Flawless Brock Radford Dominates Opening Night of 2022 PBR Canada National Finals

By Kacie Albert

EDMONTON, Alta. – The heated battle to become the 2022 PBR (Professional Bull Riders) Canada Champion reached a new level of ferocity Friday evening in Edmonton, Alberta, as five of the nation’s Top 10-ranked riders logged scores in the opening rounds of the PBR Canada National finals, presented by Command Tubular Products, to keep their title hopes alive. Brock Radford (De Winton, Alberta), however, rode a cut above the rest, going a perfect 2-for-2 to surge to an early event lead and slash the No. 1-ranked rider’s lead to a mere 45 points.

When competition got underway in Round 1, Radford faced a rematch against Irish Rebel (Wilson Rodeo).

Having attempted the bull twice prior, Radford reached the 8 in both meetings, marked 81.5 points in 2019 and 88.5 points earlier this season when the Albertan won the elite Cup Series, presented by Wrangler, event in Kelowna, British Columbia.

Remaining perfect against the powerful animal athlete, Radford was a near picture of perfection as he reached the requisite 8 for a commanding 88 points.

Compliments of the score, Radford not only won Round 1, but earned the first pick in the Round 2 bull draft. With the selection, Radford opted to go head-to-head against Dance Monkey (Wild Hoggs/Lou Streeter).

Radford subsequently was awarded a re-ride in the second round when the bull fouled himself leaving the chute, setting up a showdown between him and Deep Creek (Vold Rodeo) to conclude the night.

As the penultimate man to leave the chutes, the charismatic championship contender settled in, poised as the bull burst into the arena. Earning his second qualified ride of the night, the electric crowd erupted in raucous cheer as Radford was awarded a crucial 87 points.

The score was the second best of the round, allowing Radford to remain atop the event leaderboard during an evening that saw four riders go a flawless 2-for-2.

Radford left Rogers Place having earned a crucial 32.5 national points. While he remained No. 4 in the national standings, he slashed the No. 1-ranked rider’s lead from 65 to 45 points.

Dakota Buttar (Kindersley, Saskatchewan) remained No. 1 in the nation after going 1-for-2 Friday evening.

The 2020 PBR Canada Champion was bested in Round 1, dispatched by Funkadelic (CS Bucking Bulls) in 4.3 seconds.

The reserved Saskatchewan man returned determined in Round 2, selecting Time Well Spent (Thompson Rodeo Livestock). In a decision which proved dividends, Buttar covered the bull for 87 points to rocket to sixth in the event standings.

The score earned Buttar 12.5 national points. Ahead of the final night of the 2022 season, Buttar leads No. 2 Nick Tetz (Calgary, Alberta) by 13.5 national points.

Tetz put pressure on Buttar courtesy of his Round 2-winning score.

Much like his chief rival in the title race, Tez was also upended in the opening round, bucked off by Look Alive (Flying Four Bucking Bulls) in 5.19 seconds.

Quick to rebound, Tetz picked 2022 Canadian Global Bull of the Year contender Langham Kid (Two Bit Bucking Bulls) as his second animal athlete counterpart.

Remaining in perfect time with the Two Bit Bucking Bulls’ animal athlete, Tetz reached the whistle for a round-winning 88 points.

He is now fifth in the event standings having earned 20 national points.

Coy Robbins (Camrose, Alberta) is currently second at the PBR Canada National Finals courtesy of a 2-for-2 effort Friday evening.

The 2017 PBR Canada Rookie of the Year rode Time’s A Wasting (Thompson Rodeo Livestock) for 84.5 points in Round 1, and Out of The Blue (Vold Rodeo/Wyatt Bridge) for 84 points in Round 2.

The 16 seconds of work garnered Robbins 15 national points. He remained No. 9 in Canada closing within 115.5 points of the No. 1 rank as he chases his first national title.

Attempting to tie Aaron Roy (Yellow Grass, Saskatchewan) for most national titles held by one rider, two-time and reigning Champion Cody Coverchuk (Meadow Lake, Saskatchewan) kept his title hopes alive with 1-for-2 outing Friday.

Coverchuk was unsuccessful in Round 1, brought down by Smart As A Rock (Wild Hoggs Bucking Bulls) in 3.44 seconds, but struck in Round 2 when he conquered Spooky Lukie (Two Bit Bucking Bulls) for 84 points.

Eighth on the event leaderboard, Coverchuk netted 6 national points inside the home of the NHL’s Edmonton Oilers. He remained No. 7 in Canada, now 107.5 points back of the top spot.

Chasing his unprecedented fourth national title, Roy was shutout in the opening two rounds of competition. He was bucked off by Black Jack (Skori Bucking Bulls) in 3.22 seconds and Bar Star (X6 Ranch Bucking Cattle/Legend Rodeo Stock) in 6.07 seconds.

Competing for the final time prior to embarking on retirement at the conclusion of the event, two-time PBR Canada Champion Zane Lambert (Ponoka, Alberta) went 1-for-2.

Lambert was sensational in Round 1, riding Smog (Kinky Buckers) for 85.5 points. The 17-time PBR Canada National Finals qualifier, was unable to continue the momentum in Round 2, bested by Vertigo Spy (Vold Rodeo) in a tough 5.06 seconds.

Currently seventh in the event, should Lambert be crowned the 2022 PBR Canada National Finals event winner, he would be the first to win the year-end event three times.

Returning to the event leaderboard, Jared Parsonage (Maple Creek, Saskatchewan) is currently third.

