NEWS PHOTO RYAN MCCRACKEN
Maple Creek, Sask. bull rider Jared Parsonage hangs on atop Twist and Shake at the Medicine Hat Exhibition and Stampede Pro Rodeo Thursday, July 23, 2015.
rmccracken@medicinehatnews.com@MHNMcCracken
Jared Parsonage won’t have to travel far when the Professional Bull Riding season returns on Sept. 26.
The 27-year-old bull rider has been waiting out the COVID-19 pandemic at his home in Maple Creek and says he’s looking forward to making the short drive into Medicine Hat for Thunderbuck in the Badlands this fall.
“Can’t complain when it’s a short drive,” Parsonage said in a Thursday phone interview from Maple Creek. “The family ranch is down here so I’ve just been busy there. I’ll be doing a little team roping and stuff like that now that some of the jackpots and stuff are getting going. It’s been fairly busy actually, it’s been good.”
Thunderbuck in the Badlands – brought to the Canalta Centre by local company Blazing Brand Marketing and Productions – was recently promoted from the Touring Pro Division to the Monster Energy Tour, PBR Canada’s highest level of competition. The transition means twice as many points toward national and world standings will be up for grabs in Medicine Hat this September.
“It’s a higher-end event so there will be good bull riding and we’ll get lots of good guys,” said Parsonage, who finished fifth at the first Thunderbuck in the Badlands last year. “A person can gather up quite a few points in the Canadian title race when it comes to those events. Put together a couple good rides and they add up in a hurry.
“That was an awesome event. I think it exceeded everybody’s expectations. It’s a great venue, a great event and everything. In Maple Creek, Medicine Hat’s not very far so it’s almost like a hometown event. I know lots of people so it’s really good.”
Parsonage sits third in the PBR Canada national standings with 109 points over five events before COVID-19 forced a break in the schedule. He sits 111 points back of leader Dakota Buttar and 10.5 behind Brock Radford for second entering Thunderbuck in the Badlands.
Parsonage has also managed successful rides on eight of his 10 attempts this season – second only to Buttar’s perfect 10-for-10.
“It started off good until all this stuff came crashing down, but it was really good at the start of the year,” said Parsonage. “I had some success so hopefully the fall is just as good as the winter.”
Buttar took top spot at Thunderbuck in the Badlands last year and went on to enter the PBR Canada Finals in a neck-and-neck battle with Parsonage, only to watch New York’s Daylon Swearingen rally to clinch the Canadian championship.
The rivalry between Parsonage and Buttar heated right back up when the 2020 campaign kicked off, and Parsonage says he hopes to see it tighten even further when PBR Canada returns in September.
“He’s a really good friend of mine. We’ve rode bulls together for a long time there and he’s a super good bull rider,” Parsonage said of Buttar. “He’s had a heck of a start to the year, so it will be interesting come fall. It should be a pretty good race.”
