Cody Coverchuk Crowned 2021 PBR Canada Champion

By Kacie Albert

EDMONTON, Alta. – In front of a raucous crowd inside the state-of-the art Rogers Place, the historic 2021 PBR (Professional Bull Riders) Canada season came to a climactic end Saturday evening. Completing a come-from-behind surge, Cody Coverchuk (Meadow Lake, Saskatchewan) etched his name in the league record books, becoming just the third multi-time national champion in league history as he was crowned the 2021 PBR Canada Champion.

Entering the final day of the season, Coverchuk was No. 2 in the nation, 55.66 points behind then No. 1 Dakota Buttar (Kindersley, Saskatchewan).

While Coverchuk needed to rebound from a 0-for-2 showing on the first day of action for the 2021 PBR Canada National Finals, presented by Command Tubular Products, the state of the title race was drastically altered when No. 1 Buttar was relegated to the sidelines with a groin injury.

Shaking off his dismal performance from Friday evening inside the home of the NHL’s Edmonton Oilers, Coverchuk earned one of 12 coveted positions in the championship round after riding Rico (Vold Rodeo/Robinson) for 83 points.

Awaiting Coverchuk in the final round was 2019 PBR Canada Finals Bull of the Year Finning Lil Shorty (Flying Four Bucking Bulls), a bovine athlete the Saskatchewan man needed to cover to keep his title hopes alive.

Coverchuk, however, entered the matchup having had previous success aboard the Flying Four Bucking Bulls’ standout. He covered Finning Lil Shorty for 85 points during Round 2 of the 2016 PBR Canada National Finals.

Replicating his success, Coverchuk delivered under pressure, reaching the requisite 8 for an impressive 89.5 points to surge to No. 3 on the event leaderboard, clinching the 2021 PBR Canada Championship.

Coverchuk, who earned a career-best $67,343.75 payday, finished the season 23.34 points ahead of runner-up Buttar.

He is now just the third multi-time PBR Canada Champion in league history, joining the likes of three-time title holder Aaron Roy (Yellow Grass, Saskatchewan) and two-time Champion Zane Lambert (Ponoka, Alberta).

League history was also made in the bull pen, as Happy Camper (Two Bit Bucking Bulls) became the first bovine athlete in Canadian history to be anointed the Canadian Global PBR Canada Bull of the Year multiple times.

First winning the title in 2018, Happy Camper earned the 2021 title, and accompanying $10,000 bonus after concluding the year with a 45-point average. Happy Camper edged out runner-up Gaume Farms Stickin “n” Movin (Eno Bucking Bulls) by 0.125 points.

The Bucking Sensation from the Two Bit Nation clinched the title at the first-ever PBR Canada National Finals in Edmonton when he delivered a 44.5-point trip inside Rogers Place. The score also tied Happy Camper for the 2021 PBR Canada Bull of the Finals, splitting the honor with Devil’s Advocate (Chase Kesler Bucking Bulls).

Devil’s Advocate delivered the event-best score in Round 2 when he dispatched Buttar in a swift 2.92 seconds.

Delivering a flawless 4-for-4 performance, 2019 PBR Canada Champion Daylon Swearingen (Piffard, New York) won the 2021 PBR Canada National Finals event title, becoming just the second rider in league history to win the prestigious year-end event multiple times. Prior to this season, Lambert was the lone rider to achieve the feat, winning the event in 2016 and 2017.

Swearingen delivered his first qualified ride of the event in Round 1 when he outlasted Bob Rock (Skori Bucking Bulls) for 83.5 points, tied for the third best score.

The New York contender then surged to second on the event leaderboard after he covered Al Capone (Wild Hoggs/Sure Fire) for 84 points in Round 2.

Swearingen then elected to go head-to-head against Home Grown (Outlaw Buckers Rodeo Corp.) in Round 3, a decision which proved dividends. Matching the powerful animal athlete jump-for-jump, Swearingen earned an 86.5-point score to overtake the No. 1 position in the event standings.

