Cody Snyder Charity Bullbustin' Wins 2024 PBR Canada Outdoor Event of the Year

AIRDRIE, Alta. – There was no better outdoor event than the Cody Snyder Charity Bullbustin’ on the beautiful Tsuut’ina Nation in Calgary, Alberta in 2024, winning PBR Canada’s Outdoor Event of the Year honor.

Since 1999, Cody Snyder has hosted a multi-day PBR event in Calgary benefitting local charities during the first week of July. Held for nearly two decades at Ranchman’s followed by a move to the Grey Eagle Resort and Events Centre in 2019, the event is a staple of the summertime landscape. 

Awarding $125,000 across the five days of competition, the event also gives back to local charities, raising more than $500,000 in 2024 alone. 

Run by 1983 World Champion bull rider Snyder, his wife Rhonda and daughters Reese and Jordyn, along with their passionate and committed production crew, Snyder says the award is an honour for everyone involved. 

“We have a great crew, and for them, with how hard they work on this event is special,” Snyder said. “They put their heart and soul into it. We work hard at it. For our family, our kids and Rhonda and I to win an award like this is huge.”

“It really means a lot to us and to our crew that we have been accomplishing big goals. We don’t stop there, either. We want to keep making it bigger and better and giving the fans and the people the event their deserve.”

After retiring from bull riding in 1993, Snyder said it only took a handful of months before he produced his first event in Calgary in May of that same year.  

“I got off my last bull in 1993, and I knew I was done. Rhonda and I were together about three years at that point, and the PBR was just getting started. There was no one else to put on PBR events in Canada,” Snyder explained.  

“Four or five months after I retired, we hit the ground running and put our first one on, and here we are 32 years later. We have done a lot of events and been a part of the growth of bull riding in Canada since day one.”

One thing that Snyder looks back on fondly from the early days of producing events were the trials and errors in a sports and entertainment, an industry that was still finding its footing.  

“Bull riding had been my whole life, and to be able to stay involved in the sport I had been a part of my whole life was a great opportunity. From day one I thought it was going to be huge. Looking at the numbers they were doing in the USA, we thought, why can’t we do that here? There were a lot of trials and tribulations. We had to learn it all from day one, there was no one to talk to. Even the PBR was new back then,” Snyder said. 

“We cut our own TV deal with CFCN which was a part of CTV in Calgary. We were the first with so many things. We were the first to use pyrotechnics in North America, PBR used it a year or two later. We felt we needed to beef up the sound systems and make it more rock and roll bull riding. It was trial and error. Rhonda and I had to make decisions and hope they worked. Most worked, some didn’t.”

This particular event, Cody Snyder’s Bullbustin’ in Calgary, began in 1999. As the brainchild of Calgary’s titular western bar and club Ranchmans’ own Harris Dvorkin and Snyder, including a charitable aspect, was a big part of what brought success in Calgary.  

“When Harris Devorkin and I put on that first event at the Ranchman’s in 1999, I knew then if you wanted longevity in the City of Calgary and you wanted an event to last a long time, you need to have that charitable component. That is the way that Calgary rolls,” Snyder said. 

“Oil and gas gives back so much to the community, and I always thought that people come out and support and stay involved because of that charitable element. It’s not about selling a bunch of seats and taking everything, but actually giving back to those charities along the way is how you get people involved and get some of that passion going. I have a family that has been buying the same two bleachers since 1999. One of the most philanthropic families in Canada. Lots of companies have been with us from day one. If you go above and beyond and you keep guaranteeing people what they will see, and actually deliver, they will keep coming back.”

The event has raised between $3.5 and $4 million dollars to date for a multitude of different charities in Canada, not limited to the Sheldon Kennedy Child Advocacy Centre and Special Olympics Canada. 

Bullbustin’ won PBR Canada Event of the Year from 2016-2018 previously, this time being the first since the move to the Tsuut’ina Nation. 

Being a bull rider himself, competing in the CPRA (Canadian Professional Rodeo Association) and PRCA (Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association) from 1980-1993, Snyder believes in doing right by the competitors who come year after year to compete in Calgary. World Champions and Canadian Champions flock to the event annually for many reasons. 

“It’s hugely important to me because I am (a bull rider). A lot of my business decisions are made on what is better for the riders. That is what this started from, the PBR started from. By the bull riders, for the bull riders,” Snyder said. 

“Since day one I have tried to add a little more money, be that little bit better. Give them the big show, spend more money on bulls, on prize money. That is what we have strived for. We keep pushing that envelope.”

“It’s cool to see the amount of money Jason Davidson and 3D Bull Riding is bringing to the PBR Canada National Finals, and all those year end awards. Bull riders can stay right here in Canada and make a good living. When I was rodeoing, that was impossible. We spent 90% of our time in the US because that is where you needed to go. We want to keep pushing that envelope and increase every way we can.”

And what does the future hold for Snyder’s Charity Bullbustin’?

With a multi-year contract in place and tons of room to grow with the Grey Eagle Resort and Events Centre, and new sky-suite VIP accommodations being added to the already state-of-the-art arena that gets set up each year, the sky is indeed the limit.  

“We have a great partnership with the Tsuut’ina Nation and the Grey Eagle Resort and Events Centre. They are 100% behind us. We have an ongoing term contract with them to keep the event there and keep growing it. There is so much there and so much great about the timing, it’s right during stampede week. Everyone is in the mood to party, have a good time and watch some great bull riding,” Snyder said. 

“Our event, and with all the corporations that come and buy full bleachers, numbers don’t lie. We have a massive wait list for people who want bleachers. We don’t have any left. We are 100% sold. We just want to keep putting on great bull riding, giving back to the community. We did over $500,000 for charities this year, we are between $3.5 and $4 million dollars for charity from this little bull riding. That’s big numbers in anything. We have a lot of support from the local business community. We can get as big as we want to get.”