It was BYOB (bring your own bull) day at the Canadian Country Expo featuring a bull riding and bullfighting event showcase. The event is called a first of its kind with “two of western sports’ most exciting disciplines,” according to the expo. For the BYOB Bull Battle, six teams of two bull riders, one pro and one amateur, will be competing for shares of a $25,000 event purse. For the amateurs, this event is a chance to learn from the best in the sport, and the people they hope to one day compete against. “It’s going to give that kind of perfect mesh between who is the now and the next generation,” said Dom St. Amand, an announcer at the expo. “It gives that first lead-in for some of these competitors that may be looking at joining the Professional Bull Riders (PBR) Canada at the end of the regular season.” There was also a freestyle bullfighting showcase, where competitors will try to dodge a bull for one minute. “Unlike traditional bullfighting, the animals are not harmed,” according to the expo in a news release. “Bullfighters are judged solely on their ability to perform gravity-defying acrobatic stunts as close to the bull as possible without getting hit.” Three bullfighters are competing, including four-time and reigning world champion Chance Moorman. Alongside the bulls is the rest of the Canadian Finals Rodeo and the Canadian Youth Rodeo Championship. Nearly $50,000 in prizes and scholarships is up for grabs in the youth events. Training and getting the younger athletes into the sport is important to the PBR. “If we can start some of these young kids off right and have them ride with their mentors in the sport, yeah, who knows what we can create in the sport of bull riding here in Canada,” St. Amand said. The Canadian Finals Rodeo wraps up Saturday, with the Youth Rodeo Championship ending Sunday. With files from CTV News Edmonton’s Evan Kenny
