Game Notes – Red Deer

BACK TO BUCKING – This weekend, for the third time in history, PBR Canada’s elite Cup Series will buck into Red Deer, Alberta. The PBR Red Deer Classic will be held at Peavey Mart Centrium on February 3. Adding to the significance of the event, the tour stop is the season-launch event for the premier Cup Series and the first of two Majors for the 2024 campaign. The Red Deer event will begin Saturday, February 3 at 7 p.m. MST with Round 1 and the championship round.

RELATED: Click here for the complete Red Deer Game Notes. 

MAJOR, MAJOR, MAJOR – During the 2024 season, PBR Canada will host two Majors, offering riders both an increased event purse and Canadian national points. The season-launch event in Red Deer, Alberta will host the first Major, while the final regular-season Cup Series event of the year in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, will welcome the second.  Below is a breakdown of the Canadian national points available this weekend in Red Deer:

 

	2024 PBR Canada Major		Ride Score Points
	Rounds	Aggregate	Score	Points
1	30	150	70-79.75	7
2	20	94	80-89.75	8
3	14	67	90-99.75	9
4	12	40
5	11	34
6	9	26
7	8	17
8	6	8
9	5	7
10	3	6

 

THIS WEEKEND’S FORMAT – The PBR Red Deer Classic will feature two rounds of bull riding and is a Tier 1 Velocity Global event. Each rider will get on one bull in Round 1 on Saturday. The 10 bull riders with the best scores will then advance to the championship round on Saturday 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 210 national points, in addition to ride score points.

RELATED: Click here for the 2023 statistics bulletin. 

DAKOTA BUTTAR TAKES 2023 CHAMPIONSHIP – In 2023, Dakota Buttar further etched his name in the Canadian history books, making a come-from-behind surge to be crowned the PBR Canada Champion. He became just the fourth rider in history to win the title multiple times, and the first to win the landmark $100,000 champion’s bonus. Buttar, who won his first title in 2020, travelled to Edmonton for the 2023 PBR Canada National Finals, presented by Command Tubular Products, having not competed in more than a month after suffering a broken collarbone in winning the Cup Series event in Grande Prairie, Alberta in October. As a result of being sidelined, Buttar began the year-end event No. 3 in the standings, 95.66 points back of regular-season No. 1 Cody Coverchuk. Proving he had not missed a step, Buttar first put points on the board in Round 1 when he covered Young Blood for 84.75 points. The reserved Saskatchewan native then delivered his second score in as many attempts as he went the distance aboard High Voltage for 86 points. Via the 2-for-2 showing on the opening night of action, Buttar rose to No. 2 in Canada, pulling within 57.66 points of the top spot.

Buttar returned to Rogers Place on Championship Sunday determined not to let another title slip through his fingers. Quick to convert, Buttar recorded the fifth best score of Round 3 when he rode Irish Rebel for 85.5 points. The score earned Buttar the second pick in the championship round, an opportunity he used to select Time Marches On. In a decision which proved dividends, Buttar remained in perfect time with the animal athlete, matching him jump-for-jump en route to the requisite 8 as the crowd erupted in raucous cheer. The 86.75-point score punctuated Buttar’s perfect 4-for-4 outing inside the home of the NHL’s Edmonton Oilers. Finishing the 2023 Canadian National Finals tied for second, Buttar, who earned 199 national points, vaulted to the No. 1 rank in the nation, crowned the 2023 PBR Canada Champion. Buttar concluded the campaign 38.84 points ahead of 2022 PBR Canada Champion and the 2023 season’s No. 2 Nick Tetz. During his final out, however, Buttar rebroke his collarbone, sidelined ever since. This weekend in Red Deer, he will make his return to competition, taking on Black Jack in Round 1 of the PBR Red Deer Classic.

LET’S RECAP THE 2024 TPD ACTION – While the first bull has yet to buck for the elite Cup Series, the developmental Touring Pro Division has held two events, travelling to Lloydminster, Saskatchewan, and Dawson Creek, British Columbia. Both events were won by Cody Coverchuk who will travel to Red Deer keen to defend his No. 1 rank in the Canadian standings. He has drawn Two Bit Bucking Bulls’ Crazy Little Thing in Round 1. Here is a recap of those events:

