Game Notes – Ottawa

BUCKING BULLS IN CANADA’S CAPITAL – This weekend, for the second consecutive season, and fifth time in tour history, PBR Canada’s elite Cup Series will buck into Ottawa, Ontario. The PBR Ottawa Classic, the fifth elite tour event of the season, will be held at the Canadian Tire Centre on Saturday, June 14. Competition will begin at 7 p.m. ET.

RELATED: Click here for the complete Ottawa Game Notes.

THIS WEEKEND’S FORMAT – The PBR Ottawa Classic will feature two rounds of bull riding and is a Tier 1 Challenger Series 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.

A NEW NO. 1: DAKOTA BUTTAR – In the history of PBR Canada, only one rider has ever won the prestigious PBR Canada Championship three times. But this November, Dakota Buttar is attempting to become the second, and following his win last weekend in London, Ontario he is pacing to do just that. Buttar began the London Classic ranked No. 2 in Canada, trailing then No. 1 Jake Gardner by 151 points. The stoic veteran got off to a quick start in Round 1, delivering the top score when he covered Kryptonite for 88.5 points. Buttar then remained atop the leaderboard following Round 2 when he outlasted Red Rust for 87.5 points. With the first pick in the championship round bull draft, Buttar elected to go head-to-head with More or Less. A familiar opponent, Buttar had covered him in their previous two meetings, including in early February en route to his Cup Series win in Red Deer, Alberta, for 87 points. Nodding with confidence, Buttar repeated his past success, dominating the bovine athlete for 89 points to clinch his second Cup Series win of the season. Courtesy of the golden finish, Buttar earned a crucial 251 points. He overtook Gardner for the No. 1 rank in Canada, now leading his countryman by 100 points. Buttar, who is the only rider thus far this season to have won multiple Cup Series events, is covering a torrid 72.22% of his animal athlete opponents in Canada, having gone 13-for-18. Eager to gain further ground in the national standings, Buttar will look to continue his momentum in Ottawa when he first attempts Rattle Bones in Round 1.

HEVALOW HITS HIS STRIDE IN CANADA – Last weekend, for the second time in his career, Koltin Heavlow made his way to Canada to compete at the elite Cup Series event in London, Ontario. Fresh off his third career PBR World Finals qualification, Hevalow showed up and showed out, going a perfect 3-for-3 to finish second. Hevalow, who rides for the Kansas City Outlaws in the separate PBR Teams league, topped Hat Trick for 82 points in Round 1, Leader Of The Pack for 87.5 points in Round 2, and Whoopsie Hustle for 87 points in the championship round. The silver showing in his 2025 Canadian debut allowed Hevalow to catapult from unranked to No. 10 in the national standings. He is now 417.17 points behind No. 1 Dakota Buttar. Hevalow was joined in London by his younger brother Krash. In his PBR debut, the 18-year-old Hevalow was shut out, going 0-for-2. Both Koltin and Krash will return to the Great White North this weekend, drawing I’m A Criminal and Waiting On Hank, respectively, in Round 1 of the PBR Ottawa Classic.  

PAST OTTAWA EVENT WINNERS – Last June in Ottawa, Ontario, Boudreaux Campbell showed up and showed out, going a perfect 2-for-2 inside the Canadian Tire Centre to win the Ottawa Classic. Campbell first took on Great White inside the home of the NHL’s Ottawa Senators. Remaining in perfect time with the powerful animal athlete, Campbell surged to an early event lead, winning Round 1 with an 83.5-point ride. With the first pick in the championship round bull draft, 2020 PBR Rookie of the Year and World Finals event winner Campbell elected to go head-to-head with Emerald Inn. In a decision which proved dividends, Campbell nodded with confidence as the last man to erupt from the chutes. Matching the bull jump-for-jump as the electric crowd burst into boisterous cheer, Campbell logged his second score in as many attempts, marked an event-best 87 points. The score cemented the victory for Campbell, his first on Canadian soil, while also earning him a crucial 136 Canadian national points. He rose from No. 12 to No. 5 in the standings, inching within 436.5 points of then No. 1 Cody Coverchuk.

2024 Boudreaux Campbell
2018 Austin Richardson
2017 Cody Casper
2016 Brant Atwood

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

• Cody Coverchuk will climb aboard Jammer for the third time in his career. When the two first met in November 2024 at the Touring Pro Division event in Yorkton, Saskatchewan, Coverchuk was bucked off in 5.35 seconds. They faced off again this past May at the Cup Series event in Brandon, Manitoba, and Coverchuk again met a similar fate, this time tossed by Jammer in a close 7.75 seconds.
• Dawson Shannon will look to remain perfect against Diggin Up Bones. At the October 2022 Cup Series event in Grande Prairie, Alberta, Shannon covered the bull for 84.5 points.
• Krash Hevalow has drawn Waiting On Hank for the second time in as many weeks. Last week at the Cup Series event in nearby London, Hevalow was bucked off by the bull in 2.03 seconds.

NEXT UP – Following a near one-month break, the PBR Canada Cup Series will next travel to Kelowna, British Columbia, and Prospera Place for the PBR Okanagan Challenge on Thursday, July 17. Action will get underway at 7 p.m. PT.   

PROVIDING PROTECTION – The bullfighters on hand for this weekend’s event in London, Ontario, are Brayden Byrne, Tanner Byrne and Logan Kadlec.

OTTAWA COMPETITORS BY COUNTRY

Brazil (4) – Franciso Costa, Alex Junior da Silva, Ednelson Martins, Rafael Parra

Canada (18) – Logan Biever, Dakota Buttar, Cody Coverchuk, Weston Davidson, Jake Gardner, Jordan Giguere, Garrett Green, Jordan Hansen, Dusty McMullen, Micheal Ostashek, Austin Paley, Jared Parsonage, Coy Robbins, Dawson Shannon, Chanse Switzer, Bret Timmermans, Justin Van de Kemp, Lonnie West

United States (3) – Koltin Hevalow, Krash Hevalow, Daniel Keeping

BREAKDOWN BY PROVINCE –

Alberta – Logan Biever, Garrett Green, Jordan Hansen, Micheal Ostashek, Austin Paley, Coy Robbins, Dawson Shannon, Lonnie West;  British Columbia – Jake Gardner; Ontario – Dusty McMullen, Bret Timmermans, Justin Van de Kemp; Quebec – Jordan Giguere; Saskatchewan – Dakota Buttar, Cody Coverchuk, Weston Davidson, Jared Parsonage, Chanse Switzer.