Courtesy of his flawless effort in the opening rounds of action, a showdown of champions was architected as the last out of the 2021 PBR Canada National Finals, presented by Command Tubular Products – Swearingen vs. Happy Camper.

As both athletes readied in the chutes, magic was in the making. With the crowd erupting in deafening cheer, Swearingen remained in perfect harmony with Happy Camper taking the striking bull to the whistle for 91.5 points – the top-marked ride of the 2021 season on Canadian soil.

In addition to netting 151 national points, leading him to conclude the year No. 9 in the national standings, Swearingen also earned $40,468.75. In addition to marking the first-ever PBR Canada National Finals in Edmonton, and just second league event inside Rogers Place, the 2021 year-end event was also the richest in league history, awarding more than $175,000 in prize money.

Nansen Vold was crowned the 2021 PBR Canada Stock Contractor of the Year for an unprecedented 8^th time, including the past six consecutive seasons.

The Czar Lake Bullarama and the Wild West PBR in Ponoka, Alberta, tied for the 2021 PBR Canada Event of the Year.

Buttar was awarded the Glen Keeley Award for the fifth consecutive year. This award goes to the Canadian bull rider earning the most world points during the season.

Fans can relive all the action from the 2021 PBR Canada National Finals, presented by Command Tubular Products, on TSN. For a complete broadcast schedule, visit PBRCanada.com/tsn-schedule.

Be sure to stay tuned to PBRCanada.com and follow the tour on Facebook (PBR Canada), Twitter (@PBRCanada), and Instagram (@PBRCanada) for the latest results and schedule of events.

PBR Canada Cup Series
PBR Canada National Finals, presented by Command Tubular Products
Rogers Place – Edmonton, Alberta
(Round 1-Round 2-Round 3-Round 4-Event Aggregate-Event Points)

1. Daylon Swearingen, 83.5-84-86.5-91.5-345.50-151 Points.
2. Todd Chotowetz, 83.5-84.5-82.5-0-250.50-103.5 Points.
3. Cody Coverchuk, 0-0-83-89.5-172.50-79 Points.
4. Zane Lambert, 0-84.5-83.5-0-168.00-69.5 Points.
5. Micheal Ostashek, 83.5-83.5-0-0-167.00-48 Points.

(tie). Tim Lipsett, 84-83-0-0-167.00-55.5 Points.

7. Jared Parsonage, 81.5-0-84.5-0-166.00-33 Points.
8. Lonnie West, 0-0-87.5-0-87.50-30 Points.
9. Jake Gardner, 0-86.5-0-0-86.50-25 Points.
10. Coy Robbins, 84-0-0-0-84.00-19.5 Points.
11. Chad Hartman, 0-83.5-0-0-83.50-5 Points.

(tie). Garrett Green, 0-0-83.5-0-83.50-7 Points.

13. Ashton Sahli, 83-0-0-0-83.00-4 Points.
14. Jordan Hansen, 0-82-0-0-82.00-1 Points.

(tie). Tyler Craig, 0-82-0-0-82.00-1 Points.

16. Aaron Roy, 0-80.5-0-0-80.50
17. Dakota Buttar, 79.5-0-0-0-79.50-2 Points.

Dakota Louis, 0-0-0-0-0.00

Callum Miller, 0-0-0-0-0.00

Nick Tetz, 0-0-0-0-0.00

Griffin Smeltzer, 0-0-0-0-0.00

Tanner Eno, 0-0-0-0-0.00

2021 PBR Canada National Standings

(Place, Rider, Events, Wins, Top 5’s, Points, Total Winnings)