• Lloydminster: As the 2024 PBR Canada season got underway in Lloydminster, Saskatchewan, no rider was more dominant than two-time Champion Cody Coverchuk. Going a perfect 2-for-2, Coverchuk won the PBR Winter Classic at the Lloydminster Agricultural Exhibition Association. Coverchuck first lit up the scoreboard in Round 1 when he teamed with Almost Gone for an 86-point score. The reserved Saskatchewan man then defended his position atop the leaderboard when he won Round 2, clinching the event win when he made the requisite 8 atop Sippin Bravo for 85.5 points. Compliments of the event win, Coverchuk netted 60.5 national points. He vaulted to an early No. 1 rank in the race for the 2024 PBR Canada Championship, and accompanying $100,000 bonus, pulling 19.5 points ahead of then No. 2 Jake Maher. In Lloydminster, every rider inside the Top 5 delivered a perfect 2-for-2 showing. Maher finished second, followed by Chad Hartman in third, Micheal Ostashek in fourth and Garret Green fifth.
• Dawson Creek: Cody Coverchuk continued to dominate in Dawson Creek, British Columbia, furthering his stronghold on the nation’s No. 1 rank, by winning the Touring Pro Division’s PBR Dawson Creek. Coverchuk, who is chasing his record-tying third national title at season’s end, is now a perfect 4-0 in 2024 competition, having won both events held to date. As action got underway inside Ovintiv Events Centre, Coverchuk won Round 1, covering Tactical Error for 87 points. The Saskatchewan man then cemented his second event win of 2024 in the championship round when he conquered Slingin Stones for 86 points. Courtesy of the golden finish, Coverchuk netted a crucial 37 national points. He extended his lead over No. 2 Jake Maher to 45.5 national points. Maher also competed in Dawson Creek, finishing sixth to garner 11 national points. The Australian went 1-for-2, riding Box Cutter for 83 points in Round 1, only to be tossed by Bo Diddley in 4.85 seconds in the championship round.

HOT TAKES – While it’s been more than a month since the last event on Canadian soil, the nation’s finest have been hard at work stateside. Here’s a few storylines that have developed in the offseason:

• Chanse Switzer Makes UTB Debut: This January, Chanse Switzer reached a career milestone, tapped to make his Unleash The Beast debut in New York City for the Major inside Madison Square Garden. Switzer earned the berth courtesy of his strong showing on Canadian soil at the end of 2023 and in the first events of 2024. He posted three consecutive Top 15 finishes, including a fourth-place finish in Dawson Creek, the second event of the new year in Canada. In his first out on the premier series, Switzer was tasked with none other than two-time and reigning YETI World Champion Bull Ridin’ Solo. Switzer proved no match for the powerful animal athlete, tossed in 2.67 seconds. In his Round 2 out, Switzer was unable to rebound, bested in 1.94 seconds by Little Star. Now back on home soil, Saskatchewan native Switzer will look to begin the Cup Series campaign strong, taking on Vold Rodeo’s Wild Time in Round 1 inside the Peavey Mart Centrium. Via his showing in Dawson Creek, Switzer is currently tied for the No. 9 rank, 82.5 points back of No. 1 Cody Coverchuk.
• Hartman, Davidson and Gardner Find PWVT Success: During the lull of events in Canada, several of the nation’s top riders travelled stateside in search of crucial Velocity Global points as they attempt to make a bid to qualify for the 2024 PBR World Finals. Among the group, Chad Hartman, Weston Davidson and Jake Gardner all found success. Hartman led the contingent, delivering both a fifth-place finish in Denver, Colorado, and Reno, Nevada to climb to No. 16 in the Velocity Global standings. Davidson rode his way to a podium finish in Charleston, West Virginia, finishing third, followed by a twelfth-place finish in Reno, rising to No. 40 in the Velocity Global standings. Gardner rounded out the trio with a sixth-place finish in Denver and eleventh-place result in Reno. He is now No. 29 in the Velocity Global standings. In Red Deer, Hartman has drawn Wolf Bait in Round 1, Davidson will take on Hanna Motors Broken Halo and Gardner will climb aboard Highway to Heaven.

PAST RED DEER EVENT WINNERS – When the Cup Series last travelled to Red Deer in February 2023, no rider was more dominant than Jared Parsonage. As one of four riders to go a perfect 2-for-2 inside Peavey Mart Centrium, Parsonage led the contingent, winning the PBR Red Deer Classic and surging to the No. 1 rank in the race for the 2023 PBR Canada Championship. As the event got underway, Parsonage was unrivaled in Round 1, delivering the top score when he covered Smoke Bomb for 86 points. With the first pick in the championship round bull draft, Parsonage architected a rematch with Hard Not To Get. Parsonage had ridden the powerful animal athlete for 88.5 points when winning the 2022 PBR Canada National Finals, presented by Command Tubular Products. Replicating his past success, Parsonage reached the requisite 8 for 89 points to cement the victory. Parsonage earned 58 national points and surged from unranked to a then No. 1 in the national standings, pulling 3.5 points ahead of then No. 2 Cody Coverchuk. When PBR Canada’s Cup Series debuted in Red Deer in 2022, Jake Gardner rode his way to the winner’s circle compliments of a perfect 2-for-2 effort. Prior to the debut of the PBR Canada Cup Series in Red Deer, the city held two developmental Touring Pro Division events in 2015 and 2016, both won by Garrett Green. Parsonage, Gardner and Green are all anticipated to compete at the 2024 iteration of the PBR Red Deer Classic. Parsonage will take on Times A Wasting, Gardner will climb aboard Highway to Heaven as the first rider out in Round 1, and Green will attempt Catfish.

