By Kacie Albert
LONDON, Ont. – In front of a sold-out, record-setting Saturday night crowd in London, Ontario, two-time PBR (Professional Bull Riders) Canada Champion Cody Coverchuk (Meadow Lake, Saskatchewan) dominated, going a perfect 2-for-2 to win the elite Cup Series’ London Classic.
The win allowed Coverchuk to further his grasp on the No. 1 rank in the race for the 2024 PBR Canada Championship and accompanying $100,000 bonus, as he attempts to tie three-time title holder Aaron Roy (Yellow Grass, Saskatchewan) for most national titles won by one rider in history.
Coverchuk got off to a fast start in Round 1, surging to an early event lead when he dominated Almost Gone (Thompson Rodeo Livestock) for 86.5 points.
With the first pick in the championship round bull draft, Coverchuk architected a rematch, quickly selecting Langham Kid (Two Bit Bucking Bulls). The two had danced seven times prior, with Coverchuk making the requisite 8 in four of those showdowns.
As the last man to leave the chutes inside Budweiser Gardens, Coverchuk nodded with confidence. Remaining in perfect time with the quick moving bovine, Coverchuk made the whistle, awarded an event-winning 87.5 points.
Courtesy of the victory on Canada’s premier bull riding tour, Coverchuk garnered a crucial 126 national points. He furthered his stronghold on the No. 1 rank in the nation, growing his lead from 219.5 points to 345.5 points over No. 2 Jake Gardner (Fort St. John, British Columbia).
Gardner competed at the PBR London Classic, however was shutout. In the opening round he was bucked off by Chain Gang (X6 Ranch Bucking Cattle/S&E Bucking Bulls) in 5.15 seconds.
As the only other rider to go a perfect 2-for-2, surging Australian Callum Miller (Warwick, Queensland, Australia) was second, netting 90 national points.
Fresh of his career-first berth to bull riding’s most prestigious event, the PBR World Finals, Miller first put points on the board in Round 1 when he covered “@Originbrewingco” (Wilson Rodeo) for 79.5 points.
Miller then lit up the scoreboard in the final round, besting MoBamba (Thompson Rodeo Livestock) for a tour stop-best 88 points.
While Miller began the event unranked, he surged to No. 13 in Canada, now within 559.5 points of No. 1 Coverchuk.
Garrett Green (Meeting Creek, Alberta) was third.
Green was electric in Round 1, delivering the second-best score when he rode Night Fury (X6 Ranch Bucking Cattle) for 86 points, but fell short of the win when he was tossed by Times A Tickin (Thompson Rodeo Livestock) in 4.36 seconds in the final round.
Collecting 54 national points, Green rose from No. 14 to No. 11 in Canada. He is now 524.5 points back of the top spot.
Courtesy of an 85-point ride on Cliff (CJ Bucking Bulls) in Round 1, two-time and reigning PBR Canada Champion Dakota Buttar (Eatonia, Saskatchewan) was fourth.
Also attempting to tie Roy for most titles won by one rider this season, and become the first back-to-back PBR Canada Champion in history, Buttar earned 38 national points, rising from No. 10 to No. 9 in the standings, He now trails No. 1 Coverchuk by 506 points.
Rounding out the Top 5 in fifth was Ashton Sahli (Red Deer, Alberta).
Sahli’s 84.5-point ride on Bench Warrant (X6 Ranch Bucking Cattle/Hartman) in Round 1 garnered him 33 national points. He climbed one spot in the 2024 PBR Canada Championship race, rising from No. 7 to No. 6, inching within 481.5 points of No. 1 Coverchuk.
In the bull pen, Dialed In (Wilson Rodeo) bucked a cut above the rest, crowned the YETI “Built for the Wild’ Bull of the Event. Out in Round 1, Dialed in was marked an unrivaled 44.5 points for his 2.58 seconds of work against Chanse Switzer (Hazenmore, Saskatchewan).
The 2024 PBR Canada Sup Series will next travel to Kingston, Ontario, and Slush Puppie Place for the PBR Kingston Classic on June 4-5. Action will get underway at 7 p.m. EDT nightly on Tuesday, June 4 and Wednesday, June 5.
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 London Classic
Budweiser Gardens – London, Ontario
(Round 1-Round 2-Event Aggregate-Event Points)
- Cody Coverchuk, 86.5-87.5-174.00-126 Points.
- Callum Miller, 79.5-88-167.50-90 Points.
- Garrett Green, 86-0-86.00-54 Points.
- Dakota Buttar, 85-0-85.00-38 Points.
- Ashton Sahli, 84.5-0-84.50-33 Points.
- Aaron Roy, 83.5-0-83.50-27 Points.
- Tyler Craig, 82.5-0-82.50-20 Points.
- Brock Radford, 0-77.5-77.50-21 Points.
Jake Gardner, 0-0-0.00
Weston Davidson, 0-0-0.00
Chanse Switzer, 0-0-0.00
Gilmar Santana, 0-0-0.00
Nick Tetz, 0-0-0.00
Jordan Hansen, 0-0-0.00
Wyatt Gleeson, 0-0-0.00
Coy Robbins, 0-0-0.00
Chad Hartman, 0-0-0.00
Alison Trindade, 0-0-0.00
Stefan Tonita, 0-0-0.00
Dusty Golden, 0-0-0.00
Keaton Martz, 0-0-0.00
Griffin Koester, 0-0-0.00
Carter Sahli, 0-0-0.00
Cody Fraser, 0-0-0.00
Will Loomis, 0-0-0.00
Tyler Ewart, 0-0-0.00
Bret Timmermans, 0-0-0.00
Justin Van de Kemp, 0-0-0.00
Tyler Bauer, 0-0-0.00
