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‘Canada is going there to win’

Snyder emphasizes team spirit in bid for World Cup

PUEBLO, Colo. (August 20, 2009) - “We’re a team.”

Three simple words with a deep meaning for Team Canada.

Monday night, captain Cody Snyder is hosting a team dinner for all five World Cup riders and his alternate, along with their wives and girlfriends.

“Not only are we a team, but we’re darn sure going to look like a team,” added Snyder, who said they all will be wearing a team hat, traveling together, staying together, eating together, and of course, “winning together.”

Snyder spoke candidly in a Podcast posted at www.pbr.tv.

They’re leaving for Brazil sooner than the other teams, with flights booked out Calgary on Tuesday afternoon at 3 p.m.

“I haven’t looked at what anybody else is doing, and I don’t care,” he said. “We’re going to do our deal and take care of our business. Team Canada is going there to win.”

Snyder also added, “I’m heads and tails above the excitement of where I was last year. … We’re definitely going to be a team to be reckoned with when we get there.”

Having been to two previous World Cup events and having come in second both times, he said he knows the team has its hands full, but the former champion said he also knows what  it takes to win once they’re down in Brazil.

Team Canada will be made up of Aaron Roy, Scott Schiffner, Tyler Thomson, Devon Mezei, Chad Besplug and Ty Elliott.

Unlike any other year, this one would be the biggest win for the guys from Canada. For starters, there’s the growth of the PBR and the magnitude of the media coverage and worldwide attention the sport is receiving, and then of course, it’s only months away from the winter Olympics. According to Snyder, the entire country is supportive of any team competitions on a world stage.

“It would be absolutely enormous,” he said. “This is the biggest thing in bull riding, probably, in the history of Canada for us to be able to win this World Cup.”

—by Keith Ryan Cartwright