Bull rider Garrett Green rides Muffin Man to a share of the go-round win before making a hard landing during the Calgary Stampede rodeo on Saturday, July 11, 2026. Photo by Brent Calver /Postmedia

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Fans of the Calgary Stampede would love to see the 2026 bull-riding crown won by a Canadian.

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Even better if it’s an Albertan.

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And Garrett Green plans to give that to them Sunday.

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“Yeah, yeah, yeah … they do,” said Green, of Meeting Creek. “So I’m going to do that for them.

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“I’ve made Showdown Sunday twice before now,” continued Green. “And both times I made Sunday, I rode my Sunday bull to seven seconds. So this year, we’re going eight.”

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That is … if he gets the all-clear and feels good enough to go for the championship day at GMC Stadium.

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After riding the requisite eight seconds for a share of the go-round win Saturday, Green landed with a thud on the ground chest-first off the dismount. He then squirrelled himself along the ground away from the bull and quickly high-tailed it over the open chute to safety, with a medical stop then next on his mission list.

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“Just hit down that hard,” confirmed Green. “Bruised my lungs or something.”

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Hard enough that he was spitting up blood into a cup immediately after the wild and woolly adventure that scored him the best ride of Pool C’s third day, matching the 87 posted by Wyoming’s Hayden Welsh.

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“I’ll be ready for (Sunday),” continued Green. “The doctors don’t know, but I know I’ll be ready.”

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He certainly was ready Saturday in needing an effort good enough to send him on to Showdown Sunday.

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The 34-year-old came into Saturday’s performance outside the top-three money placings needed to advance to Showdown Sunday, when the winner of the rodeo events will be determined.

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It looked really rough for Green after Thursday’s initial round of the pool, despite coming in fresh off an 88.5-point ride for a win in the Cody Snyder Charity Bullbustin’ pre-Stampede event in Calgary.

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That’s because he was flagged for slapping his first bull here, keeping him out of the money awarded to six of the 10 cowboys on the day.

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Garrett Green takes a tumble during his rough ride Saturday. But the Alberta cowboy insists he’ll be ready for Showdown Sunday. Photo by Brent Calver /Postmedia

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But Green rebounded for a solid 85.5 on Friday for a second-place cheque of $5,500 to put him in contention heading into Saturday’s celebratory round.

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“Yeah, it was tight,” continued Green, of the standings ahead of deciding go-round. “I was sitting fourth. They take the top three, so I had to do something, and I knew that going in. And I was like, ‘Just don’t think about it.’

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“That was in my head. I know if I don’t think about it and I just take it back to what it is — the basics — you just go at them one jump at a time, and just that’s all I drove it down to. You start thinking, ‘Oh, $50,000, Calgary Stampede,’ and your head starts spinning and you’re gonna hit the dirt.”

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But he didn’t, making the most of his ride aboard Muffin Man, regardless of how badly the dismount went for the veteran bull rider.