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Nashville Stampede Looking to Defend their Team Series Title in 2023

By: Darci Miller

FORT WORTH, Texas – Tomorrow, the 2023 PBR Team Series season takes center stage with the 2023 PBR Team Series Draft in Fort Worth, Texas (6 p.m. ET on RidePass on Pluto TV).

The Nashville Stampede enter the draft – and the season – in a unique position: they have to defend their title.

After finishing the 2022 season ranked eighth of eight teams, the Stampede went on a Cinderella run at the PBR Team Series Championship in Las Vegas in November to win the inaugural Team Series gold buckle.

“We certainly went into the season with a plan, and it didn’t come off exactly how we had intended, but it finished the way we wanted it to,” Stampede General Manager Tina Battock said on PBR Now. “It was definitely a test of all of our mettle and our dedication and our perseverance.”

The Stampede certainly had the star power to be a threat week in and week out, led by World Champions Kaique Pacheco and Silvano Alves and 2016 World Finals event winner Ryan Dirteater on the dirt and two-time World Champion Justin McBride behind the chutes as head coach.

For her part, Battock was always a loud presence at events, cheering the team on and doing whatever she could to support her riders.

“I’m very competitive, for sure, and I did what I could do, which was to lend my voice and my positivity and hopefully a little bit of my energy to the guys,” Battock said. “It’s really all I can do, from an activity standpoint, for them, and it’s just so amazing to watch and so fun and so gripping, and I’m right there in it. And I think in every photo of me, I have my mouth wide open, in full yell mode, but I want them to know we’re supporting and I’m pulling for them every way I can, which is meant to translate some of that energy.”

Battock was the only female GM among the eight founding teams in the inaugural Team Series, but it’s not something she ever thought about. She rolled up her sleeves and competed with the boys, her team flourished, and she was named General Manager of the Year.

“I think for me, it never really occurred to me that there was anything special about me being female. It’s what I am. It’s what I know,” she said. “And my parents raised me to just do the thing. Whether you are a male or a female, you use what tools you have access to, and you bring those to the table and do the best possible job. So it was never my intention to be the best female. It was just to have the best team, the best-run team, the championship team. And in order to do that, I needed to bring in the other bests, so the best coach, the best support team, and the best riders that were available to us. That’s really what it meant. My job, fundamentally, is to give the riders and the coaches the tools they need to do their job.”

Thanks to an offseason trade, the Stampede no longer have any first-round picks in the draft on Wednesday. They traded the No. 1 pick to the Carolina Cowboys for Mason Taylor and Ednelio Almeida, who have joined Pacheco, Alves, Dener Barbosa and Thiago Salgado on the Stampede’s protected roster. The Cowboys, meanwhile, now have picks No. 1 and No. 2 overall in the draft after trading Wingson Henrique da Silva to the Kansas City Outlaws.

The Stampede will have their first pick in the second round, during which they’ll pick first, No. 9 overall.

The current draft order is as follows:

Round 1

  1. Carolina Cowboys
  2. Carolina Cowboys
  3. Missouri Thunder
  4. Arizona Ridge Riders
  5. Kansas City Outlaws
  6. Oklahoma Freedom
  7. Texas Rattlers

Round 2

  1. Nashville Stampede
  2. Kansas City Outlaws
  3. Missouri Thunder
  4. Arizona Ridge Riders
  5. Carolina Cowboys

Round 3

  1. Missouri Thunder

“We certainly have our eyes on a repeat,” Battock said. “We want to make sure we defend our title, so that’s first and foremost, and maybe be a little bit more competitive along the way and win some weekends. So we’ll set our goals once we have our roster set and figure out how we’re going to get there bull by bull. And right now, we’re doing our peacetime planning and really gearing up for the draft.”

The Stampede will host their home event, PBR Stampede Days, on Aug. 18-20 in Bridgestone Arena. Battock encourages fans to come out and attend a Teams event, be it in Nashville or elsewhere. The energy is high, the riding is intense – and the Stampede have a buckle to defend.

“I know that people have an opinion, and the idea of bull riding being a team sport has been much talked about, and I think we’ve done a really good job of converting folks to the team concept and giving them the opportunity to enjoy world-class bull riding all year long,” Battock said. “These are the bull riders that they see in the individual season, and they’re competing in a different way. And there’s something elevated about the intensity when you’re riding for a teammate and for a team and for a team title. So I would just encourage everyone to come out to an event. I know you will not be disappointed. It is definitely a premiere event, and you will get hooked.”

Photo courtesy of Andre Silva/Bull Stock Media

© 2023 PBR Inc. All rights reserved.

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