LITTLE ROCK, Arkansas – While the dust settled inside Simmons Bank Arena in Little Rock, Arkansas, the celebration began for Rafael Henrique Dos Santos (Sebastianopolis, Brazil) who rode his way to his first elite Unleash The Beast (UTB) victory at the 2021 PBR (Professional Bull Riders) Bad Boy Mowers Mowdown.
The only rider to go a perfect 3-for-3 on the weekend, Santos had been tied for seventh after his 87-point Round 1 ride aboard Back Jack (Flying M/Hilton/Winston) on Saturday.
Championship Sunday began as Santos took care of business aboard Stetson (CG Bucking Bulls/Big Rafter Rodeo) in Round 2, adding a second 87-point score to his tally and putting him in second place going into the championship round draft.
Selecting a bull new to the PBR, the 25-year-old mounted the black and white Twilight Zone (Carr Pro Rodeo), exploding out of the chutes and matching the bovine leap for leap to the tune of 90.75-points – his first 90-point ride since March.
Santos’s first UTB win came with a $25,536.52 prize and 133.5 world points, which propelled him from No. 16 to No. 9 in the world standings.
Adding to his lead in the 2021 Rookie of the Year race, Texas’s Chase Dougherty (Decatur, Texas) was the first man behind Santos, turning in a 2-for-3 performance over the two-day event.
After a third-place finish in Round 1 courtesy of an 89.5-point conquering of Liston (D&H Cattle Company) on Saturday night, Dougherty could not make the 8 in Round 2 on Old Time Religion (Lucas Manning Bucking Bulls) as he hit the dirt in 5.69 seconds.
Drafting The Sauce (Blake Sharp/Henry Wilson) for the championship round, Dougherty’s pick proved fruitful as the two went toe-to-toe, ending in a victory for the Texan cowboy. The 87.75-point ride cemented Dougherty in second place in the 15-man round as well as the event.
With his 85 world points on the weekend, Dougherty surged to No. 7 in the world standings and now leads No. 2 Rookie of the Year contender Colten Fritzlan (Rifle, Colorado) by 71 points. Dougherty heads back to his home state $17,988.62 richer.
Earning a critical third-place finish, 2018 PBR World Champion Kaique Pacheco (Itatiba, Brazil) capitalized on an uncharacteristic 1-for-3 performance by world No. 1 Jose Vitor Leme (Ribas do Rio Pardo, Brazil).
The Brazilian Pacheco was tied for seventh with the eventual event winner Santos after an 87-point ride on The Bandit (Cord McCoy/Larry & Kathy Miller) in Round 1.
Crossover (Shuler Bucking Bulls) took Pacheco to the Round 2 win – his league-leading sixth – and the event lead with an 89.75-point ride to start the second day of competition.
Picking first in the championship round draft, “The Iceman” Pacheco selected Rocky (Cord McCoy/Ronnie Chism Farm & Ranch) but wavered from the assault of the bovine, hitting the deck in 3.69 seconds.
Picking up 76.5 world points, for the second-straight day, Pacheco shrank Leme’s world standings lead, which is now 424 points. Pacheco also packed his bag with a check totaling $11,929.57.
Another newcomer finished fourth in Little Rock. Hailing from the bull riding pipeline of Brazil, Marcelo Procopio Pereira (Rinopolis, Brazil) ended his UTB drought with a 2-for-3 performance.
Riding Pico (Cord McCoy/Bruce Wold) in Round 1 for 83.75 points, Pereira was awarded a re-ride in Round 2 on Sunday that gave him the opportunity to drop onto the back of CopperPoint Swagger (Hart Cattle Co/Hale). The duo combined for an 88.75-point ride, securing Pereira’s spot in the championship round.
Slingin Lead (Viducic Bucking Bulls) was Pereira’s championship round opponent, and the bovine athlete came out on top in a quick 3.37-second out.
Pereira’s career-high finish came along with 49 world points, enough to move into the Top 30 at No. 28, and $8,475.04.
Rounding out the Top 5 was Round 1 winner Claudio Montanha Jr. (Pacembu, Brazil). His 90.5-point ride on Bad Bet (Martinez/Rockin T) in Round 1 was enough to secure the finish, as he was unable to make the requisite 8-second whistle on Big Mac (Shuler Bucking Bulls) or Rum Dum (Andrews Rodeo Co. Inc) in Round 2 and the championship round, respectively.
Montanha did add 46 world points to his 2021 total, keeping him in the No. 25 spot in the world standings.
