Game Notes – Red Deer

BACK TO BUCKING – This weekend, for the fourth 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 1. Adding to the significance of the event, the tour stop is the season-launch event for the premier Cup Series. The Red Deer event will begin Saturday, February 1 at 7 p.m. MST with Round 1 and the championship round.

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

THIS WEEKEND’S FORMAT – The PBR Red Deer Classic will feature two rounds of bull riding and is a Tier 1 Velocity Tour Global event. Each rider will get on one bull in Round 1 on Saturday. The 10 bull riders with the top scores will then advance to the championship round later than evening, 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.

RELATED: Click here for the 2024 statistics bulletin. 

NICK TETZ TAKES 2023 CHAMPIONSHIP – In 2024, Nick Tetz further etched his name in the Canadian history books, winning the National Finals event to complete his come-from-behind surge to be crowned the PBR Canada Champion. As the year-end event began, Tetz, who won his first Championship in 2022, travelled to Rogers Place trailing then No. 1 Cody Coverchuk by 21.75 points. It marked the third season Tetz made his way to the National Finals ranked No. 2 in the national standings. Tetz was quick to strike in Round 1, besting Emerald Inn for 85.25 points. The score, which tied for the Round 1 win, garnered Tetz 38 national points. Coverchuk was unable to respond, bucking off Rust Bucket in a close 6.88 seconds. When the dust settled, Tetz overtook Coverchuk by 16.25 points entering Round 2. With an electric crowd watching on, Tetz continued to pour on the pressure, riding Ain’t About Fame for 83.25 points. Coverchuk again struggled, this time being tossed by Deep Creek in 4.17 seconds. Collecting an additional 14 national points, Tetz concluded the penultimate day of the 2024 season atop the Canadian standings, carrying a 30.25-point lead over No. 2 Coverchuk into Championship Saturday. Coverchuk took to the dirt first inside Rogers Place for Round 3, rebounding as he rode Vertigo Spy for 83 points. Tetz, however, made his presence known as the round concluded, delivering the top score and clinching his second PBR Canada Championship as he went the distance on Talk’s Cheap for 85.57 points. With the year-end Championship in hand, Tetz then cemented his National Finals event win as one of just two riders to go a perfect 4-for-4 as he faced a familiar opponent in Langham Kid in the championship round. Less than a month after covering the powerful bovine athlete for a monster 90 points to win the Cup Series event in Medicine Hat, Tetz delivered his fourth qualified ride in six attempts atop Langham Kid for 87.5 points Saturday night to punctuate his event win.

In winning the 2024 PBR Canada Championship, finishing 248.25 points ahead of runner-up Coverchuk, Tetz became just the fifth rider in history to win the title multiple times, joining the likes of three-time Champion Aaron Roy, and two-time title holders Zane Lambert, Coverchuk and Dakota Buttar. Tetz also became just the fourth rider to win the PBR Canada Championship and PBR Canada National Finals in the same season. He joined Lambert (2017), Coverchuk (2018) and Daylon Swearingen (2019). Tetz earned a record $153,375 inside Rogers Place during the 2024 PBR Canada National Finals, including the $100,000 Champion’s bonus, concluding the 2024 campaign having won an unprecedented $249,622.29 on home soil. When the dust settled, the Calgarian finished the season having gone a torrid 34-for-61, covering 55.74% of his animal athlete opponents. Tetz also broke the season event win record. Following his victory at the 2024 PBR Canada National Finals, Tetz rode to victory at 12 events, while also registering 20 round wins across both the elite Cup Series and Touring Pro Division.

This weekend in Red Deer, Tetz will begin his quest to become the first-ever back-to-back PBR Canada Champion when he first climbs aboard High Voltage in the opening round of the 2025 season-launch Cup Series event.

LET’S RECAP THE 2025 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. Here is a recap of those events:

Lloydminster: As the 2025 PBR Canada season got underway in late November in Lloydminster, Saskatchewan, Tyler Craig went a perfect 2-for-2 to win the Touring Pro Division’s PBR Winter Classic, and vault to an early No. 1 rank in the race for the PBR Canada Championship and accompanying $100,0000 bonus. Craig swept both rounds of competition, winning Round 1 with an 86.5-point ride on Big Easy before delivering the high-marked ride of the event in Round 2, besting Pyper for 87 points. Garnering 62 national points for the perfect 2-for-2 performance, Craig catapulted to the No. 1 rank in the Canadian national standings, leading then No. 2 Jake Gardner by 16.5 points. Looking down the leaderboard, Gardner finished second, Griffin Koester was third, Eric O'Flynn was fourth and Tanner Eno was fifth. Craig will look to remain atop the Canadian national standings this weekend in Red Deer, first set to attempt Bow Before Me in Round 1.

