Jared Parsonage in action. (Photo: Covy Moore/CovyMoore.com)

By Justin Goulet

Jared Parsonage ready for bull-riding return to Lethbridge this weekend

Aug 27, 2021 | 7:09 AM

LETHBRIDGE, AB – The bull riders are coming back to Lethbridge!

For the first time in PBR (Professional Bull Riders) Canada’s history, the league will launch its season for the elite Cup Series in YQL. The PBR South Country Co-op Showdown, presented by VisitLethbridge.com, takes place August 27-28 at the ENMAX Centre.

Jared Parsonage of Maple Creek, Saskatchewan comes into Lethbridge ranked number-one in the nation, 27 points ahead of reigning National Champion and current number-two Dakota Buttar of Kindersley, Saskatchewan.

He told LNN that there’s a “whole row” of Cup Series events coming up in the fall, so this weekend is “a good time to get the momentum rolling and there will be no better place than Lethbridge to get on a roll.”

To date this year, Parsonage has gone 6-for-10 (60-percent) on Canadian soil, winning a league-leading three Touring Pro Division events. In 2019, when the Cup Series debuted at the ENMAX Centre, Parsonage won the tour stop to leave ranked number-one in Canada.

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Jared Parsonage has been competing at the pro level since 2014. (Photo: Covy Moore/CovyMoore.com)

After hosting the last fan-attended Cup Series event prior to COVID-19 in March of 2020, Lethbridge served as the site of the league’s return to competition with a double-header in late July 2020, following a 138-day hiatus from live events.

READ MORE: PBR Monster Energy Tour returning to Lethbridge July 23

At that event, fans were able to watch the action on a big screen from outside of the ENMAX Centre. This weekend’s event will allow fans into the building to see the bull riders in action, in-person.

Parsonage said he’s very excited to return to Lethbridge venue and the ENMAX is one of his favourite spots to compete in. He commented that, “it’s good that they managed to have those events last year, with the no fans and people watching on the jumbotron outside, but it’s not the same as when, you know, the event’s full, the building’s full, especially in Lethbridge.”

“There’s always good crowds there, so that’s always lots of fun and the people are into it. That’s way better than an empty crowd.”

The 28-year-old said he grew up in a “western rodeo” family and was enamored with PBR since he was young.

“I started riding steers, junior bulls and amateur bulls and next thing you know, I kind of just kept taking the steps as they came, right up to the tops, to the pro levels.”

Parsonage has been riding pro since 2014. Aside from the adrenaline rush from the crowd, he said one of the perks of being on the circuit is traveling and getting to know fellow riders.

“As you get older, you like to be home a little more but it’s fun going to all these different places and seeing all the places and meeting the people and getting and going with the guys. That’s half the fun, too, is doing that.”

More on PBR Canada is available here. The PBR Canada Cup Series South Country Co-op Showdown is Friday, August 27 and Saturday, August 28 at the ENMAX Centre in Lethbridge.