1. Cody Coverchuk, 25, 3, 12, 339.50, $85,335.28
2. Dakota Buttar, 27, 5, 15, 316.16, $30,500.98
3. Zane Lambert, 17, 2, 9, 283.50, $25,440.54
4. Jordan Hansen, 9, 1, 6, 246.50, $13,388.57
5. Lonnie West, 14, 2, 6, 203.00, $17,308.01
6. Jake Gardner, 11, 1, 4, 188.33, $11,331.54
7. Callum Miller, 23, 1, 6, 170.50, $11,883.90
8. Todd Chotowetz, 13, 0, 4, 165.00, $28,350.54
9. Daylon Swearingen, 2, 1, 2, 158.00, $41,548.25
10. Jared Parsonage, 23, 3, 4, 152.00, $15,829.66
11. Aaron Roy, 22, 1, 4, 150.33, $7,561.25
12. Griffin Smeltzer, 22, 1, 7, 135.50, $12,462.25
13. Ashton Sahli, 28, 1, 4, 133.00, $11,278.94
14. Tim Lipsett, 21, 0, 3, 128.33, $10,228.06
15. Nick Tetz, 19, 2, 7, 124.16, $12,710.48
16. Garrett Green, 9, 1, 3, 121.00, $6,362.24
17. Micheal Ostashek, 24, 0, 5, 117.50, $9,593.60
18. Coy Robbins, 19, 0, 3, 97.00, $7,954.48
19. Tanner Eno, 11, 1, 3, 57.50, $5,518.36
20. Logan Biever, 13, 0, 2, 54.50, $2,937.76
21. Tyler Craig, 27, 0, 3, 46.83, $4,624.45
22. Brock Radford, 12, 0, 1, 40.00, $1,570.00
23. Chad Hartman, 15, 0, 3, 39.00, $4,117.92
24. Dakota Louis, 4, 0, 1, 29.50, $838.91
25. Blake Smith, 18, 0, 1, 29.50, $2,420.59
26. Cole Young, 4, 0, 1, 28.33, $2,635.74
27. Dawson Shannon, 25, 0, 1, 23.00, $1,471.53
28. Weston Davidson, 15, 0, 2, 16.00, $1,638.46
29. Edgar Durazo, 1, 0, 1, 15.00, $2,078.04
30. Riley Gagnon, 9, 0, 0, 9.00, $665.72
31. Wacey Finkbeiner, 14, 0, 1, 8.00, $1,151.47
32. Jaden Ozirney, 2, 0, 0, 1.50, $56.74
33. Dayton Johnston, 2, 0, 0, 0.00, $0.00
34. Shay Marks, 12, 0, 0, 0.00, $0.00
35. Fabian Dueck, 16, 0, 0, 0.00, $0.00
36. Wyatt Gleeson, 6, 0, 0, 0.00, $0.00
37. Rosendo Ramirez, 4, 0, 0, 0.00, $0.00
38. Cawl Braithwaite, 4, 0, 0, 0.00, $0.00
39. Marcos Gloria, 2, 0, 0, 0.00, $0.00
40. Zachery King, 1, 0, 0, 0.00, $0.00
41. Nicholas Klinck, 17, 0, 0, 0.00, $0.00
42. Landon Schmidt, 10, 0, 0, 0.00, $0.00
43. Ethan Schultz, 3, 0, 0, 0.00, $0.00
44. Wyatt Laughlin, 2, 0, 0, 0.00, $0.00
45. Cooper Zur, 2, 0, 0, 0.00, $0.00
46. Tanner Skene, 2, 0, 0, 0.00, $0.00
47. Eric O’Flynn, 2, 0, 0, 0.00, $0.00
48. William Barrows, 2, 0, 0, 0.00, $0.00
49. Zane Tully, 2, 0, 0, 0.00, $0.00
50. Lonnie Phillips, 2, 0, 0, 0.00, $0.00
51. Austen Watier, 1, 0, 0, 0.00, $0.00
52. Coy Doore, 1, 0, 0, 0.00, $0.00
53. Dylan Somerville, 1, 0, 0, 0.00, $0.00
54. Travis Maguire, 1, 0, 0, 0.00, $0.00
55. Billy West, 1, 0, 0, 0.00, $0.00