The Professional Bull Riders (PBR) Canada Elite Cup is coming back to the Okanagan for the first time since 2019, and Zane Lambert is excited to come to Kelowna.
Lambert is one of many bull riders that will be taking part in the event coming to Kelowna on July 20.
Currently ranked 120th in the world, Lambert started bull-riding when he was just ten years old, taking part in small rodeos and events before eventually moving up to bigger events as he grew older.
“I was brought up around livestock and show and cattle,” said Lambert. “As I got older, it just progressed and progressed.”
Now 36, he has taken part in rodeos and PBR events off-and-on over the years. For him, it started as a hobby that he would take part in after school and on the weekends.
And for the average fan who looks at the sport and thinks about how dangerous it is, Lambert says that part of it was never an issue for him.
“If it was dangerous or not, it never really crossed my mind if I was going to do it or not, I was still doing to do it,” said Lambert. “You just grow up around it and see it all the time and you see different injuries but it’s just part of it. It takes a lot of time and a lot of skill in knowing how to handle yourself in an arena around the livestock. To be able to not only ride them but survive day in and day out and handle yourself in a professional matter that you don’t get hurt and pinch points. You have to be a cowboy and know what you’re doing out there.”
Over the course of his career, he has won the Canadian National Championship twice.
Lambert explained to Capital News that the rodeo cup series is almost a year-round season with December being the slower month. He said events take place indoors throughout January and February, but events pick up during the summer months.
The season finals are in November. Despite December being the slow month in North America, Lambert said riders go to Australia during that month to take part in events and earn points for the world standings that way.
“16 years ago they (the leagues from around the world) kind of joined forces,” said Lambert. “This year, we have a couple Australians coming to our national finals and vice versa, we’re sending a couple over their for their finals.”
Like everything else, the bullriding industry was also struck by the COVID-19 pandemic over the last two years.
“COVID was interesting,” said Lambert, “There were some events cancelled, there were some events, the bigger events went without crowds. It was a big hit for the economy but we kept going.”
He also noted that bigger events that were scheduled to be televised still on went without fans but were still broadcasted on television. The PBR community is excited to have live shows back at full capacity and no restrictions in place.
“It’s been outstanding, a lot of people are appreciating live shows,” said Lambert.
The PBR Canada Elite Cup Okanagan Challenge event is taking place at Kelowna’s Prospera Place on Wednesday, July 20 at 7 p.m. For tickets and more information, click here.
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