Wacey’s Picks – Medicine Hat’s Thunderbuck in the Badlands PBR
MEDICINE HAT, Alberta – With end of June nearing we are entering the most exciting time of the year, Cowboy Christmas. Over the next few weeks both PBR and rodeo athletes will have the opportunity to compete a vast number of events over a very short period of time. For PBR Canada bull riders this serves as a huge opportunity to gather valuable points for both the PBR Canada and PBR World Standings.
With a full slate of Canadian Professional Rodeos happening this weekend, with the addition of this event in Medicine Hat the cowboys will have a big time opportunity to win a ton of money in one province. It is so exciting to see PBR Canada action return to Medicine Hat, I remember going to some of the events in the past and the energy was always electric. Additionally, this will be the first time we get to see a bull riding event in the new Canalta Centre.
The line-up for this event is shaping up to be one of the best ones we have seen at any event thus far this season. Featuring six of the top ten bull riders in the Canadian Standings along with some of the world’s top talents Dakota Buttar and Tanner Byrne. There are 550 Canadian points along with 60 world points available on Saturday night in The Hat, a huge opportunity for the riders trying to close in on Jared Parsonagewho is the current leader in the Canadian National Standings.
If you wan to get in on the action let us know your picks by tagging @PBRCanada and @WaceyAnderson or in the comment section on Facebook or Instagram.
Full Saturday Daysheet at PBRCanada.com/daysheet
Here is a look at some of my key matchups for Saturday night:
Jordan Hansen vs. 504 Sick Rhymes
Jordan is currently third in our National Standings trailing his travelling partner Jared Parsonage by 446.67 points, and with the way Pancake has been riding he chip away at the lead in Medicine Hat. He should be able to kick the night off with a bang given his long round draw, this is in fact a rematch from the Calgary Monster Energy Tour event (that Jordan won) where Jordan rode this bull for 83 points. Sick Rhymes comes from the Two-Bit Nation and should be a great fit for Jordan here again. Look for a similar score here and watch out for Jordan in the Championship Round.
Jake Lockwood vs. 194 Flight Plan
The younger brother of 2017 PBR World Champion is starting to pave his own path in the PBR world. He is currently the No. 8 man in the PBR Canada National Standings and the No. 51 man in the PBR World Standings, and he will be looking to improve on those Saturday night in Medicine Hat. With an event win in Nipawin, Saskatchewan already under his belt Jake is no stranger to the winner’s circle, and he will most definitely be a threat to win this event. He has drawn a great bull from the Kesler Rodeo firm called Flight Plan, this bull was even selected to the Wrangler National Finals Rodeo in 2018 and we have seen scores as high as 89 points on him. Jake is a super talented kid and with a bull like this we could see some huge numbers.
Jared Parsonage vs. 593 Hanna Motors Full Throttle
The No. 1 man in the nation has been the picture of consistency he always is up to this point in the season. With a healthy lead on those ahead of him Jared has himself in a good spot heading into the Cowboy Christmas run. He is matched up here against Hanna Motors Full Throttle from the Skori family. Full Throttle, from what I can see on ProBullStats.com is unridden in competition and will provide a challenge to Jared I’m sure. The thing about J-Roc is that he always seems to find a way to get the job done no matter what gets thrown at him, we can expect to see the same thing here.
Daylon Swearingen vs. 461 Hollywood Undead
Another heavy hitter in the PBR Canada game, Daylon is No. 2 in Canada, No. 19 in the world and fresh of a win at the College National Finals Rodeo. Daylon will be coming in hot to Medicine Hat this weekend. The crazy thing about what Daylon has done to this point of the season is that he has only attended five PBR Canada events. He has drawn a bull from Nansen Vold called Hollywood Undead, I haven’t seen too much of this bull but I got to see him up at the Pro Rodeo in Grande Prairie where he had an outstanding trip. Daylon will have his work cut out for him here, but my money is definitely on him.
Thunderbuck in the Badlands starts at 7:30pm M.T. at the Canalta Centre in Medicine Hat, Alberta on Saturday June 22nd, 2019. Limited tickets remain through Ticketmaster.