LAS VEGAS – Jess Lockwood was saying all of the right things heading into this past weekend’s Real Time Pain Relief Velocity Tour Finals, but his actions spoke louder than his words.
The 2016 Rookie of the Year and 2017 World Champion contender went 3-for-4 at the Velocity Tour Finals for a fourth-place finish and an extremely important 227.5 points toward the world standings.
Lockwood is attempting to become the youngest PBR World Champion when the 2017 PBR Built Ford Tough World Finals begin on Wednesday at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.
The 20-year-old moved up to No. 4 in the world standings and trails world leader Derek Kolbaba by 467.5 points.
Lockwood could have been at least 200 points closer to Kolbaba if he hadn’t bucked off Indian Medicine (4.79 seconds) during the championship round on Monday night.
“It is fine either way,” Lockwood said. “Shoot, I feel good and it would have helped to ride him and get some more points and been 92 or so. It don’t matter. I will ride him again at the Finals.”
Kolbaba went 1-for-3 this weekend, which opened the door for Lockwood to gain 187.5 points in the world title race.
“Anytime you can get points, especially when Derek is here competing trying to get a bigger lead (is good),” Lockwood said before the start of the Finals. “I am going to try and take that away from him. Heck, we are all so close. A round win at the Finals you are right there anyways. I am right there anyways, but a round win at the (World) Finals is going to put you second, third and close to first again.”
Lockwood began the Velocity Finals with a highly impressive 91-point ride on Night Sweats. He then followed that up with 86.5 points on Blood Money and 87.5 points on Streets of Bakersfield.
After bucking off four consecutive bulls at the Built Ford Tough Series level in his return from four broken ribs, a punctured lung and lacerated kidney, Lockwood won two of the first three rounds inside South Point Arena.
Lockwood didn’t feel like he returned to competition too soon from the broken ribs despite his slow return on the BFTS.
“In the World Championship race, you are going to be sore, but you have to push through it,” Lockwood said. “I had been dragging the last couple of events, but I had been feeling good. That last event (San Jose) is the best I have felt, but whenever you are hot, then you have to sit out, then you cool down and then you have to come back from being hurt. You just are kind of timid at first and have slow reactions almost, but I figured why not ride in (the Velocity Finals). I can get more points, money. There is no downside to it.”
Lockwood did get his injured ribs stepped on during his Round 1 ride, but he said he was fine on Monday evening.
PBR Director of Livestock Cody Lambert has served as a coach/mentor to Lockwood since the Volborg, Montana, bull rider moved down to Lambert’s Bowie, Texas, ranch in February 2016.
Lambert has said repeatedly this year that Lockwood has continued to mature and develop as a young bull rider.
“Jess had a good week and he is healthy,” Lambert said. “He gained a few points and moved up to fourth. I expect him to do well at the Finals. He didn’t finish like he wanted to, but that will keep him honest too. He won’t try to coast through one.”
A year after finishing eighth in the world standings, Lockwood overcame multiple injuries, including a torn groin, and any kind of major sophomore slump to remain in contention for a World Championship.
Lockwood finished the regular season with almost identical riding numbers from his rookie year.
The second-year pro was 25-for-57 (43.86 percent) in 16 events in 2016, and this season he is 25-for-58 (43.1 percent) heading into the World Finals.
It was last year at the World Finals where Lockwood struggled, partially because of an injured riding hand, and went 0-for-5.
Lockwood says that won’t be on his mind this week at T-Mobile Arena and so far this week his riding is showing that 2017 will not be a repeat performance.
“Nah, I forgot about last year,” Lockwood said. “Heck, I was a little hurt last year. My hand didn’t help me. It is hard to ride with a hurt hand. I tried to, but it didn’t work. I am just here to ride my bulls. I am not even thinking of redemption. Every year is a new year. You just have to treat it like that.”