Team Canada Third at PBR Global Cup in Sydney
By: Kacie Albert Sunday, June 10, 2018 @ 5:39 PM
Tanner Byrne leads Maple Leaf contingent in Sydney as one of two riders to go a perfect 4-for-4.
SASKATOON, Saskatchewan – In front of an electric crowd at Qudos Bank Arena, Team Canada used a 6-for-9 performance Sunday evening to conclude the second leg of the inaugural PBR (Professional Bull Riders) Global Cup in Sydney, Australia, third.
After concluding the first night of the event fourth, the nation’s stellar performance in the final rounds allowed them to jump Team USA in the standings. Following a hard fought battle, Team Canada trailed second place Team Australia by 19 points, and event winner Team Brazil by 19.75 points in the final standings.
The eight-man team was led by Tanner Byrne (Prince Albert, Saskatchewan), just one of two riders event long to deliver a flawless 4-for-4 effort.
After a perfect start to the global event on Saturday, Byrne returned equally as hot on the final day of competition, first making the 8 aboard Light Em Up (Throsby & Russell Bucking Bulls) for 82.5 points in Round 2, which he followed with an 86-point trip on SweetPro’s Fully Locked & Loaded (Dittmann Bucking Bulls) in the Bonus Round.
Finishing second in the individual aggregate race, Byrne contributed 331.5 points to Canada’s overall 986.75-point total in the team aggregate.
In his Global Cup debut, Jared Parsonage (Maple Creek, Saskatchewan) was the nation’s next best performer, going 3-for-3 down under. On Sunday he added on 80.5-point trip on 5th Battalion (Dunne Bulls) to his overall aggregated, concluding his first event in Australia with 231.25 points.
Brock Radford (De Winton, Alberta) connected with Cookies n Cream (Dan Klabe) for 86 points Sunday night to notch one of Canada’s top scores of the event. The qualified ride, his second in as many outs at the event, brought Radford’s cumulative contribution to Team Canada to 166 points.
After he was unable to make the whistle Saturday, world No. 13 Dakota Buttar (Kindersley, Saskatchewan) returned to his winning ways in Round 2, marked 83.5 points on Red Man (Throsby & Russell Bucking Bulls)
Justin Lloyd (Tisdale, Saskatchewan), the nation’s alternate, stepped in during the final round after Wacey Finkbeiner (Ponoka, Alberta) was injured in Round 1. The 30-year-old seized the opportunity, making the 8 aboard Gravel Rash (Dan Klabe) for 81.25 points.
Collectively Team Canada earned a check for $65,000.
In the race for the event win, the second leg of the inaugural PBR Global Cup in Sydney concluded in dramatic fashion, coming down to the last out as Team Brazil clinched a narrow 0.75-point victory to claim the Australian horn of the Global Cup trophy filled with the host nation’s soil, and $400,000.
The green and gold teams battled until the final whistle of the global showdown. On the last out of the night, Team Australia’s top rider, Nathan Burtenshaw (Coonamble, New South Wales) needed a monster ride to overtake Brazil and keep his country’s soil. Burtenshaw made the whistle, and the faithful at Qudos Bank Arena erupted. But the clutch ride, scoring a strong 84.75 points, fell slightly short of winning the second leg of the five-nation tournament.
Team Brazil, which is dominating the PBR World standings with seven of the Top 10 ranked riders, was led by current world No. 1 Kaique Pacheco (Itatiba, Brazil), who made the 8 for 84.75 points on SweetPro’s Chemical Weapon (Mayne Bucking Bulls) in Round 2, before covering Rodeo Blues (Throsby & Russell Bucking Bulls) for 85 points in the decisive Bonus Round.
Collectively, Pacheco was a perfect 4-for-4 in Sydney, propelling him to the top of individual aggregate with 334 points, and netting him a $30,000 bonus in the process.
“I didn’t ride just for myself; I rode for my team,” Pacheco said. “They gave me the strength for what I did.”
