LAS VEGAS ― With one more day of competition remaining at the 2013 World Finals, Joao Ricardo Vieira did not want to talk about clinching the 2013 Rookie of the Year title.
Instead, the 29-year-old was intensely focused on riding his final two bulls. He didn’t want to prematurely celebrate being the fourth consecutive Brazilian to claim one of the PBR’s highest honors, following the likes of Emilio Resende (2012), Rubens Barbosa (2011) and Silvano Alves (2010).
“I’m going to be real happy to win, because it is really important for a bull rider to win Rookie of the Year,” Vieira said with the help of Robson Palermo translating. “To win in my first year is great.”
However, the Itatinga, Brazil, native had higher expectations this season, and he certainly had his eyes set on a greater prize.
Vieira wanted the world title.
It was never more apparent than after he rode Home Wrecker in Round 5 for 87.25 points inside the Thomas & Mack Center on Sunday. Vieira hopped off his bull, and there was no emphatic celebratory reaction. With veteran poise, the rookie simply offered a determined glare.
An expression that almost said there is more to be done.
That same expression would come again in the championship round after he put up 87.5 points on Little Kombat. At least this time, he let out a slight smile and chest bump.
Why so stoic?
“Joao did not look to win Rookie of the Year,” 2010 World Champion Renato Nunes said. “He was looking for the world title.”
Vieira finished the World Finals seventh in the event average and ended the season third in the world standings with 10,739.48 points, which is the highest ranking for a rookie since Zack Brown concluded his 2004 campaign in sixth place in the world. Vieira also won a PBR rookie-record $446,585.11, smashing Luke Snyder’s 2001 rookie mark of $348,561 by almost $100,000.
“I tell you what, the next best thing you can do than what J.B. did is either win the Finals average or Rookie of the Year,” Snyder said. “That is something every single rookie looks out to do. I am very proud of him. He earned it.
“You can only do it once and to be able to do it against all of the young guys coming up in this sport of bull riding is saying something. He did it, and he put an exclamation mark on it.”
Vieira finished ahead of fellow rookies Eduardo Aparecido (7,983.15), Claudio Crisostomo (6,057.71), Brant Atwood (3,550.45) and Matt Triplett (4,084.68).
He spent the majority of the season in the Top 5 of the world standings, thanks in large part to three victories on the PBR’s toughest circuit – in Albuquerque, N.M., Billings, Mont., and Des Moines, Iowa. He rode Smackdown for an identical 92.25 points in Albuquerque and Des Moines during a particularly strong four-week run of success.
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When he isn’t riding, Vieira spends time analyzing and studying YouTube videos of various bulls, such as Smackdown. He credits his great rides here in the United States partially to his preparation week in and week out.
“It felt good to ride Smackdown,” Vieira said. “He is not an easy ride. He is a really good bull. It felt good and I want to get on him more.”
Palermo, a three-time World Finals event winner, has observed the poised rookie transition to the PBR confidently.
“I didn’t know Joao in Brazil much, but I know he wanted to come over here and heard all other people talking about how he is a really great rider,” Palermo said. “He came over here and he showed up.”
Marco Eguchi added that Vieira was not an unknown in Brazil.
“He is a good rider and rode everywhere in Brazil and here,” Eguchi said. “Everywhere he goes, he rides good. He is really calm.”
Having that calmness and stability was important in Vieira winning the Rookie of the Year title. He had to be consistent, and he was. Vieira finished 2013 with the fourth-highest riding percentage (48.61 percent) on the Built Ford Tough Series. He posted nine Top-10 finishes, placed five times in the Top 5 and recorded four 90-point rides.
Then of course there was the time he rode TK500 for $123,000 in Hollywood, Fla.
2013 was the first time the PBR has based the Rookie of the Year title off of points instead of money earned. Therefore, the rider who maintained the most consistency during the season was likely to be rewarded with the Rookie of the Year title. No longer did it come down to winning one or two big events – you had to ride every weekend if you wanted the title.
It is a way to reward the most-deserving rookie, says nine-time World Champion Ty Murray. Unlike the world title, where riders can strive to win it year after year, the rookie title is a one-shot deal. It is what makes it such a special and unique award to win.
“You only get one chance at that one,” Murray said. “That’s a great way of putting it. You only ever have one chance at this one.”
Earlier this summer, Vieira said he was well aware of that fact.
“You can only win it one time,” Vieira said with the help of Guilherme Marchi translating. “I have a chance to do it, because this is my first year in the United States. When I left for here, I said I was going to win.”
Marchi called Vieira a “tough” and “strong” rider. Many of Vieira’s fellow Brazilians feel he has a legitimate chance at winning a world title in the near future.
“He wants to win the (world) title,” Nunes concluded. “That’s what (he is) here for. He is 100 percent confident, and he was this year, too.
“He’s just waiting for next year.”
Follow Justin Felisko on Twitter @jfelisko