Flawless Blake Smith Wins Career-First PBR Canada Cup Series Event in Brandon, Manitoba

BRANDON, Man. – In front of a sold-out crowd inside Westoba Place, young gun Blake Smith (Abbey, Saskatchewan) showed up and showed out, delivering a flawless 2-for-2 performance to win the first-ever PBR (Professional Bull Riders) Canada Cup Series, presented by Wrangler, event in Brandon, Manitoba, victorious at the PBR Mazergroup Chute Out.

Fresh off making his PBR Team Series preseason debut the night prior in Bismarck, North Dakota, for the Austin Gamblers, Smith readied to take on Confused Mind (X6 Ranch Bucking Cattle/Legend Rodeo Stock) in Round 1 as he returned to Canada.

In perfect time with the animal athlete, Smith reached the requisite 8 for 83.5 points, tying for the round win.

Smith then used his early pick in the Round 2 bull draft to select Crossfire’s Black Jack (Lazy S Bucking Bulls), a decision which proved dividends.

Matching the powerful animal athlete jump-for-jump, the electric crowd erupted in cheer as Smith reached the whistle for an event-best 87 points.

Edging past the runner-up contender by a mere 2 points in the aggregate, Smith’s score clinched him the victory.

Smith’s golden finish earned him a critical 77 national points. Ranked No. 4 in the national standings prior to the event, Smith surged to No. 2 in the fierce battle to be crowned the 2022 PBR Canada Champion and earn the accompanying $50,000 bonus. Smith is now within a mere 11.5 points of the No. 1 rank.

Lonnie West (Cadogan, Alberta) continued his resurgent season Saturday evening, also going a perfect 2-for-2 to finish second and further his stronghold on the No. 1 rank in the Canadian standings.

West was quick to strike in Round 1, delivering one of the event’s initial qualified rides when he covered Smog (Outlaw Buckers Rodeo Corp.) for 81.5 points.

Remaining laser focused, West again converted in Round 2, dominating Trump Card (Lazy S Bucking Bulls) for 87 points.

West has now covered his last four bovine athlete opponents on home soil, also going 2-for-2 during his second-place effort at the season-launch Cup Series event in Red Deer, Alberta.

Garnering 57.5 national points for his latest silver showing, West is now 11.5 points out front of No. 2 Smith.

Third was Logan Biever (Claresholm, Alberta).

As the only other rider to register two scores, Biever first covered Bar Star (X6 Ranch Bucking Cattle/Legend Rodeo Stock) for 83 points, before going the distance aboard Preacher (X6 Ranch Bucking Cattle/Legend Rodeo Stock) for 82 points.

Netting 42 points for his podium finish, Biever cracked the Top 5 in the Canadian standings. Now ranked No.5 in the nation, Biever trails No. 1 West by 83.5 points.  

Two-time PBR Canada Champion Zane Lambert (Ponoka, Alberta) and Jared Parsonage (Maple Creek, Saskatchewan) rounded out the Top 5 in tying for fourth.

As the event got underway, both riders were upended by their draws, with Lambert brought down by Paulie Wallnutz (CS Bucking Bulls) in 4.69 seconds, and Parsonage bucked off by Crawfoot (X6 Ranch Bucking Cattle/Legend Rodeo Stock) in 4.5 seconds.

Needing to rebound, Lambert and Parsonage were triumphant in Round 2, delivering matching 84.5-point efforts. Lambert covered Freaked Out (Lazy S Bucking Bulls) and Parsonage rode Moe Joe (CS Bucking Bulls).

Lambert and Parsonage both collected 22.5 national points. Seeking his third PBR Canada Championship in 2022, Lambert is now No. 9 in Canada, 103 points back, while Parsonage is No. 15, 115 points removed from the No. 1 position.

In the bull pen, two-time and reigning PBR Canada Bull of the Year Happy Camper (Two Bit Bucking Bulls) was crowned the YETI “Built for the Wild” Bull of the Event.

Besting 2020 PBR Canada Champion Dakota Buttar (Kindersley, Saskatchewan) in Round 2 in a close 7.64 seconds, the Bucking Sensation from the Two Bit Nation was marked an event-best 43.5 points.   

The 2022 PBR Canada Sup Series, presented by Wrangler, will next travel to Regina, Saskatchewan, and the Brandt Center for the first of two midweek events on Wednesday, June 22. Action for the PBR Region Classic get underway at 7:00 p.m. CST.     

Stay tuned in to PBRCanada.com and follow the tour on Facebook (PBR Canada), Twitter (@PBRCanada), and Instagram (@PBRCanada) for the latest results, news, stats and more.

