Five-Time PRCA Champion Sage Kimzey to Replace Two-Time PBR World Champion Mauney on Team USA-Eagles

Final rosters set for the PBR Global Cup’s debut on U.S. soil

Ahead of the first-ever PBR (Professional Bull Riders) Global Cup on U.S. soil, the league has announced the final rosters for the six competing teams, with five-time PRCA Champion Sage Kimzey (Strong City, Oklahoma) set to replace two-time PBR World Champion J.B. Mauney (Statesville, North Carolina) on Team USA-Eagles.

Kimzey, who was selected by Team USA Coach Justin McBride (Elk City, Oklahoma) and Assistant Coach J.W. Hart (Overbrook, Oklahoma), will replace Mauney as the nation’s alternate. Mauney is currently recovering from a broken fibula sustained at the PBR Unleash The Beast event in Sacramento, California.

“It would be coaching malpractice if I didn’t try and find the best available guy to step in and ride one bull,” said McBride, who is a two-time PBR World Champion. “We both thought we would be doing a disservice to this team not to ask Kimzey.”

Sage Kimzey

Team USA-Eagles also underwent another change, with Brennon Eldred (Sulphur, Oklahoma) chosen to replace Matt Triplett (Columbia Falls, Montana) currently recovering from a right wrist (riding hand) injury.

The home nation contingent also welcomed a second assistant coach in PBR Ring of Honor member Ross Coleman (Molalla, Oregon) who will help lead the team alongside McBride and fellow assistant Hart.

The PBR Global Cup, the only nation vs. nation bull riding competition, will make its U.S. debut, and third stop, at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas on February 9-10, 2019 with the 2019 WinStar World Casino and Resort PBR Global Cup USA, presented by Monster Energy. The new team tournament debuted in Edmonton, Alberta in November 2017 and then visited Sydney, Australia in June 2018.

The complete Team USA-Eagles roster is: Coach McBride, Assistant Coach Hart and Coleman, 2016 PBR World Champion Cooper Davis (Buna, Texas), Cody Nance (Paris, Tennessee), Chase Outlaw (Hamburg, Arkansas), Cody Teel (Kountze, Texas), 2017 World Champion Jess Lockwood (Volborg, Montana) Derek Kolbaba (Walla Walla, Washington), Eldred and alternate Kimzey.

Team Brazil also underwent change, with Joao Ricardo Vieira (Itatinga, Brazil) replacing Joao Marcelo Santos (Cláudio, Brazil) as the contingent’s alternate after he was unable to secure a visa. Vieira is red hot, having won consecutive premier series events at Sacramento (Jan. 27) and Glendale (Jan. 20).

The South American nation’s complete roster is: Coach Renato Nunes (Buritama, Brazil), Assistant Coach Marcelo Nunes (Buritama, Brazil), 2018 PBR World Champion Kaique Pacheco (Itatiba, Brazil), Eduardo Aparecido (Gouvelandia, Brazil), Jose Vitor Leme (Ribas do Rio Pardo, Brazil), Claudio Montanha Jr. (Pacaembu, Brazil), Fernando Henrique Novais (Pereira Barreto, Brazil), Bruno Scaranello (General Salgado, Brazil), Marco Eguchi (Poá, Brazil) and alternate Vieira.

Team Australia was the final nation to a have a change in riders slated to compete at the five-nation international bull riding spectacle.

After breaking his collarbone in Sacramento, Nathan Burtenshaw (Coonamble, New South Wales) will no longer ride but instead serve as 1998 PBR World Champion Troy Dunn’s (Bloomsbury, Queensland) Assistant Coach.

In his place, Kurt Shephard (Atherton, Queensland) was promoted from alternate, a void filled by 19-year-old Brady Fielder (Clermont, Queensland, Australia).

The final Team Australia roster is: Coach Dunn, Assistant Coach Burtenshaw, Lachlan Richardson (Gresford, New South Wales), Cliff Richardson (Gresford, New South Wales), Cody Heffernan (Singleton, New South Wales), 2018 PBR Australia Champion Aaron Kleier (Clermont, Queensland), Jason Mara (Cloncurry, Queensland), Justin Paton(Nebo, Queensland), Shephard and alternate Fielder.

For the U.S. stop, the host country will add a team comprised exclusively of Native American riders, called the Wolves, competing alongside the other American team, the Eagles.

The all Native American Team USA-Wolves will be led by 2007 World Finals event winner Wiley Petersen (Fort Hall, Idaho; Shoshone Bannock) and Assistant Coach Assistant Coach Mike “Bo” Vocu (Kyle, South Dakota; Oglala Lakota).

Their full team includes:, Stetson Lawrence (Williston, North Dakota; Chippewa and Sioux), Ryan Dirteater (Hulbert, Oklahoma; Cherokee), 2018 PBR Rookie of the Year Keyshawn Whitehorse (McCracken Springs, Utah; Navajo), Cody Jesus (Window Rock, Arizona; Navajo), Cannon Cravens (Porum Oklahoma; Cherokee), Justin Granger (Tuba City, Arizona; Navajo), Colten Jesse (Konawa, Oklahoma; Potawatomi) and alternate Dakota Louis (Browning, Montana; Northern Cheyenne and Black Feet).

Team Canada will once again be led by three-time Canadian Champion Aaron Roy (Yellow Grass, Saskatchewan) who will make history as the first competitor to both ride and coach for a competing nation.

The remainder of the Canadian team includes: Dakota Buttar (Kindersley, Saskatchewan), Tanner Byrne (Prince Albert, Saskatchewan), Zane Lambert (Ponoka, Alberta), Jared Parsonage (Maple Creek, Saskatchewan), Lonnie West (Cadogan, Alberta), Jordan Hansen (Okotoks, Alberta) and alternate Wacey Finkbeiner (Ponoka, Alberta).

Rounding out the roster of nations set to compete at the history PBR Global Cup USA is Team Mexico. The nation’s contingent is made up of: Coach Gerardo Venegas (Juarez, Mexico), Juan Carlos Contreras(Huichapan, Mexico), Jorge Valdiviezo (La Mision, Mexico), Edgar Durazo (Moctezuma, Mexico), Alvaro Aguilar Alvarez (La Punta, Mexico), 2018 PBR Mexico Champion Francisco Garcia Torres (Sal, Mexico), Francisco Morales (Irapuato, Mexico), Esteban Bustamante (Cuauhtémoc, Mexico) and alternate Luis Escobedo (Parras, Mexico).

The event will feature entertainment all weekend long including a Global Cup Fan Zone at Arlington’s Texas Live! sports entertainment complex, which houses the new PBR Texas Cowboy Country Bar, the spectacular 18,000 square foot flagship branded bar operated by Cordish & Co. 

The free, three-day Fan Zone at Texas Live!, from Feb. 8-10, will include a Native Fancy Dance Showcase and stop on both the Miniature Bull Riders and Shorty Gorham’s American Freestyle Bullfighting cross-country tours, among other entertaining programming.

The Global Cup will begin on Saturday, February 9 at 6:45 p.m. CT, concluding on Sunday, February 10 at 12:45 p.m. CT. Each night, the seven riders representing each nation will attempt one bull each. Following that round, each coach will select two riders to attempt one more bull each in the bonus round.

Collectively, the six competing teams will attempt 18 bulls each, with winning nation being the contingent with the highest aggregate score over the course of the event based off their Top-12 qualified rides.

Tickets for the 2019 WinStar World Casino and Resort PBR Global Cup USA, presented by Monster Energy, are on sale now and start at just $10. They can be purchased at SeatGeek.com or the AT&T Stadium Box Office.

                                                                                                                                              ~PBR Media