2023: Jared Parsonage
2022: Jake Gardner

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

• Tyler Craig will look to improve to a perfect 3-for-3 against Lil’ Hooch. Craig first rode Lil’ Hooch for 86 points during the May 2023 Cup Series event in Brandon, Manitoba. Less than two months later, Craig again covered the powerful animal athlete for a matching 86 points during the Touring Pro Division event in Calgary in early July.
• Weston Davidson will climb aboard Hanna Motors Broken Halo for the third time, however, remains on the hunt for his first qualified ride. The duo’s two showdowns on record were from the 2022 season. After Hanna Motors Broken Halo tossed Davidson in 2.24 seconds during the Cup Series event in late October in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, he again bested the cowboy in 2.67 seconds in mid-October during Round 3 of the National Finals in Edmonton, Alberta.
• Fabian Dueck as also drawn a bull he has attempted twice prior, and much like Davidson, has yet to make the requisite 8. Dueck first took on Hanna Motors Sure Shot in August 2021, tossed by the bull in 4.16 seconds. More than two years later, in November 2023 in Lloydminster, Saskatchewan, for the first Touring Pro Division event of 2024, the two went head-to-head again, but Hanna Motors Sure Shot again emerged supreme, tossing Dueck in a quicker 2.84 seconds.
• Three-time Canadian Champion will look to even the score against Whiskey Moon. In July 2023, Whiskey Moon upended the veteran rider in 4.47 seconds during Round 1 of the Touring Pro Division event in North Battleford, Saskatchewan.
• Young gun Chad Hartman is eager to reverse his fortunes atop Wolf Bait. At the October 2023 Touring Pro Division event in Calgary, Alberta, Hartman was sent airborne by the bull in a swift 2.81 seconds.
• Chase Switzer will face the final familiar opponent, set to attempt Wild Time for the second time. Wild Time proved no match for Davidson at the 2022 Touring Pro Division event in Armstrong, British Columbia, bucking Switzer off in a close 6.97 seconds.

BULL PEN – This weekend’s Red Deer Classic will be headlined by reigning Bull of the Year Built Tough. The commanding bovine athlete concluded the 2023 regular season atop the standings with a 44.6-point average, 0.2 points ahead of No. 2 contender Langham Kid. Built Tough’s outing in the championship round of the 2023 PBR Canada National Finals, which earned him a bull score of 43 points clinched him the year-end honor. He finished a razor-thin 0.04 points ahead of reserve Bull of the Year Blue Magic, who will also return to the bull pen this weekend inside Peavey Mart Centrium. Both bovines are slated to buck in the championship round.

NEXT UP – The 2024 PBR Canada Sup Series will next travel to Lethbridge, Alberta, and ENMAX Centre for the PBR South Country Co-op Showdown, presented by VisitLethbridge.com on Friday, March 1 and Saturday, March 2. Action will get underway nightly at 7 p.m. MST.   

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

 

RED DEER COMPETITORS BY COUNTRY

Australia (1) – Cody Fraser

Canada (24) – William Barrows, Dakota Buttar, Cody Coverchuk, Tyler Craig, Weston Davidson, Jake Gardner, Wyatt Gleeson, Elijah Gordon, Garrett Green, Jordan Hansen, Chad Hartman, Jett Lambert, Keaton Martz, Micheal Ostashek, Jared Parsonage, Eric O’Flynn, Brock Radford, Coy Robbins, Aaron Roy, Ashton Sahli, Cauy Schmidt, Marshall Senger, Chanse Switzer, Cole Young

New Zealand (1) – Wade Marshall

Paraguay (1) – Fabien Dueck

United States (1) – Trace Redd

BREAKDOWN BY PROVINCE –

Alberta – William Barrows, Tyler Craig, Wyatt Gleeson, Garrett Green, Jordan Hansen, Jett Lambert, Keaton Martz, Micheal Ostashek, Brock Radford, Coy Robbins, Ashton Sahli, Cauy Schmidt, Cole Young; British Columbia – Jake Gardner, Elijah Gordon, Eric O‘Flynn; Saskatchewan – Dakota Buttar, Cody Coverchuk, Weston Davidson, Chad Hartman, Jared Parsonage, Aaron Roy, Marshall Senger, Chanse Switzer.