Perfect Conner Halverson Wins PBR Canada Touring Pro Division Event in Yorkton, Saskatchewan

By Kacie Albert

YORKTON, Sask. – At the final regular season PBR (Professional Bull Riders) Canada event of 2023, Conner Halverson (Gordon, Nebraska) rode in seemingly unstoppable form, going a perfect 4-for-4 to win the Touring Pro Division’s Mazergroup PBR in Yorkton, Saskatchewan.

Halverson first put points on the board in Round 1 when he rode Jam It (Vold Rodeo) for 81.5 points. The Nebraska native then climbed the leaderboard when he delivered the second-best score of Round 2, topping Samcro (Lazy S Bucking Bulls) for 85 points.

As Championship Saturday got underway, Halverson looked to record his third score in as many attempts as he settled in atop Freaked Out (Lazy S Bucking Bulls). Remaining in perfect time with the powerful animal athlete, Halverson reached the requisite 8 for a Round 3-best 84 points.

Halverson then clinched his event win on Canadian soil with an 84-point score atop Tactical Error (Outlaw Buckers Rodeo Corp.) in the final round.

Compliments of the golden finish, Halverson netted a crucial 78.7 national points. He rose from No. 23 to No. 17 in the national standings, clinching his first berth to the PBR Canada National Finals.

Two-time PBR Canada Champion Cody Coverchuk (Meadow Lake, Saskatchewan) furthered his stronghold on the No. 1 rank in the national standings courtesy of a second-place finish.

Coverchuk joined Halverson as the only other rider to cover all four of his draws.

In the opening rounds, the Saskatchewan man topped Evil Prodigy (Flying Four Bucking Bulls) for 79 points, Patches O’Houlihan (Flying Four Bucking Bulls) for 82.5 points and Moe Joe (CS Bucking Bulls) for 81 points. Coverchuk then punctuated his perfect performance with an 80-point ride on Hat Trick (Vold Rodeo/Bow River Ranches).

Leaving Yorkton with 60 national points, Coverchuk extended his lead over the No. 2 contender to 68.5 national points.

Should Coverchuk continue his momentum and be crowned the 2023 PBR Canada Champion, he would tie Aaron Roy (Yellow Grass, Saskatchewan) for most national titles won by one rider with three.

Attempting to become the first back-to-back PBR Canada Champion in history, 2022 titleholder Nick Tetz (Calgary, Alberta) returned to competition in triumphant form.

Sidelined since early October due to a shoulder injury, Tetz first struck in Round 1 when he rode Fly High Ry (Lazy S Bucking Bulls) for 83.5 points. With his championship-contending form on full display, Tetz then won Round 2 when he covered Chico (Vold Rodeo) for 86.5 points.

In Round 3, Tetz remained flawless, topping Positively Bangin (Outlaw Buckers Rodeo Corp.) for 84 points.

Atop the event leaderboard, Tetz was denied the event win in the final round when he came down in a heartbreaking 6.87 seconds aboard Knee Knocker (Vold Rodeo).

Collecting a crucial 49.2 points, Tetz leapfrogged an injured Dakota Buttar (Eatonia, Saskatchewan) for the No. 2 rank in the national standings.

Seeking his unprecedented fourth national title, Roy was fourth, earning 39.5 national points.

Roy was electric through the opening three rounds of competition, riding Black List (Lazy S Bucking Bulls) for 83.5 points, Get Ugly (CS Bucking Bulls) for 84 points and Batter Up (Outlaw Buckers Rodeo Corp.) for 83.5 points.

Similar to Tetz, Roy came up short of a win in the final round when he came down prior to the 8, tossed in 4.75 seconds by Quiet Riot (Lazy S Bucking Bulls).

The veteran rose one spot in the national standings, overtaking 2017 PBR Canada Rookie of the Year Coy Robbins (Camrose, Alberta) for the No. 4 rank. Roy is now within 146.16 points of No. 1 Coverchuk.

Rounding out the Top 5 in fifth was Callum Miller (Warwick, Queensland, Australia).

Miller’s 70-point ride on Legal All Over (CS Bucking Bulls), 74-point score atop Evil Prodigy and 85.5-point ride on Memphis (Vold Rodeo) earned him 30 national points.

Despite the Top 5 finish, Miller slipped from No. 19 to No. 20 in the national standings.

In the bull pen, Money Moves (Flying Four Bucking Bulls) bucked a cut above the rest, crowned the Bull of the Event at the Mazergroup PBR.

Bucking in Round 3, the bovine athlete was marked an event-best 43.5 points for his 4 seconds of work against teenage phenom John Crimber (Decatur, Texas).

The 2023 PBR Canada season concludes Nov. 17-18 in Edmonton, Alberta for the PBR Canada National Finals, presented by Command Tubular Products, when the 2023 PBR Canada Champion will be crowned, earning the accompanying $100,000 bonus. Action for the year-end event inside Rogers Place will get underway at 7 p.m. MT on Friday, November 17 and Saturday, November 18.

Stay tuned in to PBRCanada.com and follow the tour on Facebook (PBR Canada), Twitter (@PBRCanada), and Instagram (@PBRCanada) for the latest results, news, stats and more.

PBR Canada Touring Pro Division
Mazergroup PBR
Westland Arena – Yorkton, Saskatchewan
(Round 1-Round 2-Round 3-Round 4-Event Aggregate-Event Points)

1. Conner Halverson, 81.5-85-84-84-334.50-78.66 Points.
2. Cody Coverchuk, 79-82.5-81-80-322.50-60 Points.
3. Nick Tetz, 83.5-86.5-84-0-254.00-49.16 Points.
4. Aaron Roy, 83.5-84-83.5-0-251.00-39.5 Points.
5. Callum Miller, 70-0-74-85.5-229.50-30 Points.
6. Jake Maher, 84-83.5-0-0-167.50-26.5 Points.
7. Jake Dunham, 80.5-0-84-0-164.50-25.66 Points.
8. Weston Davidson, 0-0-75-77.5-152.50-6 Points.
9. Chad Hartman, 86-0-0-0-86.00-17 Points.
10. John Crimber, 85.5-0-0-0-85.50-14 Points.
11. Chance Switzer, 84-0-0-0-84.00-12.5 Points.
12. Orrin Marshall, 0-0-76.5-0-76.50-1 Points.
Kade McDonald, 0-0-0-0-0.00
Cody Fitzpatrick, 0-0-0-0-0.00
Eric O’Flynn, 0-0-0-0-0.00
Clay Gordon, 0-0-0-0-0.00

Photo courtesy of Covy Moore/CovyMoore.com

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