Game Notes – Ottawa

BUCKING BULLS IN CANADA’S CAPITAL – This weekend, for the first time since 2018, and just fourth time in history, PBR Canada’s elite Cup Series will buck into Ottawa, Ontario. The PBR Ottawa Classic, the sixth elite tour event of the season, will be held at the Canadian Tire Centre, home of the NHL’s Ottawa Senators, on Saturday, June 8. Action will begin at 7:00 p.m. EDT.

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 best combined 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.

TETZ TAKES THE CAKE IN KINGSTON – At the second PBR Canada Cup Series Major of the season, no rider was more dominant than 2022 PBR Canada Champion Nick Tetz as he won both the overall event and accompanying 5/5 Bucking Battle. Going 2-for-3, Tetz quickly converted in the opening round as he rode Hat Trick for 82 points. Positioned fifth on the leaderboard as Round 2 got underway, the 2022 PBR Canada Champion then went head-to-head with Dealing After Midnight.  Making the whistle with ease, Tetz was marked 81 points. Despite being offered a re-ride, Tetz elected to keep the score, a decision which proved dividends. While the 8-second effort tied for third in the second round of competition, it catapulted him to the top of the event leaderboard. Tetz, who rides for the Arizona Ridge Riders in the separate PBR Teams league, then drafted Look At This Dude as his final animal athlete opponent. While Tetz was tossed prior to the whistle, at the 4.78-second mark, his opening two scores proved enough to cement the event win. Tetz is now the first rider to win multiple Cup Series events to date in 2024. The charismatic Albertan also tied for the victory in the PBR Kingston Classic’s accompanying 5/5 Bucking Battle, outlasting Allemand Left for 85.5 points. Leaving Slush Puppie Place having earned 201 national points, Tetz surged from No. 7 to No. 2 in the race for the 2024 PBR Canada Championship and accompanying $100,000 bonus. Should Tetz continue his upward climb and be crowned the 2024 PBR Canada Champion he would become fifth rider in history to win the coveted honor multiple times.

Tetz now trails No. 1 Cody Coverchuk by 284.5 points. Coverchuk went 1-for-2 in Kingston to tie for fifteenth. His 79-point ride on Red Carpet in Round 1, netted him 1 Canadian national point. As the tour turns for Ottawa, Tetz will look to continue his upward momentum when he climbs aboard Fur Daddy in Round 1, while Coverchuk will look to regain his momentum when he takes on Rattle Bones.

CAMPBELL CONVERTS IN CANADIAN DEBUT – For the first time in 2024, and just second time in his career, 2020 PBR World Finals event winner and Rookie of the Year Boudreaux Campbell brought his talents to Canada. Fresh off his fourth career appearance at the PBR World Finals, Campbell finished second at the PBR Kingston Classic. The standout for the Missouri Thunder earned 132 Canadian national points courtesy of his Round 1-winning, 85-point ride atop Lil’ Hooch. Attempting to qualify for the PBR Canada National Finals for the first time in his career, Campbell rose from unranked to No. 12 in Canada, propelled within 518.5 points of the top spot. Returning to the lineup for this weekend’s Cup Series event in Canada’s Capital City, Campbell has drawn Great White.

DAVIDSON CONTINUES TO RISE – Last November, Weston Davidson missed qualifying for the 2023 PBR Canada National Finals by a mere 0.5 points. This season, he is determined not only to return to bull riding’s most prestigious event in the Great White North but be a title contender in the process. Less than two weeks after winning his career-first Cup Series event in Brandon, Manitoba, Davidson furthered his stronghold on the No. 3 rank in Canada by finishing third at the PBR Kingston Classic. Compliments of an 83.5-point ride on Divorce Papers, Davidson garnered 95 Canadian national points, inching within 295 points of No. 1 Cody Coverchuk. This weekend inside the Canadian Tire Centre, Davidson will look to get off to a strong start when he climbs aboard a familiar opponent in Busta Rhymes in Round 1.

RINGLING ROAD IS RANK – The 2024 season may still be ramping up in Canada, but one bull has already established himself as an early contender for the PBR Canada Bull of the Year honor – Ringling Road. Hailing from Wilson Rodeo, Ringling Road has been dominant at the most recent Cup Series events, crowned the YETI “Built for the Wild” Bull of the Event in both Brandon, Manitoba, and earlier this week in Kingston, Ontario. And Ringling Road’s most recent out is the high-marked bull score thus far in Canada in 2024. Drawn by Stefan Tonita as a re-ride in the Major’s opening round, Ringling Road was marked an impressive 45 points for his 2.98 seconds of work. Ringling Road is now the top-ranked bull in Canada with a 43.7-point average. He leads No. 2 Grand Funk by 0.2 points. Ringling Road is currently amid a six-out buckoff streak, last ridden at the 2023 PBR Canada National Finals by Nick Tetz for 87.25 points. Tetz is the lone rider in 16 outs on record to have covered the powerful animal athlete.

