The huge crowd at the Lloyd Ex was roaring with excitement Saturday night as Meadow Lake bull rider Cody Coverchuk (top) racked up enough points to beat the rest. The PBR was followed by a cabaret featuring Bud’s Busted 9 Irons.
The Lloyd Ex was the place to be Saturday night for a bucking good time.
The PBR Winter Classic featured some of the world’s best bull riders, but Meadow Lake’s Cody Coverchuk took the buckle home with two outstanding rides.
He took the lead in the new season right out of the gate with an outstanding 86 point ride, followed by a 85.5 ride.
“The first bull I got on actually, I rode before, probably about a year ago or so. So I kind of knew a little bit of background on him, but he actually went the other way and he actually bucked pretty hard and yeah—I just did my job, I just stayed in the middle and rode both my bulls for what they were,” said Coverchuk.
“I was really happy to get all my bulls rode and that’s really all a guy can do is just ride each and every bull and let the judges do the rest.”
Coverchuk wound up on top, but two others were nipping at his heels with two completed rides as well. Jake Maher (Brisbane, Queensland, Australia) finished second, scoring 41 national points.
After scoring 83 points in Round 1, the Australian completed his performance with an 82-point effort in the second round.
Chad Hartman (Lancer, Saskatchewan) was third, collecting 30 national points. Hartman is now third in the Canadian standings, just 30.5 points back from Coverchuk.The hometown crowd roared as Coverchuk completed his final ride of the evening and was presented with the 2024 Winter Classic buckle.
“It seems like any time I go to Cold Lake or Lloyd, especially Lloyd, they love me there so it’s just like hometown bull riding for me every time and I seem to have good luck there. It’s one of my favourite events of the year for sure,” said Coverchuk.
“I think Lloyd was the first event counting for 2024, so what we saw on Saturday—it looks like it’s going to be another tough, tough year. It’s looking really good for PBR Canada and what’s to come.”
He said his goal is to keep up the momentum and stay on top as long as possible.
“I just wanna stay number one the whole time, throughout the whole season and hopefully don’t lose it but that’s a long time til finals next year, but that’s definitely the goal is to come out number one at the end of it,” said Coverchuk.
“Just keep it simple, one bull at a time and I can do my job as much as I can.”
When asked what goes through his mind when that chute gate swings open, Coverchuk said he goes into reaction mode.
“I’ve been doing it for a long time now, so my brain almost just shuts off and it just reacts—that’s when it works out best for me, when I don’t really think about it, I just let my body react to what’s happening. Just try not to overthink it, basically.”
