SYDNEY, Australia – If there was a most-creative attire award at the Sydney Global Cup, the leading candidate on Thursday at rider check-in was Team USA’s Cody Nance.
Nance arrived for his second Global Cup event rocking a Route 66 USA-themed black button up shirt following a five-day vacation in Hawaii.
“A swap meet,” Nance said of where he purchased the shirt. “A lot of locals gather up merchandise and people make their own arts and crafts. They gather up shells, necklaces and make dreamcatchers and everything you can imagine. I saw this and thought, ‘This is coming with me. Absolutely.’
“I figured with Route 66 you can’t go much more old school than that.”
Team USA’s oldest rider at 30 years old is going to bring grit, toughness and veteran leadership to coach Justin McBride’s squad.
Nance, though, also is bringing a relaxed mentality to the defending champs as well.
The Paris, Tennessee, veteran knows there will be time later this weekend at Qudos Bank Arena where the team will need to flip the switch, but for now Nance is in favor of the group taking some time to be tourists and see what Sydney has to offer.
“I haven’t been on a bull since Vegas,” Nance said. “It has been enjoyable being able to relax and hang out with the family.”
Nance went to Hawaii with his wife, Korie, prior to flying to Sydney on Wednesday. Korie used to live in Hawaii for two years before the couple met in Tennessee.
Cody is one of five riders on Team USA who brought their wife, girlfriend or fiancée to Sydney for the Global Cup.
“There are some distractions,” Team USA coach Justin McBride, who also brought his family to Australia, admitted. “Everybody has their families and different things going on. Nance just came from Hawaii. But that is the thing I like about this group. I am all for them having a good time. Now the guys aren’t missing home. They aren’t wishing they are somewhere else. They have the things that are important to them with them. I think that will show up in their riding.”
Fans can watch the Sydney Global Cup exclusively on RidePass beginning on Saturday at 5:30 a.m. ET.
Team Brazil, Team Canada, Team Mexico and Team USA are invading the Land Down Under to take on Team Australia.
This weekend is the first international team bull riding competition in Australia since the inaugural World Cup in 2007.
The majority of Team USA had dinner together on Thursday night at Ribs & Burgers Sydney – because what else is more American than ribs and burgers – while in a funny turn of events Keyshawn Whitehorse wound up crashing the Team Canada dinner after getting separated unintentionally from Team USA.
Many of the international bull riders have taken time to check out the 10th annual Vivid Sydney this week – an award-winning festival of light, music and ideas that involves much of the city, including the famous Sydney Opera House, illuminated with light art and projections.
Earlier in the day, 2016 PBR World Champion Cooper Davis and his wife, Kaitlyn, took their son, Mack, to Featherdale Wildlife Park: A hands-on wildlife experience.
Cooper is also competing next weekend in Bismarck, North Dakota, at Chad Berger’s $100,000 Match of Champions.
Featherdale has quickly become a must-do attraction for many of the riders of all the countries competing at Global Cup and their families and friends.
Word spread quickly about the ability to play and feed kangaroos and the opportunity to pose for photos with koala bears after reigning World Champion Jess Lockwood and his girlfriend Hailey Kinsel went earlier in the week.
“That was cool,” Lockwood said. “The little ones were cute, but those big ones were cool to pet. The big ones were sweet.”
Lockwood and Kinsel, who both will be competing at the Days of 47 Rodeo in Salt Lake City next month, which airs on RidePass as well, arrived in Sydney on Sunday.
“It wouldn’t have been the same if I just flew in today and checked in and rode bulls,” Lockwood said. “If you are going to go 17 hours on a flight one way, you might as well make the most of it.”
As a kid, Lockwood was well aware of PBR Australia and knew the PBR hosted international events, but the 20-year-old admitted he never really expected to use riding bulls as a means to go see the world.
“I knew the PBR is in Sydney and in Australia, but I never figured I would come over for it,” Lockwood said. “I never wanted to for any reason. Now with this Global Cup deal, I might as well.”
Lockwood will be an added weapon to Team USA after he skipped the Edmonton Global Cup following his World Championship victory at the 2017 PBR World Finals.
The Volborg, Montana, native kept going back and forth if he wanted to make the long, overseas journey to Australia.
Lockwood is now ready to make the trip well worth it.
“I was on the fence coming down and then I decided to. I am excited,” Lockwood said. “This is cool. We are all a team. It is going to be fun cheering each other on and acting like a team all week. There is a different type of motivation. You are not just doing it for yourself. You are doing it for a team.”
Follow Justin Felisko on Twitter @jfelisko
