Cochrane Hosts Spectacular Event; BRC National Race Tightens

Cochrane, Alberta - The Cochrane Classic Bullriding Committee, headed up by Jason Borton had one of the most effective social media marketing platforms for any bull riding event this season. The incredible amount of local business support was surpassed only by an enthusiastic crowd that was entertained for just over two hours.

The Cochrane Classic Committee moved their event to the new Agricultural centre located just west of town and the facilities allowed for greater exposure and attendance since there was an exhibition and fair as well as many other attractions to keep people busy the entire weekend.

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Bull riders ride bulls for money. Money comes from only three different sources: events which start out small and grow in size (added money), events which start out with higher amounts of added money, and by bull riders continuing to improve and get better, which allows the rider to compete with success at larger events anywhere in the world.

In bull riding you compete against the animal first because you must obtain a qualified score in order to have a chance at a pay cheque. While it is certainly true that it is tougher to earn a pay cheque when all of the riders are of a similar caliber, there are still many benefits to riders at different levels competing together. Younger riders have the opportunity to learn from the seasoned riders by watching how they conduct themselves, their chute procedure and overall actions. In addition, since all riders compete against the animal first, younger riders can have a real shot of confidence should they place higher than a seasoned rider. No one individual or organization should tell a rider where they can or “should” go...especially in a market the size of Western Canada, where the pool of available riders is a fraction of Eastern Canada or the United States. Bull Riders ride bulls for money. The Cochrane Classic had a lot of money added - period.

The Cochrane Classic event was the epitome of Bull Riders Canada’s mission: to ensure that bull riders have opportunities to ride bulls, stock contractors have opportunities to showcase their animals and committees have opportunities to host an event which benefits their local area.

The format of this event was designed to showcase top Bull Riders Canada talent on feature bulls from four different stock contractors: Outlaw Buckers Rodeo Corp, Vold Rodeo Co./Prescott, Wild Hoggs Bucking Bulls and X6 Ranch Bucking Cattle.

With only two rides in the event in 2016 and only 5 rides in the event in 2015 using a different format, Bull Riders Canada wanted to work closely with the Committee to give the fans a unique and new experience. A format was decided that had only 15 riders in the first long round and then the same riders compete on another head in the second long round.

A total of $7000.00 was added to the contestant fees and that pot was split into each round and paid out a maximum of three places. The result was over $2000.00 just to win a long round against 14 other cowboys! The top four riders with the highest combined score from each long round then competed in a Bonus Round which paid a cool $1000.00 for the high marked ride. What an exciting format indeed!

Winning the first round was Cody Coverchuk, Meadow Lake, SK who posted an 81 point score on Outlaw Buckers 306 Not Bluffing. Winning the second round was Chase Thielan, Milk River, AB who really put out some effort scoring a solid 79.5 score on Outlaw Buckers 304 Hustlin.

Thank you to Cody Coverchuk for submitting the video of his ride:

In the Bonus Round of four it would be Dayton Johnson, Milk River, AB, posting the event’s high marked ride with an 85.5 effort on Vold Rodeo/Prescott 210 Darkest Days. There were no points awarded in the Bonus Round since it was an added feature hosted by the Cochrane Classic Committee.

Heading into the event, Coverchuk was trailing current BRC Season Leader Marcos Gloria, Central de Minas, Brazil by 290 points. By winning the first round and the event average, Coverchuk secured 300 BRC points but Gloria placed third in the second round and fourth in the event average to stay a mere 225 points ahead of Coverchuk in the BRC National Standings.

With two big Eastern events coming up as well as some Central Tour stops that feature Double Points, the BRC National Standings are going to change more heading into the Season V Finals in Lloydminster this coming December 1st & 2nd.

Bull Riders Canada would like to thank Outlaw Buckers Rodeo, Curtis Sawyer for lining up the bovine talent supplied by all the stock contractors. The bulls provided the cowboys opportunity to showcase their talents and the result was an entertaining show for all of the sponsors and fans in attendance. Bull Riders Canada wanted to also extend a huge thank you to the Cochrane & District Agricultural Society, Jason Borton and the Cochrane Classic Committee for all of their efforts leading up to and facilitating a spectacular event. Bull Riders Canada hopes to further the established relationship and continue working together to grow the prestige of the Cochrane Classic.

Next weekend features a total of EIGHT events on the Bull Riders Canada schedule as cowboys from four countries and nearly every Canadian Province compete in events hosted in FOUR Provinces.... all trying to get to the Season V Finals in Lloydminster.

Visit Bull Riders Canada website for full Event Results and current National Standings.

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