Five riders on Team Brazil logged qualified rides in Sydney, including Luciano De Castro (Guzolandia, Brazil) who went a perfect 3-for-3 to contribute 249 points to the South American nation’s total.
Reigning Rookie of the Year Jose Vitor Leme (Ribas do Rio Pardo, Brazil) was another key figure in Team Brazil’s victory, going 2-for-3 with identical 84-point rides across both nights.
Veteran rider Eduardo Aparecido (Gouvelandia, Brazil) went 2-for-2, logging 167.25 points for Team Brazil.
Second place Team Australia was inspired by Burtenshaw, the nation’s top rider in the world standings at No. 25. Recovering from a broken collarbone, he was the only rider from the host nation to record three qualified rides throughout the two-night event, going 1-for-1 on Saturday and 2-for-2 on Sunday, including a critical 84.75 point score on SweetPro’s Enemies Everywhere (Throsby & Russell Bucking Bulls) in the final ride of the competition.
Burtenshaw finished with an individual aggregate score of 244.5, three spots in the ranks above Australian captain Cliff Richardson (Gresford, New South Wales), who notched an aggregate average of 169.75 from two qualified rides across both nights.
Richardson had previously scored Saturday’s highest-marked ride on Blossom (Brandenburg Bucking Bulls) for 87.25 points, before covering Stealth (George Hempenstall) in Sunday’s Round 2 for 82.5 points.
Current PBR Australia No.1 Aaron Kleier (Clermont, Queensland) also contributed a big score to Australia’s total on Sunday, making the 8 on Notorious (Brandenburg Bucking Bulls) during the night’s first round for 86.5 points. The critical effort nabbed Kleier the highest-scoring ride of the night and was key to keeping Team Australia in contention with Brazil.
The Australian team will split $75,000 for their performance at Qudos Bank Arena.
“The boys really pulled together,” said Team Australia coach Troy Dunn. “I am super proud of them. They couldn’t have tried any harder.”
Team USA, which captured the inaugural PBR Global Cup event title in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada, last November, was led by team captain and 2016 PBR World Champion Cooper Davis (Buna, Texas), who sat atop the individual aggregate race after the first night.
The 23 year-old dropped to No.3 in the individual standings after being bucked off by Sweet Pro’s Palooka (Dittmann Bucking Bulls) at the 5.04-second mark in Sunday’s Bonus Round. Davis, however, still added 258 points to Team USA’s total via his 3-for-4 performance.
Davis will arguably be most remembered in Sydney for making the 8 on Unbroken (Brandenburg Bucking Bulls) during Saturday’s Bonus Round. The 86.5 point ride broke the bovine’s previous 14-out unridden streak.
Matt Triplett (Columbia Falls, Montana) made the second biggest contribution to Team USA’s total, logging two qualified rides over both nights of competition for 169.25 points. Triplett covered 5th Battalion (Dunne Bulls) for 84 points on Saturday, before earning another 85.25 points aboard On Point (Throsby & Russell Bucking Bulls) during Sunday’s Round 2.
Team Mexico’s fifth place finish was underscored by a marked improvement during Sunday night’s finale. After scoring only two qualified rides during Saturday’s opener, the team added a healthy 332.75 points to its collective total on Sunday.
Team Mexico’s aggregate score was boosted by 28 year-old Jorge Valdiviezo (La Mision, Mexico), who went 2-for-2 over both nights to add 170.25 points to his nation’s total.
It was a statement performance from Valdivezo, who was unable to compete in the first leg of the Global Cup due to injury.
Sunday also saw 20 year-old young-gun Francisco Garcia Torres (Mission, Mexico) secure an 81.5-point ride on Domino Effect (Dunn Bulls), while Gustavo Pedrero made an 83-point contribution during Saturday’s Bonus Round.
“The best bull riders in the world, and the second leg of the PBR Global Cup it comes down to less than a single point,” said Sean Gleason, CEO, PBR. “It doesn’t get any better than this in our sport.”
