Tanner Byrne. (Covy Moore/CovyMoore.com).

By Jeff D’Andrea

PBR's coming back

P.A.’s Byrne can’t wait to get back in the dirt

May 14, 2021 | 2:00 PM

Tanner Byrne has had a lot of time on his hands these days.

Without any Professional Bull Rider events due to the pandemic, Byrne has been stuck at home near Prince Albert and doing odd jobs while waiting to be able to get back in the dirt with the bulls.

He’s been doing fencing jobs, jobs around the house, and overall staying in the best physical shape he can be until he’s called to be back in the dirt as a bullfighter.

Earlier this week, Byrne finally got a date to circle on his calendar as the PBR Canada’s Elite Cup Series is coming to the SaskTel Centre in Saskatoon on Oct. 29–30. Tickets are being sold for the event, as it is expected that fans will be able to attend and get the atmosphere back into the building.

“Relief, excitement, there’s not many words that I can put it into. PBR is working towards getting us back into action and giving us a job again,” Byrne said. “It’s been a tough year and a bit here with everything that’s went on—for everybody, especially for people in the live event industry—there’s been zero work. We can’t really work from home… Now we’ve got some light at the end of the tunnel with the vaccines and everything that’s coming forward. I’m very, very excited and very grateful that we can get back to work.”

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Tanner Byrne. (Covy Moore/CovyMoore.com)

Byrne hasn’t been completely idle during the pandemic. When Saskatchewan allowed gatherings of up to 150 people last summer, Byrne hosted his own private PBR at his place and featured some of Canada’s best bull riders like Kindersley’s Dakota Buttar and Yellow Grass’ Aaron Roy.

“I’ve just been staying ready to go. I’ve been working around the house and working with some of those bulls, doing some odd jobs to try and make some money when there’s not a way that I normally know how to do that,” Byrne said. “It’s kind of like everybody in the live events industry, just trying to stay alive and be ready for when it comes back. It went on a lot of time there.”

Tickets go on sale on May 21, starting at $25 on TicketMaster.

The event will sell limited tickets to ensure physical distancing between groups. There will also be more focus on digital ticketing and cashless sales in the building, with increased sanitizing in high traffic areas.

The field won’t be announced until closer to the event. Buttar won the PBR Canada Championship in 2020. Roy won the event in Saskatoon in 2009 and 2014 while Cody Coverchuk won in 2018.

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Jeff.dandrea@pattisonmedia.com

On Twitter: @jeff_paNOW