In bovine competition, Mezcal (Paradigm Bull Company) earned his first YETI “Built for the Wild” Bull of the Event honor in Little Rock, tossing Eduardo Aparecido (Gouvelandia, Brazil) in 2.08-seconds in the championship round, on the way to a 46.5-point score.
A familiar combo united for the victory in the 2021 PBR Bad Boy Mowers Mowdown 15/15 Bucking Battle.
2020 PBR Rookie of the Year Boudreaux Campbell (Crockett, Texas) celebrated his birthday weekend with a victory as he turned in his fifth 90-point ride of the season. Riding world No. 1 bucking bull Woopaa (Barker Bulls/Hookin’ W Ranch), the two flew across the arena dirt on the way to a 93.75-point score.
Campbell’s first 15/15 win of the season earned him 59 world points, increasing his lead for No. 6 in the world standings to 157.5 points over No. 7 Chase Dougherty.
Keyshawn Whitehorse (McCracken Spring, Utah) was second in the special round, adding a 90-point ride of his own. His 90.5-point besting of HomeBru (D&H Cattle Co./Buck Cattle Co.) earned him 49 world points, continuing his surge through the summer and pushing him to No. 8 in the world standings.
Elsewhere in the PBR, Conner Halverson (Gordon, Nebraska) captured his second PBR Pendleton Whisky Velocity Tour event win of the 2021 season, victorious at the series’ first-ever event in Springfield, Massachusetts, at the MassMutual Center.
Following a hard-fought 3.79-second buckoff aboard Capone (Lucas Manning Bucking Bulls) in Round 1 of the PBR Springfield Invitational Friday evening, Halverson was quick to rebound Saturday night. Drawing Bone Tomahawk (Mike Miller Bucking Bulls), the Nebraska native matched the bovine athlete jump-for-jump en route to a round-winning 86.5-point score.
Halverson’s score catapulted him to the top of the event leaderboard and, despite a 2.38-second buckoff in the championship round – dealt to the 20-year-old by Cutthroat (Cornwell Bucking Bulls) – allowed him to clinch the event victory.
For his efforts, Halverson earned a critical 37 world points.
Seeking his career-first qualification to the PBR World Finals in Las Vegas in November, Halverson rose into the world’s Top 40. After beginning the event ranked No. 47, he is now No. 38, 59.5 points outside the Top 30 and a seeded position on the elite Unleash The Beast.
The world’s toughest athletes buck into Bridgestone Arena in Nashville, Tennessee, for the next premier series stop on August 21-22, 2021.
PBR RidePass on PlutoTV will offer re-airs and on-demand replays of every PBR Unleash The Beast event. PBR RidePass is available on desktops, laptops and mobile devices via www.pluto.tv. Tune to channel 720 for the latest programming schedule.
Professional Bull Riders
PBR BAD BOY MOWERS MOWDOWN
Little Rock, AR, 2021
Event Leaders (Round 1-Round 2-Round 3-Event Aggregate-Event Points)
1. Rafael Henrique dos Santos, 87-87-90.75-264.75-133.5 Points.
2. Chase Dougherty, 89.5-0-87.75-177.25-85 Points.
3. Kaique Pacheco, 87-89.75-0-176.75-76.5 Points.
4. Marcelo Procopio Pereira, 83.75-88.75-0-172.50-49 Points.
5. Claudio Montanha Jr., 90.5-0-0-90.50-46 Points.
6. Jose Vitor Leme, 89.75-0-0-89.75-30 Points.
7. Lucas Divino, 0-89.5-0-89.50-24 Points.
8. Austin Richardson, 88.75-0-0-88.75-21 Points.
9. Keyshawn Whitehorse, 88.25-0-0-88.25-18 Points.
(tie). Mauricio Gulla Moreira, 0-88.25-0-88.25-19 Points.
11. Dener Barbosa, 0-88-0-88.00-15 Points.
(tie). Eduardo Aparecido, 0-88-0-88.00-15 Points.