Parsonage covered Slingin Stones (Flying High Rodeo Co.) for 84.5 points in Round 1 and Jayded (Vold Rodeo) for 82.5 points in Round 2.

As the only other rider to cover both of their draws, Garrett Green (Meeting Creek, Alberta) is fourth.

After declining a re-ride opportunity for his 73-point score aboard Shoot To Kill (Skori Bucking Bulls) in Round 1, Green went the distance on Edge of Tomorrow (Lazy S Bucking Bulls) for 84 points in Round 2.

The 2022 PBR Canada National Finals, presented by Command Tubular Products, will conclude in Edmonton, Alberta, and Rogers Place on Saturday, November 12 with Round 3 and the championship round. Action will get underway at 7:00 p.m. MST.

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
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. Brock Radford, 88-87-0-0-175.00-32.5 Points.
2. Coy Robbins, 84.5-84-0-0-168.50-15 Points.
3. Jared Parsonage, 84.5-82.5-0-0-167.00-12 Points.
4. Garrett Green, 73-84-0-0-157.00-9 Points.
5. Nick Tetz, 0-88-0-0-88.00-20 Points.
6. Dakota Buttar, 0-87-0-0-87.00-12.5 Points.
7. Zane Lambert, 85.5-0-0-0-85.50-15 Points.
8. Cody Coverchuk, 0-84-0-0-84.00-6 Points.
9. Chad Hartman, 83-0-0-0-83.00-6 Points.
10. Callum Miller, 0-81.5-0-0-81.50-2 Points.
11. Jake Gardner, 0-81-0-0-81.00

(tie). Tyler Craig, 81-0-0-0-81.00-4 Points.

13. Silvano Alves, 0-77.5-0-0-77.50

Aaron Roy, 0-0-0-0-0.00

Blake Smith, 0-0-0-0-0.00

Lonnie West, 0-0-0-0-0.00

Dawson Shannon, 0-0-0-0-0.00

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

Jake Curr, 0-0-0-0-0.00

Braith Nock, 0-0-0-0-0.00

2022 PBR Canada National Standings

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

1. Dakota Buttar, 31, 4, 15, 392.50, $45,631.90
2. Nick Tetz, 29, 5, 10, 379.00, $46,743.61
3. Logan Biever, 37, 4, 16, 352.50, $46,064.95
4. Brock Radford, 30, 3, 13, 347.50, $39,694.78
5. Aaron Roy, 37, 1, 16, 302.00, $35,772.02
6. Blake Smith, 26, 4, 10, 300.83, $30,856.78
7. Cody Coverchuk, 31, 2, 13, 285.00, $33,730.71
8. Lonnie West, 18, 2, 6, 278.50, $23,226.18
9. Coy Robbins, 22, 4, 10, 277.00, $33,525.50
10. Jake Gardner, 13, 1, 2, 148.00, $12,068.01
11. Jared Parsonage, 10, 0, 4, 142.33, $13,038.53
12. Cauy Schmidt, 24, 1, 8, 131.66, $15,532.45
13. Chad Hartman, 35, 0, 5, 122.50, $9,306.60
14. Zane Lambert, 14, 0, 5, 120.50, $13,121.43
15. Callum Miller, 17, 2, 4, 114.00, $13,454.22
16. Daylon Swearingen, 6, 2, 3, 112.00, $15,976.88
17. Micheal Ostashek, 19, 1, 7, 104.33, $14,958.44
18. Dawson Shannon, 16, 0, 2, 90.50, $6,582.00
19. Griffin Smeltzer, 13, 1, 5, 87.66, $12,633.39
20. Ashton Sahli, 23, 1, 5, 80.50, $17,089.00
21. Garrett Green, 17, 0, 7, 77.50, $9,274.23
22. Tyler Craig, 22, 1, 3, 66.00, $8,909.95
23. Silvano Alves, 2, 0, 1, 61.00, $3,958.33
24. Todd Chotowetz, 12, 0, 1, 47.66, $4,367.89
25. Weston Davidson, 20, 1, 2, 41.50, $5,183.94
26. Dusty Golden, 2, 1, 2, 36.00, $4,507.79
27. Wyatt Gleeson, 5, 1, 2, 34.00, $4,173.26
28. Marcos Gloria, 10, 1, 1, 30.00, $3,927.54
29. Dakota Louis, 2, 1, 1, 27.50, $6,291.28
30. Tim Lipsett, 8, 1, 1, 21.00, $3,000.00
31. Landon Schmidt, 11, 0, 1, 17.00, $2,442.69
32. Stefan Tonita, 20, 0, 1, 15.00, $2,530.30
33. Jordan Hansen, 5, 0, 1, 11.00, $2,206.69
34. William Barrows, 2, 0, 1, 10.00, $3,612.50
35. Jake Maher, 23, 0, 1, 8.50, $1,379.24
36. Tyson Thue, 4, 0, 2, 8.00, $1,205.94
37. Tristan O’Neal, 1, 0, 0, 8.00, $420.00
38. Karson Turel, 4, 0, 1, 6.50, $982.81
39. Keyshawn Whitehorse, 3, 0, 1, 6.00, $1,901.79
40. Fabian Dueck, 4, 0, 1, 5.50, $701.76
41. Keaton Martz, 7, 0, 1, 4.00, $1,445.00
42. Reed Duncan, 3, 0, 0, 2.00, $578.00
43. Tanner Eno, 7, 0, 0, 1.50, $215.65
44. Nicholas Giles, 3, 0, 0, 1.50, $260.31
45. Gage Gay, 1, 0, 0, 1.50, $0.00