Nick Tetz takes Reclaims No. 1 Rank in Canada, Looks to Bull Power for 2024 Championship

AIRDRIE, Alta. – As if winning 10 events wasn’t enough for PBR Canada title favourite Nick Tetz, last weekend he went a perfect 2-for-2, including a 90-point effort on Langham Kid to take home the Cup Series event title in Medicine Hat, Alberta, marking his unprecedented eleventh win of the season.

With that same bull taking his title rival Cody Coverchuk to the win three weeks ago in Grande Prairie, Alberta, Tetz says those consistent championship round bulls are what help make title seasons.

“I think having good timing and going out and doing the same thing every time is something that you want to look for when you're picking your short round bull,” Tetz explained. “You don't want to be second guessing too much, you want to know you will know the moves when you pick that bull.”

Oftentimes, riders will find themselves with a bull that they get along with, especially during seasons where they advance to the championship round and have the opportunity to draft bulls weekly like Tetz is.

Tetz says that throughout his career, plenty of bulls like that come to mind, such as Flying Four Bucking Bulls’ Finning Lil’ Shorty.

"You didn’t know what way he was going to go, but he felt like a dream," Tetz said. "He was up and down and put you exactly where you wanted to be. As long as you were doing your part on him, he rode really good. I wouldn’t say easy, just rode well."

Others are Time Marches On and Grand Funk.

"[Time Marches On] can go either way, but most times will go left. He might switch it up on you, too. He is another one of those bulls that is up and down and puts you where you want to be and as long as you're doing your job, he feels really good,” he said.

“[Grand Funk] has a lot going on, and it looks like he is moving and stutter stepping, but his shoulders don't move or roll at all. So as long as you have a seat on that bull, you're going to be a bunch.”

With two weekends of action left before the 2024 Command Tubular PBR Canada National Finals, presented by Edmonton’s Best Hotels, the Bull of the Year race is starting to become clearer.

Grand Funk leads the standings with a 44.1-point average, followed by No. 2 Nobody (44 points), No. 3 Ringling Road (43.9 points), No. 4 Moonwalk (43.7 points) and No. 5 Built Tough (43.6 points).

“We have a lot of really good bulls up here, bucking really good right now," Tetz said. "Having the Finals in the beginning of November is best for the bulls. There isn’t a lot of time for them to go through any cold snaps and get standing around the feeder yet. The bulls have been a lot better at the Finals than those years when it was late November."

“There are a lot of bulls that have some tricks to them and aren’t as easy to ride as others,” he continued. “Others just flat out buck their asses off, and there isn’t much you can do more than hang on to them. It’s going to be an interesting Finals when it comes down to the Bull of the Year, there isn’t really one favourite. Anyone can win it right now.”

With two events left, the pressure is on for the riders on the bubble.

If the season were cut off today, a rider would need 180 points to qualify as the final man. There are 12 riders within 120 points of that mark, and with Saskatoon being a Major, offering increased points, there is a lot on the line for the competitors this weekend.

“It has been a weird year with Coverchuk riding as good as he did in the spring. I remember saying in Humboldt, Saskatchewan, in June we should probably give him the title now, because it’s going to be tough to catch him. It’s made for some interesting storylines too for the bubble, because it’s so jam packed,” Tetz added.

Even with top riders coming up from the states, including 2024 PBR Teams MVP John Crimber, 2022 PBR World Champion Daylon Swearingen and Kansas City Outlaws standout Koltin Hevalow, competing in Saskatoon to try to punch their tickets to Edmonton and ride for their share of the historic $250,000 Finals purse, Tetz says his eyes are on his friends Tanner Eno and fellow Arizona Ridge Rider Colten Fritzlan, who is making his PBR Canada debut this weekend.

"Tanner was battling some stuff earlier this year and took the time off and now he is back," Tetz said. "I see that Tanner Eno of old, he is riding bulls because he loves it and isn’t worried about what others have to say."

Tetz says Fritzlan was thinking about going to a few other rodeos, but in Las Vegas he, Jason [Davidson] and Tanner [Byrne] convinced him to come up and enter Saskatoon.

"I don't see him falling off too many bulls; especially up here with lots of bulls fitting him really good," Tetz said. "I think he might punch his ticket to Edmonton over these next two weeks.”