By Robb Fenton
It’s been a great event since it began and 2010 was no different for the seventh annual Brad Phipps Memorial PBR Event in Lashburn.
With the stands jam-packed and Aaron Roy walking away with the Brad Phipps Buckle, 3-D bullriding promoter Jason Davidson said, as usual, it was great putting on an event like this.
“It’s always good coming back here. Brad is part of my family, so it’s great and to be able to help the Lashburn Sportsplex get off the ground and get completed is the reason we started this event,” Davidson said. “It’s worked out great since year one, so it’s been a great effort on all of the sponsors part.”
It’s a combination of a tonne of volunteers and sponsors that make this event as successful as it is and Davidson said he always looks forward to coming back to Lashburn to put on this event because of the support the riders, organizers and everyone involved receives.
“Scorpion Oilfield has stepped up right from the beginning and not only with the cash sponsorship, but we’re looking at a whole bunch of new bleachers, they put a lot of effort in and when it comes to setting up and tearing down, they’re always there,” Davidson said, adding there are a number of other sponsors who are key in making the event work. “Sponsors are phenomenal, the committee bends over backwards and honestly, you’d have to drive a long ways to watch an event like this anywhere in the country.”
To make sure the fans get the best show, the top riders and the top bulls are brought to Lashburn and definitely put on a show.
Davidson said it’s amazing to see all the big names of the sport in one place at one time.
“This PBR event attracts great names. We have PBR champion Aaron Roy here, he’s from Saskatchewan, but he’s got a hectic schedule being on the Built Ford Tough Series. We’ve got Cord McCoy, Rocky McDonald, he’s the Mexican champion,” Davidson explained of who was in attendance. “We always bring the best bulls we can find so everyone has a chance to win. When you’re competing for the Brad Phipps Buckle, it’s not going to be easy. I’m proud of the guys who have won this event in the past, it’s the big names.”
Davidson took an old line from a movie describing the way this event comes together.
“It’s like the Field of Dreams, if you build it they will come,” he said. “It is phenomenal.”
Davidson uses the Brad Phipps Memorial as an example of what 3-D bullriding, PBR and a community can do when he talks about the sport to line up potential shows.
“I use this for a benchmark for a lot of my new committees that I approach or approach 3-D bullriding for an event. You take a look at everything set up here, it takes a lot of money to do something like this,” he said. “With great sponsorship and the tremendous support we get from the audience is phenomenal. For a community this size it’s great.”