The Last Call from PRINCE ALBERT, SASKATCHEWAN

Calgary, AB: The Clunie-Cooper Memorial PBR was a great success. I had always heard of the great committee putting on a great event in Prince Albert. It was an outstanding event and a great event in memory of Max Clunie and Wade Cooper who were both a huge part of the event before the plane crash that took their lives from us much, much too soon on June 30th of last year.

The standing ovation the received at the beginning of the event both nights was one that still gives me chills and I think brought a tear to nearly every eye in the whole building.

Max and Wade were remembered in a great way this past weekend. The Max Clunie Ring of Honor award was also presented to Blaine Fyson.

A ring he will wear proudly.

As for the bull riding, it was a very eventful weekend. Chad Besplug was the leader after night one. I was able to catch up with him when he was in the lead here:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mGPe3v6-4AQ

Little did we know then, that he would end up finishing the event high enough up that he won enough money to get the call to the PBR's Built Ford Tough Series event this coming weekend in Indianapolis, Indiana.

This weekend's event in Indianapolis will be Chad's first ever appearance on the BFTS. The current standings show him in 19th place in the PBR's Touring Pro Division Standings. With a good performance this weekend he should make the PBR's next BFTS cut where he would then get five events for sure on Tour.

When asked about how this might change his year, Chad said he still wants to win this years PBR Canadian Title.

"I want to make the World Finals too." He added.

For those of you wondering about the 2011 CPRA Canadian Champion's plans, Chad also plans to return to the Canadian Finals in Edmonton, AB in November. He want's to win there again.

As for this weekend's event in Indiana, Besplug stated his intention well.

"To win. I want to ride my bulls. I wanna show people I belong." Chad said.

In the past year he's been riding as well as he ever has if not better. He will show up well.

Best of luck to you Chad! We are all cheering for you.

For those of you hoping to watch, you'll get the chance to from anywhere in the world through YouTube on Friday night. Check out www.PBRNow.com or PBRNow on YouTube for all the details.

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Back to Prince Albert.

Ride of the Weekend

It was an easy pick to go with Aaron's ride on the Calgary Stampede bull Pawn Star. The same bull that took Devon Mezei to a 90 point score and the event win back in Lethbridge that sent him to the BFTS for an event as well.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gKDFPD9FepA

Bull of the Weekend

Pawn Star was the highest marked bull of the weekend. It wouldn't be much fun to have the same video up twice, so I'm going to go with the bull of the weekend being the one that was talked about the most. Sure there could be others that could have won, but this one really stood out.

With a score of 44.5 points up against Scott Schiffner, here's the Vold bull Cool Valley.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ntD0IRhNxA8

Contractor Stats

This is another bit of information that will be shared at certain PBR Canada events this year. We will share the top contractor average bull scores for those contractors who have a minimum of three bulls out per night.  By contractor from the first night in Prince Albert: The Vold bulls were first with a 21.16 average on 6 outs, Wild Hoggs came second with 20.75 on 4 outs. The Flying Four were 3rd with 20.67 on 3 outs.

That's a wrap from the Clunie-Cooper Memorial PBR this past weekend in Prince Albert, SK.

Next up for the PBR in Canada is the Marwayne CTP Event Friday April 27th. After that it will be stop number 3 on the 3D Bullriding Tour May 31st in Asquith, SK.

There are still 36 riders with a shot at winning the truck this fall in Lloydminster!

Also, check back tomorrow or later in the week for interviews with Ryan and Jesse Byrne!

Do you agree with the Last Calls from PA?
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Hopefully all of this is good! I'd like to talk to you more about writing for the CRN too. Do you have anyone covering Medicine Hat yet? I'd sure like to write for you guys anyway. 

Talk to you soon. I hope the trip back from PA was good too!
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Ted Stovin
http://EverythingCowboy.ca

Besplug Leads in Prince Albert After Night One

Prince Albert, SK: It was an emotional evening at the Art Hauser Center tonight for the PBR dedicated to Max Clunie and Wade Cooper.

The highlight of the night had to be when Blaine Fyson was awarded the first ever Max Clunie Ring of Honor award. It was pretty cool to hear the story of how Blaine and Max met.

Here's how the action unfolded in the bull riding:

Cody Moore started it off with an 83.5 on Diego:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jJFIeat6lec

Not long after, PBR BFTS Mainstay Ty Pozzobon took on the Calgary Stampede torro Bull Durham:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eXyIJ41F7fY

2011 Canadian Champion Bull Rider Chad Besplug made this ride on the Girletz bull Cowboy's Choice:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ck8yX_Bw9d0

Zane Lambert made this ride on the Andy Robertson Bull Abu

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zeR-t7dIuxw

Near the end of the Long Go, Saskathcewan's own Dakota Petersen took on the Flying Four Bull Lit Up:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aVKSEZS8b_A

The bull of the night came as the final rider left the chute. It was Scott Schiffner getting thrown from the great new bull by the name of Cool Valley from the Vold/Robinson pen:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ntD0IRhNxA8

SHORT ROUND

Going in, things looked like this:
1 Chad Besplug 86
2 Zane Lambert 84.5
3 Cody Moore 83.5
4 Ty Pozzobon 83.5
5 Dakota Petersen 83.5
6 Matt Tripplett 83
7 Aaron Roy 80.5
8 Ben Kinkead 79.5

Since there were only 8 qualified rides in the long round of competition, Ty Elliot and Tyler Pankewitz made their way in due to times.

Ty Elliot made the best of his opportunity on the Flying Four Bull Krackin'

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sFAknz0iCE4

Cody Moore had a shot to win it on Skori's Gingas Kong:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tnqO6YBrlKw

Even though he was already tonight's winner, Chad Besplug had the chance to take a commanding lead up against the Girletz great First Nation Sensation:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IhdGIJAf4Q8

Standings After Night One
1 Chad Besplug 86
2 Ty Elliot 85.5
3 Zane Lambert 84.5
4 Cody Moore 83.5
5 Dakota Petersen 83.5
6 Ty Pozzobon 83.5
7 Matt Triplett 83
8 Aaron Roy 80.5
9 Ben Kinkead 79.5

After the event, I had the chance to quickly talk with Chad Beplug:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mGPe3v6-4AQ

Night one Bull Stats: Vold's first with a 21.16 avg on 6 outs, Hoggs 2nd with 20.75 on 4 outs. Flying 4 is 3rd with 20.67 on 3 outs.

The second night and the night we find out who the 2012 Clunie-Cooper Memorial PBR Champion starts this evening at 7:30pm at the Art Hauser Center. If you are anywhere near you should make your way down because it's going to be a great event. It's not very often you'll see all of Canada's top bulls and bull riders in the same place. You will in Prince Albert, SK tonight.

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Ted Stovin
http://EverythingCowboy.ca

Calgary, AB: This year's Bridge City Chrysler/LA Towing PBR Challenge wrapped up Saturday Night in Lethbridge, AB. This is the last you will hear for a while about the event. Hopefully you all enjoyed the coverage, and enjoy this new column with the added stats and weekend awards.

Here's the interview with Devon after we talked to him the first night:

What we didn't know then was that he would end up the event champion.With the $7,500 from Lethbridge that he won, Devon made his way into the 15th spot on the PBR's Touring Pro Division Standing's, the same standings that the PBR's Built Ford Tough Series uses as a feeder system.