Saskatchewan-born Jared Parsonage beats the timer in the championship round but falls short of beating Callum Miller for the title.--NEWS PHOTO ZOE MASON
zmason@medicinehatnews.com
A record-setting crowd looked on at Co-op Place as Australian bull rider Callum Miller won the Medicine Hat Classic in an electrifying event in the final weeks of the Professional Bull Riders Canada Cup Series.
Miller won both rounds of the event, posting the top score of 86.5 points atop Black Mamba in round one and an event-best score of 89 points in the championship round atop Get Rhythm.
The 136 national points Miller was awarded for his victory increased his standing from 28th to 13th in the Canadian rankings.
Hailing from Warwick, Queensland, Miller spent a few years living in Canada, so he knows the PBR circuit well.
“I used to do the PBR Canadas all the time. I definitely love them. That’s why I keep coming back up,” he said in a post-win interview Saturday.
Saturday was Miller’s first time taking home the title from the Medicine Hat event, and he says he’s fond of Co-op Place.
“Medicine Hat, it’s always got a good crowd here, and the crowd’s electric, and they put a lot of atmosphere into this building,” he said. “It helps us riders, you know, we want to do, do the best for fans that are loving it the best, and want to come here and see good rides.”
Get Rhythm was crowned the YETI “Built for the Wild” Bull of the Event prize, earning the highest score among animal athletes at 43.5 points for his face-off with Miller in the championship round.
“He was a good, strong bull,” he said. “It was just around to the right, and then he switched it back up and went back left. And it was going pretty good at the start, and then he got a little heavy and a little strong. Things got a little wild, but we managed to get it done.”
Miller says his first round opponent Black Mamba may have been the biggest bull he’d ever faced.
“It’s all the same once they get out there and start bucking. It’s just the size of them that you notice when you’re hanging your rope on them in the shoots,” he said.
Miller heads to the PBR teams finals in Las Vegas this week before heading back to his native Australia for the Australian PBR National Finals. He says he’ll be back in Canada next month for the Canadian National Finals.
Second place fell to Canadian Jared Parsonage, who also delivered a two-for-two showing to garner 79 national points.
Parsonage won 83 points in round one and 86 points in the championship round. He entered Saturday’s event in third place in the national standings, 186.67 points behind top seed Dakota Buttar. Parsonage’s performance brought him closer to the top spot, now only 107.67 points behind.
Buttar finished 15th in Medicine Hat, adding no national points.
Jake Gardner held onto second place in the title race, adding 19 national points to his tally after an 83.5 point first round performance and a trip to the championship around totalling 5.43 seconds. Competition for the first seed is tight heading out of this weekend’s contest, with only 23.5 points separating Gardner and Buttar.
Gardner is chasing his first PBR Canada title, while Buttar is chasing his third, to tie Aaron Roy for the record of most titles.
The next PBR Canada Cup event is in Saskatoon on Friday and Saturday. The Canadian National Finals will be held in Edmonton Nov. 14 and 15.
