PBR returns to Brandon
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Those who miss Matt Henry’s physical style for the Brandon Wheat Kings can catch something almost as aggressive at Westoba Place tonight.
For the fourth straight year, Professional Bull Riders Canada is taking the stage in the Wheat City.
Riders attempt to hang on for eight seconds while bulls essentially seek the opposite outcome. The top-ranked rider in today’s event is Fort St. John, B.C., product Jake Gardner, who competed in Dauphin Thursday evening before hitting Highway 10 to Brandon this morning.
Jake Gardner rides Broken Pearl during a Professional Bull Riding event. The top-ranked rider on the PBR Canada circuit is in today’s field set to compete at Westoba Place. (Photo courtesy Covy Moore)
“I’m pretty excited. Rodeo season and bull riding season is getting going pretty busy now and I’ve been riding most of my bulls,” Gardner said.
“When that’s happening, it’s all fun and everything’s rolling good so I’m excited to keep the ball rolling going into the weekend.”
The 28-year-old is coming off a first-place finish at a May 9 PBR event in Brooks, Alta.
The event is scored out of 100 points per ride by a quartet of judges. They award 50 points based on the rider’s performance and the other 50 on how the bull moves during the quick, intense ride.
“You want to pick the one that would buck the hardest and can give you the highest score. Ideally, the score you’re going for is 90 points,” said Gardner, who scored a pair of 87s in Brooks for the win.
“I drew good bulls and they bucked really good and I got good scores.
“I got a good pick in the final round and just managed to have the most points by the end of it.”
Gardner was born into a ranching family and watched bull riding as a kid. He started riding steers at a young age and slowly worked up to bigger bulls.
He said he wanted to be a professional athlete but realized his future in hockey was limited, so bull riding it was.
“Bull riding was my way of being able to go to some of the biggest stadiums in the world, compete and ride at the professional level at something and make good money doing it,” said Gardner, who has travelled as far as Barretos, Brazil to compete.
“That was pretty cool … It was just a foreign place, being in a different part of the world. The people were awesome, the culture was awesome, it was just a really neat experience you don’t see anywhere up here.”
Jake Gardner started riding at a young age and quickly knew he wanted to compete professionally. (Photo courtesy Covy Moore)
Gardner’s been a pro for eight years, with his first win coming in 2018.
He’s in the fourth of four sections of six or seven competitors today, drawing Red Rust as his bull for the evening ride.
The event starts today at 7 p.m., with tickets still available online.
“Pay attention to the way the bulls buck, how high they get off the ground. Pay attention to how well the riders can ride the bucking bulls,” Gardner said.
“The bullfighters are really interesting to watch if you can pay attention to them to see how well the three of them work together to save the cowboys.
“Have a good time and enjoy it. It’s gonna be like a rock concert, it’s gonna be a lot of fun.”
» tfriesen@brandonsun.com
» Instagram: @thomasfriesen5