LETHBRIDGE, Alberta – In 2020, for the second time in tour history, PBR (Professional Bull Riders) Canada’s premier Monster Energy Tour will buck into Lethbridge, Alberta, with the “toughest sport on dirt,” set to invade the ENMAX Centre on March 6-7 for the Lethbridge Showdown.
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.
In 2019, PBR’s elite Monster Energy Tour made its debut in Lethbridge in front of a raucous, sold-out audience on the final night of competition.
As the lone rider to go a perfect 3-for-3, Jared Parsonage (Maple Creek, Saskatchewan) captured the second premier series event win of his career. Compliments of the win, the Maple Creek man netted 535 points and catapulted to the No. 1 ranking in the PBR Canada national standings, leading then No. 2 Shay Marks (Sunnybrook, Alberta) by a slim 90.83 points.
The event also featured a dominant performance by reigning PBR Canada Bull of the Year Happy Camper (Two Bit Bucking Bulls). The bovine athlete has marked an event-best 44.5 points for his 3.22-second buckoff of Jake Lockwood (Volborg, Montana).
Looking beyond the competitive fervor on display at the 2019 event in Lethbridge, which played an integral role in shaping the national standings, the race to be crowned the 2019 PBR Canada Champion has been one of the most intense in league history.
While Parsonage has reigned atop the rankings for the majority of the season, he was recently dethroned for the No. 1 ranking by two-time Glen Keeley Award winner Dakota Buttar (Kindersley, Saskatchewan). Storming onto home soil in June, Buttar has gone an impressive 35-for-38 (65.79%), winning a season-high five event titles across all levels of competition, en route to capturing the nation’s top ranking.
No. 1 Buttar currently leads No. 2 Parsonage by a mere 205.01 points.
Wider looking, the Top 5 are within 1,150 points of one another, with Marks (Sunnybrook, Alberta) a slim 480 points behind the No. 1 ranking.
The bull riding action begins at 7:00 p.m. MT on both Friday, March 6 and Saturday, March 7 at the ENMAX Centre. All riders will attempt one bull each in Round 1 on Friday and Round 2 on Saturday. The Top 10 will then advance to the championship round on Saturday 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 have the opportunity to earn world points in an effort to earn a berth onto the elite PBR Unleash The Beast. As part of the Monster Energy Tour, riders have the opportunity to earn increased world points, with the event winner netting 170 world points.
Tickets for the Lethbridge Showdown go on sale Friday, October 4 at 10 a.m. MT. They range in price from $30 to $55 and can be purchased online at www.enmaxcentre.ca, via phone at (403) 329-7328 or at the ENMAX Centre.
The 2020 slate of events marks the fifth season for the Monster Energy Tour as a unified competitive series traveling across the country. Stay tuned to PBRCanada.com for the complete 2020 schedule, to be announced in the coming weeks.
About PBR (Professional Bull Riders) Canada:
PBR (Professional Bull Riders), which has events in five countries, has competed in Canada since 1996 where it operates two tours. Joining the Touring Pro Division (TPD), the Monster Energy Tour (MET) debuted in 2016 as the nation’s first cross-country, nationally televised series. At PBR Canada events riders have the opportunity to earn points towards both the Canadian and world standings.