Dawson Creek: As the 2025 campaign continued in early December in Dawson Creek, British Columbia, Weston Davidson rode a cut above the rest, winning the Touring Pro Division’s PBR Dawson Creek inside Ovintiv Events Centre. Davidson delivered the top marks of the one-round event, outlasting Kryptonite for 84.5 points. Collecting 23 national points, Davidson rose from No. 6 to No. 4 in the early race for the 2025 PBR Canada Championship, inching within 23.5 points of No. 1 Tyler Craig. Craig was shutout in British Columbia, bucked off by Red Coat in a close 6.37 seconds. Courtesy of a double-entry Cody Coverchuk registered a pair of second-place finishes, netting a combined 26 national points. Making the requisite 8 twice for 84 points, the two-time PBR Canada Champion covered both Dream Living and Po Dunk. Chasing his record tying third national title this season, Coverchuk rose from No. 8 to No. 5 in Canada. He now trails No. 1 Craig by 24.5 national points. In Red Deer, Davidson will chase his second win of the season, first attempting Stray Bucks, while Coverchuk has drawn Purple People Eater.

PAST RED DEER EVENT WINNERS – When the Cup Series last travelled to Red Deer in February 2024, Jake Garnder rode supreme, going a perfect 2-for-2, to win the PBR Red Deer Classic. The win marked the second Cup Series victory for Gardner in Red Deer, first riding to victory in 2022. Gardner began the event inside Peavey Mart Centrium in commanding form, tying for the second-best score of Round 1 as he covered Highway to Heaven for 85 points. The charismatic British Columbia native then clinched the event win in the championship round when he conquered Broken Pearl for 87 points. The golden finish earned Gardner a crucial 200 national points. He vaulted from No. 5 to No. 1 in the early race for the 2024 PBR Canada Championship. He overtook then No. 2 Cody Coverchuk by 15 national points. As the season continued Gardner remained a consistent force inside the Top 15, ultimately concluding the year No. 11 in the Canadian standings. Gardner will begin his event title defense when he climbs aboard Super Fly in Round 1.

2024     Jake Gardner
2023     Jared Parsonage
2022     Jake Gardner

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

• Nick Tetz will look to remain perfect aboard High Voltage as he attempts him for the third time in his career. The duo first met in August 2023 squaring off at the Touring Pro Division events in Coronation and Stavely, Alberta. Tetz rode him for 86 points in Coronation and 85.5 points at the prestigious Glen Keeley Memorial Bull Riding in Stavely. Tetz most recently matched up with High Voltage at the 2023 PBR Canada National Finals as the two teamed for an 87-point score.
• Dakota Buttar will have a rubber match with Pay Day. After Buttar rode the bull for 86 points at the September 2024 Cup Series event in Grande Prairie, Alberta, Pay Day got the better of the Saskatchewan cowboy at the 2024 National Finals, tossing him in 3.92 seconds.
• Garrett Green will attempt to log his second qualified ride in as many attempts on Broken Pearl. When the duo first danced at the 2024 PBR Canada National Finals, they teamed for an 84.75-point score.
• Griffin Koester will look to reverse his past fortunes on Crazy Little Thing. The powerful animal athlete tossed Koester in 6.25 seconds at the August 2024 Touring Pro Division event in Elnora, Alberta.
• Cole Young will look to even his record against Bubbles. The bull bucked off Young in 1.88 seconds during the October 2024 Cup Series event in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan.

NEXT UP – The 2024 PBR Canada Sup Series will next travel to Lethbridge, Alberta, and VisitLethridge.com Arena for the PBR South Country Co-op Showdown on Friday, February 28 and Saturday, March 1. Action will get underway nightly at 7 p.m. MST.   

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

 

RED DEER COMPETITORS BY COUNTRY

Australia (1) – Cody Fraser

Brazil (2) – Rafael Parra, Jerson Arantes dos Santos

Canada (23) – Willam Barrows, Dakota Buttar, Auzyn Corr, Cody Coverchuk, Tyler Craig, Weston Davidson, Tanner Eno, Jake Gardner, Garrett Green, Jordan Hansen, Griffin Koester, Eric O’Flynn, Jared Parsonage, Brock Radford, Coy Robbins, Aaron Roy, Ashton Sahli, Carter Sahli, Marshall Senger, Chanse Switzer, Nick Tetz, Lonnie West, Cole Young

Guatemala (1) – Franciso Costa

United States (1) – Gavin Knutson

BREAKDOWN BY PROVINCE –

Alberta – William Barrows, Tyler Craig, Tanner Eno, Garrett Green, Jordan Hansen, Griffin Koester, Brock Radford, Coy Robbins, Ashton Sahli, Carter Sahli, Nick Tetz, Lonnie West, Cole Young; British Columbia – Auzyn Corr, Jake Gardner, Eric O‘Flynn; Saskatchewan – Dakota Buttar, Cody Coverchuk, Weston Davidson, Jared Parsonage, Aaron Roy, Marshall Senger, Chanse Switzer.