PBR’s Monster Energy Tour Makes First-Ever Stop in Grande Prairie on October 2-3

GRANDE PRAIRIE, Alberta – For the first time in tour history, PBR (Professional Bull Riders) Canada’s elite Monster Energy Tour will travel to Grande Prairie, Alberta, with the “toughest sport on dirt” set to buck into Revolution Place on October 2-3, 2020.  

The Monster Energy Tour regularly features Canada’s best riders alongside some of the league’s top international athletes, squaring off against the rankest bucking bulls from across the nation. Fans will witness exhilarating 8-second rides and wrecks throughout the action-packed event as the PBR’s courageous bull-riding athletes face off against their 2,000-pound opponents.

As part of the 2020 Grande Prairie BuckWild, new health and safety measures will be instituted. The new fan safety protocols for the event include:

• Mobile ticketing options and waiving of online ticket purchase fees.
• POD seating, which increases distancing and minimizes fan crossover when entering and exiting their seats.
• More efficient arena exit to reduce congregation among fans.
• Increased options for cashless, contactless concessions and merchandise sales.

While the event will mark the first-ever Monster Energy Tour stop in Grande Prairie, the Swan City is no stranger to the edge-of-the seat adrenaline experienced at a professional bull riding event.

Last season, in 2019, the PBR debuted in Grande Prairie, with the event then part of the developmental Touring Pro Division. 

In a ferociously competitive event, two riders stood out and made big moves in the national standings. Brock Radford (De Winton, Alberta) was propelled to No. 7 in the nation courtesy of his runner-up effort, and Jared Parsonage (Maple Creek, Saskatchewan), finishing fifth, was able to inch within 122.51 points of reclaiming the No. 1 ranking in the national standings.

Positioned near the end of the 2019 schedule, the intense competition in Grande Prairie foreshadowed one of the most fiercely contended national championship races in league history. While Parsonage and Dakota Buttar (Kindersley, Saskatchewan) entered the season-culminating PBR Canada Finals ranked No. 1 and No. 2 in the nation, within a slim 32.49 points of one another, young gun Daylon Swearingen (Piffard, New York) completed one of the most riveting come-from-behind surges in history with a dominant performance.

After Swearingen entered the event No. 4 in the nation, he went a perfect 4-for-4 to win the Canadian Finals and erase a 689.57-point gap to emerge the 2019 PBR Canada Champion by 450.42 points over runner-up Buttar.

In addition to marking the first-ever PBR Canada Monster Energy Tour event in the city, the Grande Prairie BuckWild on Oct. 2-3 will also feature the third-ever 5/5 Bucking Battle in the nation’s history. This special round pits the Top 5 riders from the national standings against the Top 5 bovine athletes bucking in the event, competing for additional national points and prize money. After Radford won the first 5/5 Bucking Battle in January in Calgary, Garrett Green (Meeting Creek, Alberta) was top cowboy in the most recent iteration of the special round.

The bull riding action begins at 7:00 p.m. MT on Friday, October 2, and Saturday, October 3 at Revolution Place. All riders will attempt one bull each in Round 1 on Friday, followed by the 5/5 Bucking Battle. On Saturday, after all entered riders attempt one additional bull each in Round 2, the Top 10 will advance to the championship round later that evening for one more out and a chance at the event title. In addition to competing for points towards the Canadian national standings, riders will also vie for crucial points towards the World Finals.

Tickets for the Grande Prairie BuckWild go on sale Friday, June 26 at 10:00 a.m. MT. They range in price from $35 to $90, standard fees may apply, and can be purchased online at RevolutionPlace.com, by phone at (780) 538-0387, or at the Revolution Place box office.

The 2020 slate of events marks the fifth season for the Monster Energy Tour as a unified competitive series traveling across the country. After visiting the likes of Calgary and Lethbridge, Alberta, the season is anticipated to culminate in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan for the 2020 PBR Canada Finals on November 13-14. All future PBR Canada events are subject to change given the evolving regulations regarding the COVID-19 (coronavirus) pandemic.