PUEBLO, Colo. – When it comes to Fabiano Vieira and his health, all one has to do is look at the enormous smile and outburst of laughter the veteran bull rider had on top of the shark cage Sunday afternoon in Columbus, Ohio, to figure out he isn’t worried one bit.
The 35-year-old could have been perceived as having never won an event before based on his endless smile inside the Schottenstein Center.
“This is a good event,” Vieira said. “Are you happy I won? I am happy I won!”
Vieira’s jovial nature has never died as he continues to ride through an endless list of injuries, primarily two unstable shoulders that likely need to be repaired via surgery.
There is also the torn ACL in his left knee from Kansas City, Missouri – which amazingly caused him to miss only one event in February – a bruised right knee from Sioux Falls, South Dakota, that he sustained one month ago and his jacked up free arm hand from a team roping mishap at home few weeks ago.
Regardless, Vieira has no plans on slowing down for the summer break after this weekend’s upcoming Last Cowboy Standing, presented by Ariat, at Helldorado Days.
No matter how much pain his body is in, Vieira is going to keep showing up with that smile on his face.
“I am going to ride next week in Vegas and I will ride at many events this summer,” Vieira said. “I love it here. I don’t have long left to ride bulls. I think one more year next year or one more after that I think.
“This is my dream riding bulls. I don’t want to stop riding bulls.”
Vieira went 3-for-3 on the campus of The Ohio State University to win his first 25th PBR: Unleash The Beast at this weekend’s Columbus Invitational, presented by Cooper Tires.
He earned the walk-off victory by riding Big Black for 90.75 points in the championship round after previously riding Dusty’s Revenge (86 points) in Round 1 and Ram It (86.25 points) in Round 2.
The win also launched Vieira back into the fringes of the world title conversation as his 535 world points in Columbus pushed him up 13 spots to No. 12 in the world standings.
“That is a good jump,” Vieira said. “It is good. The summer is close. I am going to try and ride good. I don’t know about a World Championship, but Top 10 is my mentality. I made a lot of money here last summer and a lot of points.”
Vieira is 14-for-35 (40 percent) with five Top-10 finishes. He has missed only two of the 16 Unleash The Beast events this season.
Two-time World Champion and CBS Sports Network commentator Justin McBride said that ultimately Vieira’s health is the biggest factor if the talented Brazilian can truly compete for a gold buckle in 2018.
“I mean I am not going to say no he can’t, but he has a long way to go,” McBride said. “Can he stay healthy enough? He could barely hobble out of the arena last weekend. He looked really good this weekend, but there is still a lot of season to go.”
Vieira has finished in the Top 10 of the world standings four consecutive seasons and six of the past seven years.
The Perola, Brazil, native finished a career-best fourth in the 2015 world standings despite riding with unstable shoulders that started to become an issue in 2014.
In fact, Vieira has ridden in 40-plus events at all levels of competition for four consecutive season.
“He won’t be facing this caliber of bull this summer so he is going to make some money,” McBride said. “For me, that has always been the thing with him. Can he stay healthy for a season? We know about the bad shoulders, but sometimes those aren’t the only injuries. They lead to other injuries for Fabiano. I am not saying he can’t get in the race for a World Championship, but his health will be a determining factor.”
Vieira has proven to be able to ride through his injuries, but they have affected his performance at times and hindered his ability to compete on a consistent basis.
The seven-time PBR World Finals qualifier is continuing to rehab with his personal trainer every day, and he believes he can continue to compete without surgery. Vieira also trains horses daily.
“Everything is very good,” Vieira said. “I am going to ride good. I break horses every day at my house. I go to the gym in the morning. I am working hard every day.”
Follow Justin Felisko on Twitter @jfelisko