANK ACTION TO REGINA – This weekend, for the second time in history, PBR Canada’s elite Cup Series, presented by Wrangler, will buck into Regina, Saskatchewan. The PBR Regina Classic, the fifth elite tour event of the season, will be held at Brandt Centre on Wednesday, June 21. Action will begin at 7 p.m. CST. The 2023 PBR Regina Classic will be held in tandem with Canada’s Farm Show, scheduled for June 20-22. As one of the largest dryland farming shows in the country, Canada’s Farm Show is one of the most important agricultural shows in North America and attracts a global audience.

RELATED: Click here for the complete Regina Game Notes. 

THIS WEEK’S FORMAT – The PBR Regina Classic will feature two rounds of bull riding and is a Tier 1 Challenger Series event. Each rider will get on one bull in Round 1 on Wednesday. The 10 bull riders with the best scores will then advance to the championship round, where they will attempt one final bull in an effort to be crowned the event champion. This weekend, one rider will have the chance to earn 120 national points, in addition to ride score points.

ROY RIDES RED HOT INTO REGINA – In the history of the PBR, no rider has won four Canadian Championships. However, that could all change this November if Aaron Roy continues to ride at his current red-hot pace. In the last 30 days, Roy has entered four events, riding to victory at three, catapulting him to the No. 2 rank in the nation. Roy’s streak began on May 26 when he topped the field at the Touring Pro Division event in Winnipeg, Manitoba. The veteran contender first put points on the board in Round 1 when he teamed with Freaked Out for 79.5 points, which positioned Roy second on the event leaderboard entering the final round. Roy next found himself matched up against Crossfire’s Black Jack. Again reaching the whistle, the three-time PBR Canada Champion was scored an event-best 86 points to clinch the victory. Netting a crucial 37 national points, Roy rose from No. 18 to No. 11 in the national standings, pulling within 202 points of No. 1 Jared Parsonage.

Roy’s winning ways continued the very next day as he won the third Cup Series event of the season in nearby Brandon, Manitoba. In Round 1, Roy climbed aboard Emerald Inn inside Westoba Place at The Keystone Centre. In what proved to be a perfect pairing, Roy dominated the bull en route to the whistle, marked 85.5 points, the second-best score of the round. Roy then selected The Remedy as his championship round opponent. Remaining in what seemed to be perfect time with the animal athlete, Roy was initially called for a buckoff past the 7.6-second mark, but he quickly challenged the call. Upon review, Roy was deemed to have made the requisite 8, marked a victory-clinching 89 points. Courtesy of the win, Roy garnered a crucial 116 national points and vaulted from No. 11 to No. 3 in the fierce title race. He left Brandon within 105 points of No. 1 Parsonage.

After a seventh-place finish less than two weeks later at the Touring Pro Division event in Waskesiu Lake, Saskatchewan, Roy returned to the winner’s circle at the developmental series’ most recent event on June 16 in Humboldt, Saskatchewan. At Discovery Ford Sales in Humboldt, despite bucking off Big Easy in a hard-fought 7.63 seconds in Round 1, Roy earned a second chance by advancing to the championship round on time. Making the most of the opportunity, Roy remained in harmony with Finning Nikki Sixx en route to the 8-second whistle. Marked a commanding 87 points, the score was enough to clinch the veteran the victory. Roy earned a much needed 27 national points and climbed from No. 3 to No. 2 in the battle to be crowned the 2023 PBR Canada Champion, inching within 68 points of No. 1 Parsonage. Roy will look to continue his upward momentum in Regina, first facing off with Patches O’Houlihan.

SMITH MAKES A STATEMENT IN ELK RIDGE – Since the most recent Cup Series event in London, Ontario, two PBR Canada Touring Pro Division events have been held, with a different rider winning each. In Waskesiu Lake for the second iteration of 8 Seconds at The Ridge, Blake Smith rode supreme. Delivering a perfect 2-for-2 effort at Elk Ridge Resort, Smith won the event, cracking the Top 20 in the heated battle to be crowned the 2023 Canadian Champion. Smith began the tour stop white-hot, delivering what would prove to be the Round 1-winning score on the first night of action when he covered Last Rights for 86 points. As the last man to leave the chutes when the first night of action wound to a close, Smith next found himself going head-to-head with Broken Halo. In what proved to be a perfect pairing, Smith matched the powerful animal athlete jump-for-jump en route to the requisite 8 for a victory-clinching 88 points. The golden finish earned Smith a crucial 36.5 national points, and he catapulted from No. 27 to No. 19 in the Canadian standings. Following his victory, Smith rode to a fourth-place finish at the most recent developmental event in Humboldt, Saskatchewan. The pair of Top-5 efforts position Smith No. 18 in the current national standings, 220.5 points behind No. 1 Jared Parsonage. When the elite Cup Series resumes in Regina, Saskatchewan, Smith will take on Evil Cross in Round 1.