13. João Henrique Lucas, 87.75-0-0-87.75-14 Points.
14. Dalton Kasel, 0-87.25-0-87.25-13 Points.
15. João Ricardo Vieira, 0-85.75-0-85.75-11 Points.
16. Alex Cerqueira, 0-82.75-0-82.75-10 Points.
17. Jesse Petri, 0-81.5-0-81.50-9 Points.
Cooper Davis, 0-0-0-0.00
Boudreaux Campbell, 0-0-0-0.00
Cody Teel, 0-0-0-0.00
Derek Kolbaba, 0-0-0-0.00
Junior Patrik Souza, 0-0-0-0.00
Silvano Alves, 0-0-0-0.00
Cole Melancon, 0-0-0-0.00
Mason Taylor, 0-0-0-0.00
Ezekiel Mitchell, 0-0-0-0.00
Cody Nance, 0-0-0-0.00
Thiago Salgado, 0-0-0-0.00
Andrew Alvidrez, 0-0-0-0.00
Manoelito de Souza Junior, 0-0-0-0.00
Daylon Swearingen, 0-0-0-0.00
Matt Triplett, 0-0-0-0.00
2021 Professional Bull Riders World Standings
(Place, Rider, Events, Wins, Top 5’s, Points, Total Winnings)
1. Jose Vitor Leme, 29, 7, 17, 1,578.50, $367,254.88
2. Kaique Pacheco, 30, 5, 12, 1,154.50, $192,490.64
3. Cooper Davis, 26, 3, 13, 1,032.00, $153,049.04
4. Dener Barbosa, 40, 3, 14, 801.83, $119,393.32
5. João Ricardo Vieira, 33, 1, 9, 760.00, $116,801.78
6. Boudreaux Campbell, 24, 3, 5, 645.00, $128,503.29
7. Chase Dougherty, 36, 2, 10, 478.50, $87,341.55
8. Keyshawn Whitehorse, 36, 2, 8, 460.50, $72,548.73
9. Rafael Henrique dos Santos, 21, 2, 4, 441.50, $69,935.34
10. Marco Eguchi, 23, 1, 7, 425.50, $65,151.37
11. Cody Teel, 28, 1, 6, 404.50, $65,103.97
12. Derek Kolbaba, 32, 2, 4, 395.00, $84,163.00
13. Junior Patrik Souza, 38, 2, 7, 384.00, $70,771.98
14. Mauricio Gulla Moreira, 38, 2, 5, 346.50, $51,755.13
15. Colten Fritzlan, 17, 1, 4, 339.50, $55,653.36
16. Dalton Kasel, 19, 2, 7, 325.25, $98,021.59
17. Silvano Alves, 34, 0, 5, 323.50, $39,093.22
18. Jesse Petri, 29, 1, 5, 316.58, $41,740.54
19. João Henrique Lucas, 24, 0, 4, 266.50, $36,117.97
20. Cole Melancon, 21, 0, 3, 263.50, $36,146.29
21. Eduardo Aparecido, 20, 0, 1, 230.00, $27,983.99
22. Alex Cerqueira, 23, 0, 3, 228.50, $27,647.49
23. Mason Taylor, 20, 2, 5, 228.00, $44,402.19
24. Cody Jesus, 12, 2, 5, 224.00, $47,202.80
25. Claudio Montanha Jr., 29, 1, 3, 220.00, $77,750.04
25. Austin Richardson, 24, 1, 6, 220.00, $41,142.06
27. Ezekiel Mitchell, 24, 3, 4, 219.00, $31,702.72
28. Marcelo Procopio Pereira, 26, 1, 2, 213.00, $24,967.59
29. Cody Nance, 23, 0, 6, 198.16, $30,280.86
30. Taylor Toves, 21, 0, 2, 187.00, $28,448.21
31. Kyler Oliver, 7, 0, 1, 163.00, $23,452.09
32. Eli Vastbinder, 34, 1, 5, 153.00, $22,746.08
33. Thiago Salgado, 22, 0, 5, 148.50, $27,184.61
34. Andrew Alvidrez, 27, 2, 4, 137.75, $24,895.90
35. Lucas Divino, 12, 0, 2, 137.00, $30,331.08
36. Caic Cassio Carvalho, 8, 1, 2, 136.00, $20,046.08
37. Luciano De Castro, 26, 0, 9, 131.83, $37,962.78
38. Conner Halverson, 33, 2, 4, 127.50, $18,718.74
39. Michael Lane, 21, 2, 4, 124.00, $21,095.57
40. J.T. Moore, 22, 1, 3, 123.00, $15,236.51
41. Jess Lockwood, 9, 0, 1, 119.50, $21,219.20
42. Dakota Louis, 31, 1, 7, 108.50, $20,969.49
43. Manoelito de Souza Junior, 14, 1, 4, 99.00, $17,927.56
44. Aaron Kleier, 10, 3, 7, 96.50, $20,697.57
45. Brady Fielder, 10, 1, 6, 92.50, $8,345.79
Article Courtesy of PBR
Photo by: Andy Watson/Bull Stock Media