PBR Canada’s Elite Cup Series Returns to Saskatoon, Saskatchewan Oct. 28-29

For the 14^th time in history, PBR (Professional Bull Riders) Canada will buck into Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, as the elite Cup Series, presented by Wrangler, will take over SaskTel Centre for two days of competition on October 28-29 for the PBR Saskatoon Classic, presented by Redhead Equipment and CASE IH.

PBR Canada’s Cup Series 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.

For two nights only, 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.

The PBR Saskatoon Classic, presented by Redhead Equipment and CASE IH, will mark the eighth event of the 2022 season for the PBR Canada Cup Series, presented by Wrangler, and final stop for the nation’s premier series prior to the National Finals, presented by Command Tubular Products, on Nov. 11-12 in Edmonton, Alberta. The tour will launch on June 11 in Red Deer, Alberta, and travel across Alberta, British Columbia, Manitoba, and Saskatchewan prior to arriving in Saskatoon.

Last season in Saskatoon, Jordan Hansen (Okotoks, Alberta) delivered a perfect 3-for-3 performance to win the PBR Saskatoon Classic and crack the Top 5 in the race for the 2021 PBR Canada Championship.

Hansen was one of 15 riders to deliver a score in Round 1, covering Black Jack (Skori Bucking Bulls) for 82 points. The reserved Albertan then climbed the leaderboard when he tied for third in Round 2 courtesy of an 84-point effort aboard New Tattoo (Wild Hoggs Bucking Bulls).

With the fourth pick in the championship-round bull draft, Hansen selected 2019 PBR Canada Bull of the Finals Finning Lil Shorty (Flying Four Bucking Bulls). In a new rivalry, the 28-year-old matched the striking bovine athlete jump-for-jump en route to an event-best 89.5-point score.

Hansen earned a critical 81 national points, propelling him inside the Top 5 in the race for the 2021 PBR Canada Championship. He surged to No. 3 in the standings, inching within 96.66 points of then No. 1 Dakota Buttar (Kindersley, Saskatchewan).

As the dramatic season continued to unfurl, Hansen remained a title contender until the final rounds of the year, a key contender in one of the most exciting, and historic, battles for the PBR Canada Championship in history.

After a dominant season, including four event wins across all levels of competition and a victory in one of the division’s special 5/5 Bucking Battles, Buttar entered the 2021 PBR Canada National Finals with a firm grip on the No. 1 ranking in the race for the 2021 PBR Canada Championship and accompanying $50,000 bonus.

However, a groin injury initially sustained during the event in Saskatoon proved too much for Buttar to battle, inevitably sidelining him from competition the last day of the campaign.

With the title decided on the final outs of the year, 2018 PBR Canada Champion Cody Coverchuk (Meadow Lake, Saskatchewan) mounted an incredible come-from-behind surge, erasing Buttar’s 53.66-point lead, to conclude the year No. 1 in the nation, capturing his second career national championship.

The Saskatchewan contender clinched the title, and his share of the record $175,000 purse paid out at the year-end event, with an impressive 89.5-point ride aboard annual PBR Canada Bull of the Year contender Finning Lil Shorty (Flying Four Bucking Bulls). 

Coverchuk is now one of just three riders to have won the coveted PBR Canada Championship in multiple seasons, joining the likes of two-time title holder Lambert and three-time Champion Aaron Roy (Yellow Grass, Saskatchewan).

Prior to 2021, Saskatoon hosted the PBR Canada National Finals annually from 2010-2019.

Other past event winners in Saskatoon include: Daylon Swearingen (2019 – Piffard, New York); Coverchuk (2018); Edgar Durazo (2017 – Moctezuma, Mexico); Zane Lambert (2017, 2016 – Ponoka, Alberta); Brady Oleson (2015 – Blackfoot, Idaho); Aaron Roy (2014, 2009 – Yellow Grass, Saskatchewan); Rosendo Ramirez (2014 – Huichapan, Mexico); Scott Schiffner (2013 – Strathmore, Alberta); Ty Pozzobon (2012 – Merritt, British Columbia); Dusty Ephrom (2011 – Kenosee Lake, Saskatchewan); Harve Stewart (2011 – Stephenville, Texas); and Mike Lee (2010 – Decatur, Texas).

The bull riding action for PBR Canada Cup Series’ Saskatoon Classic, presented by Redhead Equipment and CASE IH, begins at 7:00 p.m. CST on Friday, October 28 and Saturday, October 29.

Tickets for the event go on sale Friday, May 6 at 10:00 a.m. CST, and start at $25, standard fees may apply, and can be purchased online at Ticketmaster.ca.

All PBR Canada events are subject to change, planned in accordance with directives issued by relevant government and health authorities given the evolving regulations during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The 2022 slate of events marks the seventh season for the PBR Canada Cup Series as a unified competitive series traveling across the country and broadcast on TSN.

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