PAST REGINA EVENT WINNERS – When the elite Canadian Cup Series debuted in Regina in June 2022, just one month after being crowned the 2022 PBR World Champion, Daylon Swearingen brought his undeniable talents back to Canadian soil, going a perfect 2-for-2 to win the event. In Round 1, the young New York native reached the requisite 8 seconds on Mogely for 85.5 points. Swearingen then architected a rematch with two-time PBR Canada Bull of the Year Happy Camper in the championship round. In November 2021, Swearingen had clinched his second career PBR Canada Finals event win after covering “the Bucking Sensation from the Two Bit Nation” for a commanding 91.5 points. In Regina, after the two titans burst from the chute, Swearingen was pulled over top of the bull’s head, and the status of the ride went into review. The PBR Canada officials confirmed Swearingen reached the whistle, and he was awarded an event-best 89.5-point score to clinch the win. Apart from the Cup Series, the Rocky Cup and Touring Pro Division visited Regina three times prior. In 2006, Rocky McDonald won the Rocky Cup event in Regina, while the pair of Touring Pro Division events held in the Saskatchewan city in 2011 were won by Ty Patten and Aaron Roy.

2022 Daylon Swearingen

FAMILIAR WATERS – Round 1 of the PBR Regina Classic will feature three rematches. Those riders facing familiar opponents are:

• Reigning PBR Canada Champion Nick Tetz headlines the list of familiar showdowns, locked in a rubber match with Busta Rhymes. The duo first went head-to-head in October 2022 when Tetz covered the bull for 86.5 points in Medicine Hat, Alberta. Tetz, however, was unable to replicate his past success when the duo most recently faced off this March during the Cup Series event in Lethbridge, Alberta’s accompanying 5/5 Bucking Battle. Busta Rhymes proved too much for Tetz, tossing him in 5.68 seconds.
• Cauy Schmidt will look to remain perfect against Quiet Riot. The reigning PBR Canada Rookie of the Year rode the bull for 83.5 points on June 9 during the Touring Pro Division event in Waskesiu Lake, Saskatchewan.
• Two-time PBR Canada Champion Cody Coverchuk is the final rider to have drawn a familiar opponent during Round 1 of the PBR Regina Classic. He will look to avenge a 2.63-second buckoff dealt to him by Night Stalker during the late May Touring Pro Division stop in Winnipeg, Manitoba.

NEXT UP – The 2023 PBR Canada Sup Series, presented by Wrangler, will next travel to Kelowna, British Columbia, and Prospera Place for the PBR Okanagan Challenge on Thursday, July 20. Action will get underway at 7 p.m. PDT.   

PROVIDING PROTECTION – The bullfighters on hand for this weekend’s event in Regina, Saskatchewan, are Tanner Byrne, Brett Monea and Ty Prescott.  

2023 5/5 BUCKING BATTLE SCHEDULE AND RESULTS - Each 5/5 Bucking Battle features the Top 5 riders from the event following Round 1, competing against the five highest-ranked bulls at the event for extra bonus points and an additional purse. Here are the winners of the special rounds thus far in 2023:

March 3 in Lethbridge, Alberta | Coy Robbins, 89.5 points on Positively Bangin

 

REGINA COMPETITORS BY COUNTRY

Australia (4) – Zane Hall, Toby Leake, Jake Maher, Callum Miller

Canada (19) – William Barrows, Dakota Buttar, Cody Coverchuk, Tyler Craig, Weston Davidson, Jake Gardner, Wyatt Gleeson, Jordan Hansen, Chad Hartman, Tim Lipsett, Jared Parsonage, Coy Robbins, Aaron Roy, Carter Sahli, Cauy Schmidt, Griffin Smeltzer, Blake Smith, Nick Tetz, Stefan Tonita.

New Zealand (1) – Wade Marshall

Paraguay (1) – Fabian Dueck

United States (3) – Conner Halverson, Weston Hartman, Elijah Mora

BREAKDOWN BY PROVINCE –

Alberta – William Barrows, Tyler Craig, Wyatt Gleeson, Jordan Hansen, Coy Robbins, Carter Sahli, Cauy Schmidt, Griffin Smeltzer, Nick Tetz; British Columbia – Jake Gardner; Saskatchewan – Dakota Buttar, Cody Coverchuk, Weston Davidson, Chad Hartman, Tim Lipsett, Jared Parsonage, Aaron Roy, Blake Smith, Stefan Tonita.