PBR Canada Cup Series, presented by Wrangler
PBR Mazergroup Chute Out
Westoba Place – Brandon, Manitoba
(Round 1-Round 2-Event Aggregate-Event Points)
1. Blake Smith, 83.5-87-170.50-77 Points.
2. Lonnie West, 81.5-87-168.50-57.5 Points.
3. Logan Biever, 83-82-165.00-42 Points.
4. Zane Lambert, 0-84.5-84.50-22.5 Points.
(tie). Jared Parsonage, 0-84.5-84.50-22.5 Points.
6. Jake Gardner, 0-84-84.00-9 Points.
7. Todd Chotowetz, 83.5-0-83.50-17.5 Points.
8. Aaron Roy, 82-0-82.00-9 Points.
9. Chad Hartman, 78-0-78.00-5 Points.
Dakota Buttar, 0-0-0.00
Cody Coverchuk, 0-0-0.00
Weston Davidson, 0-0-0.00
Thor Hoefer II, 0-0-0.00
Osman Alvarez, 0-0-0.00
Wyatt Lavallee, 0-0-0.00
Tyson Salmon, 0-0-0.00

2022 PBR Canada National Standings
(Place, Rider, Events, Wins, Top 5's, Points, Total Winnings)
1. Lonnie West, 5, 1, 3, 137.50, $11,900.59
2. Blake Smith, 4, 3, 3, 126.00, $13,265.78
3. Jake Gardner, 2, 1, 1, 83.00, $7,612.00
4. Aaron Roy, 6, 0, 3, 65.00, $7,080.20
5. Logan Biever, 7, 0, 2, 54.00, $4,782.50
6. Dawson Shannon, 3, 0, 1, 45.00, $3,652.00
7. Dakota Buttar, 6, 0, 3, 43.00, $5,605.04
8. Coy Robbins, 5, 1, 2, 36.50, $6,371.18
9. Zane Lambert, 5, 0, 2, 34.50, $3,652.50
10. Griffin Smeltzer, 4, 1, 2, 31.00, $4,626.08
10. Nick Tetz, 6, 0, 2, 31.00, $5,379.44
12. Marcos Gloria, 4, 1, 1, 27.00, $3,286.23
13. Micheal Ostashek, 5, 0, 2, 25.00, $2,414.16
14. Cody Coverchuk, 8, 0, 2, 23.00, $3,011.69
15. Jared Parsonage, 2, 0, 1, 22.50, $1,570.00
16. Todd Chotowetz, 3, 0, 0, 17.50, $1,470.00
17. Callum Miller, 6, 0, 1, 15.00, $2,191.43
18. Garrett Green, 5, 0, 1, 12.00, $1,663.37
19. Brock Radford, 4, 0, 1, 11.00, $1,815.43
20. Chad Hartman, 5, 0, 0, 5.00, $0.00
21. Ashton Sahli, 5, 0, 0, 3.00, $416.50
22. Tanner Eno, 4, 0, 0, 1.50, $215.65
23. Tim Lipsett, 2, 0, 0, 0.00, $0.00
23. Tyler Craig, 5, 0, 0, 0.00, $0.00
23. Cole Young, 1, 0, 0, 0.00, $0.00
23. Weston Davidson, 5, 0, 0, 0.00, $0.00
23. Jaden Ozirney, 1, 0, 0, 0.00, $0.00
23. Nicholas Klinck, 4, 0, 0, 0.00, $0.00
23. Tanner Skene, 4, 0, 0, 0.00, $0.00
23. Ethan Schultz, 3, 0, 0, 0.00, $0.00
23. Landon Schmidt, 2, 0, 0, 0.00, $0.00
23. Fabian Dueck, 2, 0, 0, 0.00, $0.00
23. Lonnie Phillips, 1, 0, 0, 0.00, $0.00
23. Jake Maher, 4, 0, 0, 0.00, $0.00
23. Wade Marshall, 3, 0, 0, 0.00, $0.00
23. Stefan Tonita, 2, 0, 0, 0.00, $0.00
23. Cauy Schmidt, 3, 0, 0, 0.00, $0.00
23. Chance Switzer, 3, 0, 0, 0.00, $0.00
23. Elijah Gordon, 2, 0, 0, 0.00, $0.00
23. Jett Lambert, 2, 0, 0, 0.00, $0.00
23. Clay Gordon, 2, 0, 0, 0.00, $0.00
23. Cole Hartman, 2, 0, 0, 0.00, $0.00
23. Tyson Salmon, 2, 0, 0, 0.00, $0.00
23. Brian Hervey, 1, 0, 0, 0.00, $0.00
23. Thor Hoefer II, 1, 0, 0, 0.00, $0.00
23. Osman Alvarez, 1, 0, 0, 0.00, $0.00
23. Wyatt Lavallee, 1, 0, 0, 0.00, $0.00