The five-nation, team-style PBR Global Cup will announce its next three stops in the future.
Fans will be able to relive all the action on TSN2 when the network airs a one-hour highlights program from the event on Tuesday, July 3 at 7:00 p.m. ET.
Be sure to stay tuned to PBRCanada.com for the latest event information, and follow the team’s journey on Facebook (PBR Canada), Twitter (@PBRCanada), and Instagram (@PBRCanada).
2018 Professional Bull Riders Sydney Global Cup
Qudos Bank Arena – Sydney, Australia
- Team Brazil, 1,006.5 points
- Team Australia, 1,005.75 points
- Team Canada, 986.75 points
- Team USA, 924 points
- Team Mexico, 501.25 points
2018 Professional Bull Riders Sydney Global Cup
Qudos Bank Arena – Sydney, Australia
(Round 1-Round 2-Round 3-Round 4-Individual Event Aggregate)
1. Kaique Pacheco, 81.25-83-84.75-85-334
2. Tanner Byrne, 79.50-83.5-82.5-86-331.5
3. Cooper Davis, 85-86.5-86.5-0-258
4. Luciano De Castro, 83.75-0-83.25-82-249
5. Nathan Burtenshaw, 78.25-0-81.5-84.75-244.5
6. Jared Parsonage, 68.5-82.25-80.5-0-231.25
7. Jorge Valdiviezo, 85.5-0-84.75-0-170.25
8. Cliff Richardson, 87.25-0-82.5-0-169.75
9. Matt Triplett, 84-0-85.25-0-169.25
10. Jose Vitor Leme, 84-0-84-0-168
11. Claudio Montanha Jr., 82.25-0-85.5-0-167.75
12. Eduardo Aparecido, 83-0-84.25-0-167.25
13. Brock Radford, 80-0-86-0-166
14. Brennon Eldred, 81-0-84.25-0-165.25
15. Aaron Kleier, 0-0-86.5-0-86.5
16T. Juan Carlos Contreras, 0-0-84.75-0-84.75
16T. Lachlan Richardson, 0-0-84.75-0-84.75
18. Fraser Babbington, 0-0-84.5-0-84.5
19T. Ramon de Lima, 83.75-0-0-0-83.75
19T. Justin Paton, 83.75-0-0-0-83.75
21T. Dakota Buttar, 0-0-83.5-0-83.5
21T. Stetson Lawrence, 83.5-0-0-0-83.5
23. Cody Heffernan, 0-0-83.25-0-83.25
24T. Gustavo Pedrero, 0-83-0-0-83
24T. Mitchel Paton, 83-0-0-0-83
26T. Jess Lockwood, 82.75-0-0-0-82.75
26T. Derek Kolbaba, 82.75-0-0-0-82.75
28. Cody Nance, 0-0-82.5-0-82.5
29. Zane Lambert, 82.25-0-0-0-82.25
30T. Jason Mara, 82-0-0-0-82
30T. Troy Wilkinson, 82-0-0-0-82
32T. Dener Barbosa, 81.75-0-0-0-81.75
32T. Alfonso Orozco, 0-0-81.75-0-81.75
34. Francisco Garcia Torres, 0-0-81.5-0-81.5
35T. Justin Lloyd, 0-0-81.25-0-81.25
35T. Ky Hamilton, 81.25-0-0-0-81.25
37T. Lonnie West, 79.5-0-0-0-79.5
37T. Bailey Woodard, 79.5-0-0-0-79.5
Keyshawn Whitehorse, 0-0-0-0-0.00
Guilherme Marchi, 0-0-0-0-0.00
Edgar Durazo, 0-0-0-0-0.00
Wacey Finkbeiner, 0-0-0-0-0.00
Budd Williamson, 0-0-0-0-0.00
Ethan Watts, 0-0-0-0-0.00
Francisco Morales, 0-0-0-0-0.00
Alvaro Aguilar Alvarez, 0-0-0-0-0.00