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Back in 1999, Cody Snyder had a vision.

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Little did he know that 24 years later, his idea to create a spectacle of a bull riding event would still be going strong in the Calgary area.

This year’s Cody Snyder Charity Bullbustin’, which runs nightly from Tuesday through Friday at the Grey Eagle Resort and Casino, has been sold out for 2-½ months, which is a source of pride for the former world champion bull rider.

“We always thought we could build one to make it this big, but it’s really turned into something special,” said Snyder on the afternoon before his annual extravaganza kicked off. “To be able to build an event to this calibre and this stature is something that we’ve always wanted to do.”

With our charity fundraising initiatives, we’re close to $3 million (raised) on that now from the start, so that’s been very good.”

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Proceeds from the four-night show will go to Special Olympics Canada, the Canadian Mental Health Association Calgary, the Central Alberta Child Advocacy Centre and LUNA Child and Youth Advocacy Centre as well as the Tsuut’ina Nation Youth Programs.

“We have some of the Special Olympians on the Canadian team coming for the first performance,” noted Snyder, who thanked the corporate community in Calgary and the surrounding area for their continued support. “This is a corporate event that’s massively supported by corporate Calgary, Alberta and Canada. 

Snyder also commended the Tsuut’ina Nation for their continued support of his pride and joy.

“To have the partnership that we have here with the beautiful Grey Eagle Resort and Casino on the Tsuut’ina Nation is awesome,” he said. “Chief Roy Whitney and everybody have been so supportive of this event and are behind it 100 per cent.

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“We transformed the parking lot of the Grey Eagle into one of the biggest bull riding events in Canada. There’s 32 tandem loads of dirt. We’ve got 20 flat decks and we put all of our bleachers on the flat decks and it’s not only that. All 3,000 people that are here go into the Grey Eagle for the after party that starts right after the bull riding’s over. It’s kind of got to be the party of the year here. It’s really turned into something great.”

Snyder likes to think that the Bullbustin’ spectacle is the unofficial kickoff of the Calgary Stampede, which gets under way on Friday.

“The reason we did this was to make an extension of the Stampede,” said Snyder, while noting that 25 of the top bull riders from Canada and the United States will be competing each night for more than $50,000 in prize money in addition to valuable points that count towards the PBR Canada National Finals in Edmonton in November as well as the PBR World Finals next May in Fort Worth and Arlington, Texas. “It’s good for the bull riders. It’s good for the whole sport to be able for the guys to stay here to ride for that kind of money.”

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Following a rain and lightning delay of 45 minutes, Chad Hartman of Lancer, Sask., emerged as the champion of the first night of action after scoring 81.5 points atop Housfire in Round 1 before thrilling the judges with an 87.5-point performance aboard The Remedy in the short round.

Tyler Craig of Crossfield, Alta., was the only other competitor to have two successful rides as he covered Batter Up for 79 points before posting a score of 86 atop Lil’ Hooch in the final round.

Fresh off of winning the bull riding event at the Ponoka Stampede, Calgary’s own Nick Tetz had a tough opening night as he was bucked off Naughty Kisher.

Nonetheless, he’ll still be looking to keep his impressive 2023 season going with a strong Bullbustin’ showing over the show’s final three nights.

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“The guy is really something and he’s got a great career ahead of him,” said Snyder of Tetz, who won the fourth night of last year’s Bullbustin’ show. “We’ve had a small part in that with him competing here. For him to be riding here and a bunch of his family was here, it’s a big deal and for him to do well here, it shows he can go to that next level.”

HALL OF FAME INDUCTEE

With wife Rhonda and daughters Jordyn and Reese at his side, Snyder became the first Canadian to be inducted into the Bull Riding Hall of Fame on May 20 in Forth Worth, Texas.

“It’s been a big year,” said Snyder, who was crowned the PRCA World Champion in Oklahoma City in 1983 when he was only 20. “That’s really the pinnacle from a bull rider’s perspective because to get into the Bull Riders Hall of Fame, you’re voted on by your peers. There’s no politics or none of that stuff. It’s either you rode good enough and you’re worthy to be in there or you’re not.”

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A four-time National Finals Rodeo qualifier and Canadian champion in 1986, Snyder still holds the highest scored ride of 95 points in Canadian rodeo history, a feat he accomplished in 1983 at the Canadian Finals Rodeo at the Northlands Coliseum in Edmonton.

It was eight-time world champion Donnie Gay, one of his bull-riding heroes, who called him to tell him about his latest honour.

“To have him call me and tell me that I had been voted into the Bull Riders Hall of Fame was very special,” added Snyder, who was inducted into the Alberta Sports Hall of Fame in 2002 and the CPRA Hall of Fame three years later before earning the PBR’s Ring of Honor in 2006.

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