LAS VEGAS - For Rubens Barbosa, winning the PBR Rookie of the Year title came by making prize-winning rides when big money was at stake.

The Brazilian entered the PBR World Finals ranked second in the rookie race after competing in the last nine events of the regular season on the Built Ford Tough Series.

But after the last bull had bucked Sunday at the Thomas & Mack Center, Barbosa had earned $112,500 at the Las Vegas championships and finished as the Rookie of the Year.

Barbosa is the PBR's top freshman after finishing 2011 with $281,703. During the World Finals, he surpassed Elton Cide, who finished No. 2 in the race with $209,169 after bucking off all of his bulls.

Barbosa, who resides in Decatur, Texas, when he competes in North America, said clinching the rookie title was a milestone after competing in only nine of the 27 regular-season shows and then the World Finals.

"It's a very big deal to win Rookie of the Year," Barbosa said. "It's a big deal because I got here halfway through the year. But you just have to ride well, stay on lots of bulls and win lots of money."

'It's a very big deal to win Rookie of the Year. It's a big deal because I got here halfway through the year.'

Barbosa won or shared the title in two rounds at the World Finals. He scored 90.75 points aboard Cowboy Casanova (Mesa Bucking Bulls) on Thursday, splitting the Round 2 win with Valdiron de Oliveira. Barbosa won Round 5 on Sunday with of 92.5 after staying on a fast-and-hard-spinning bull named Priceless (D&H Cattle Co./L&E Bulls). 

The wins helped him finish fourth in the average at the World Finals. Barbosa entered Sunday's performance ranked second in the average race with a three-ride score of 264.75, behind No. 1-ranked Caleb Sanderson, who had a four-ride score of 348.25.

Rubens Barbosa joins the likes of J.W. Hart, Luke Snyder, Kody Lostroh and J.B. Mauney as a Rookie of the Year winner.

For a while Sunday, it looked like Barbosa might clinch both the average title and the Rookie of the Year award. After staying on four out of the first five bulls he faced, Barbosa entered the Built Ford Championship Round ranked No. 1 in the average race, with a 357.5, 4.25 ahead of No. 2 ranked Robson Palermo, who had a 353, and five points ahead of third ranked Guilherme Marchi, who had 341.

Barbosa also was nine points ahead of No. 4 Sanderson, who had a 348.25 after marring a perfect record by bucking off of his Round-5 bull.

'I've been riding bulls since I was little. I'm from a ranch, and riding was part of what we did.'

But when the coveted $250,000 average title was at stake in the 15-man Built Ford Tough Championship Round, Barbosa was denied, after getting thrown off of the 2011 American Bucking Bull Classic Champion Back Bender.

After the dust settled, Barbosa finished fourth in the average behind Palmero, Sanderson and Oliveira.

Since he was a boy growing up on a Brazilian ranch, Barbosa has aspired to be a bull rider. He said he began taking on bulls when he was about 8 or 9.

"I've been riding bulls since I was little," he said. "I'm from a ranch, and riding was part of what we did."

Barbosa, 28, said he decided he would compete professionally when he was 18. This season, he earned a spot on the Built Ford Tough Series after winning Brazil's version of the Iron Cowboy.

'Adriano [Moraes] has pushed me a lot. I'm a fan of Adriano. He's given me a lot of push and advice, and I work to follow his steps.'

He competed in nine Built Ford Tough Series regular-season events, beginning in Billings, Mont. During the regular season, his biggest check on the BFTS was $9,466 after finishing fifth in Milwaukee.

On the 2011 Ford Series, he has stayed on 11 bulls in 31 attempts, but four of the qualified rides were at the World Finals where the big money was at stake.

It's bull riding's biggest stage and the ideal place to peak.  

Barbosa said winning the Rookie of the Year title resulted after training hard physically and practicing his religious faith.

"I work hard to prepare myself, I train a lot," he said. "I have a workout regimen that was prepared for me in Brazil that I follow very religiously. I also pray a lot and I have a relationship with God, who calms me. I also have a lot of focus and concentration."

Barbosa also said he's been influenced by three-time PBR World Champion Adriano Moraes, who moved to the United States in the early 1990s and immediately became a world-class competitor.

"Adriano has pushed me a lot," Barbosa said. "I'm a fan of Adriano. He's given me a lot of push and advice, and I work to follow his steps."