At the first event of the 2020 season, Joao Ricardo Vieira proved that age is just a number with a major – and Major – win. Plus, 2018 World Champion Kaique Pacheco is back to being an 8-second machine and New York City had a hometown cowboy. Miss a moment of the action this weekend? Here’s what happened around the PBR.
On the Unleash The Beast…
Joao Ricardo Vieira knows how to shine when the lights are the brightest, and he kicked off the 2020 season with a PBR Major win at the Monster Energy Buck Off at the Garden, presented by Ariat, in New York City.
The veteran is now ranked No. 1 in the world, and three-time World Champion Adriano Moraes believes Vieira can join him as a 36-year-old champion.
In other World Champion news, 2019 World Champion Jess Lockwood hit the ground running with a trademark strong performance in the Big Apple.
Despite suffering a minor knee injury, Lockwood won the championship round to propel himself for a third-place finish.
In other injured World Champion news, 2018 World Champion Kaique Pacheco made his long-awaited return to the premier series after an injury-plagued 2019 season. The result? The usual from the Ice Man.
Also victorious in New York was Mason Taylor, who won the 15/15 Bucking Battle with the first 90-point ride of 2020.
It’s not often that you find a bull rider that calls New York home, but New Yorker Daylon Swearingen competed in Madison Square Garden for the first time and had over 12,000 people on his side throughout the weekend.
Eduardo Aparecido was victorious in Round 1 after an offseason spent training hard with one goal in mind: winning.
In 2019, Canuck Dakota Buttar put up nothing but zeroes at the season-opener. In 2020, he turned it around to win Round 2.
Matt Triplett had a stellar 5-for-6 showing at the 2019 PBR World Finals, and showed up in 2020 with the same good luck charm that helped him there… and he won Round 3, so he might be on to something.
Young gun Dylan Smith made his first trip to New York City, wowing the crowd with an 84-point ride in Round 2, but making even more of an impression with his wild get-off. (Spoiler: there was puke involved.)
Following the recent church shooting in Texas, stock contractor Gene Owen renamed one of his bulls to honor the hero that prevented a mass-casualty bloodbath.
Meanwhile, on the Pendleton Whisky Velocity Tour…
Premier series veteran Dener Barbosa won the Jacksonville Invitational to earn a berth at the UTB event in Manchester, New Hampshire.
Bradley Brittain earned his first Velocity Tour win with a 2-for-2 performance at the Oakland Classic.
Through the lens with Andy Watson and BullStockMedia
Check out the best photos from day one, day two and day three in New York.
Social spotlight
The PBR is, first and foremost, a brotherhood.
The Outlaw might not’ve been in New York, but he was there in spirit.
Bulls? No problem. Subways? A different story.
Looking ahead
The Velocity Tour continues with the Reno Rumble on Jan. 10-11 (RidePass on Jan. 10 at 11 p.m. ET and Jan. 11 at 10 p.m. ET), and the Denver Chute Out on Jan. 13-15.
The premier series next heads to the Windy City for the Chicago Invitational on Jan. 11-12 (RidePass on Jan. 11 at 8:45 p.m. ET and Jan. 12 at 3:45 p.m. ET, and CBS Sports Network on Jan. 11 at 11 p.m. ET and Jan. 12 at 9 p.m. ET).