While Grand Funk is not in competition in Ottawa, Ringling Road will return to the draw in the championship round inside the home of the NHL’s Ottawa Senators looking to grow his lead in the standings and again turn heads with a top-marked out.

PAST OTTAWA EVENT WINNERS – When PBR Canada’s elite tour last visited the Capital City in 2018, young gun Austin Richardson went a perfect 2-for-2 to capture the event victory. The event also featured a dominant performance by Alberta sensation Lonnie West who finished second, and two-time PBR Canada Champion Zane Lambert who was fourth.

In the bull pen, Happy Camper delivered a massive 44.5-point trip to earn his second Bull of the Event honors for the 2018 season. The score was a key steppingstone in his path to being crowned the season’s Bull of the Year.

2018 Austin Richardson
2017 Cody Casper
2016 Brant Atwood

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

• Weston Davidson will climb aboard Busta Rhymes for the fifth time in his career. While the first two matchups between the duo resulted in buckoffs, with Busta Rhymes tossing Davidson in 2.72 seconds at the May 2023 Cup Series event in Brandon, Manitoba, and again in 1.76 seconds at the July 2023 Touring Pro Division event in Lacombe, Alberta, the last two showdowns have ended in qualified rides. Davidson first conquered the bull for 83.5 points at the mid-May 2024 Touring Pro Division event in Camrose, Alberta, and then delivered an 84-point ride on Busta Rhymes later that month en route to his first Cup Series victory of his career in Brandon. Manitoba.
• Ashton Sahli will look to reverse his fates atop “@Originbrewingco”. The two faced off last month at the Touring Pro Division event in Brooks, Alberta, as the bull bested Sahli in a quick 2.78 seconds.
• Dakota Buttar’s rivalry with Night Stalker will be renewed. The two met just days prior in Kingston, Ontario, and while Night Stalker brought Buttar down in 4.57 seconds, the two-time and reigning PBR Canada Champion was awarded a re-ride.
• Tyler Craig faces the final familiar opponent, set to attempt Jail Break for the second time in his career. Last July at the Touring Pro Division event in Lacombe, Alberta, Jail Break upended eventual 2023 PBR Canada National Finals winner Craig in 2.01 seconds.

NEXT UP – The 2024 PBR Canada Sup Series will next travel to Kelowna, British Columbia, and Prospera Place for the PBR Okanagan Challenge on July 18. Action will get underway at 7 p.m. PDT.   

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

2024 5/5 BUCKING BATTLE SCHEDULE AND RESULTS - Each 5/5 Bucking Battle features the Top 5 riders from the event following Round 1, competing against the five highest-ranked bulls at the event for extra bonus points and an additional purse. Here are the winners of the special rounds thus far in 2024:

March 1 in Lethbridge, Alberta | Cody Coverchuk, 86 points on Wild Time
June 4 in Kingston, Ontario | Nick Tetz, 85.5 points on Allemand Left & Coy Robbins, 85.5 points on Wicked Water

 

OTTAWA COMPETITORS BY COUNTRY

Australia (2) – Cody Fraser, Callum Miller

Brazil (1) – Gilmar Santana

Canada (21) – Dakota Buttar, Cody Coverchuk, Tyler Craig, Weston Davidson, Tyler Ewart, Wyatt Gleeson, Dusty Golden, Garrett Green, Jordan Hansen, Chad Hartman, Griffin Koester, Keaton Martz, Cole Matheson, Jared Parsonage, Brock Radford, Coy Robbins, Ashton Sahli, Carter Sahli, Chanse Switzer, Nick Tetz, Justin Van de Kemp

United States (1) – Boudreaux Campbell

BREAKDOWN BY PROVINCE –

Alberta – Tyler Craig, Wyatt Gleeson, Dusty Golden, Garrett Green, Jordan Hansen, Griffin Koester, Keaton Martz, Brock Radford, Coy Robbins, Ashton Sahli, Carter Sahli, Nick Tetz; Ontario – Tyler Ewart, Coleston Matheson, Justin Van de Kemp; Saskatchewan – Dakota Buttar, Cody Coverchuk, Weston Davidson, Chad Hartman, Jared Parsonage, Chanse Switzer.