BISMARCK, N.D. – Reigning World Champion Jess Lockwood has yet to step foot inside his recently purchased ranch, but he has plans of making sure he has a trophy room for all of the belt buckles, saddles, trophies and other memorabilia he has already acquired in his young career.
At the rate he is going, Lockwood may need a full basement to call his trophy room.
Lockwood brought the Bismarck Event Center to its feet on Saturday night with an aggressive 92.5-point ride aboard Rising Sun to win Chad Berger’s $100,000 Match of Champions and $75,000.
“My world title run was pretty alright last year, especially the World Finals, but you have to put this close to the top because this is an event with all the champions,” Lockwood said. “You couldn’t be in this unless you were a World Champion. I want to put it at the top, but I don’t feel like I rode good enough to put it at the top this weekend. I only got one bull rode.”
Lockwood made the most of his opportunity with his back against the wall.
The Volborg, Montana, native knew he needed at least 91.75 points to usurp Friday night winner Cooper Davis (91.5 points on Stretch) if he were to have any shot at winning the event.
Lockwood couldn’t have asked for a better draw to try and put some pressure on Davis either.
Rising Sun had bucked off two-time World Champion J.B. Mauney in 4.5 seconds on Friday night, but Berger’s bull has been a fantastic fit for left-handed bull riders.
Once Lockwood felt like he was in prime position, he began to work his outside foot all the way to payday.
“I didn’t have a shot to do anything if I didn’t stay on for 8 seconds,” Lockwood said. “I just tried to ride him first, but then he felt so good that I need to spur because I don’t know how many they are going to mark me. I had to try and squeeze everything out of him.
Davis had a chance to take back the lead and the $50,000 event check with a ride of any score aboard Livin Large on the final ride attempt of the evening, but he was disposed of at 6.04 seconds.
One point separated the last two PBR World Champions in the event.
It is one reason why Berger is happy he is just the event organizer and not a judge.
“That was a great ride,” Berger said. “The only thing that would beat Cooper Davis was a spur ride. I think the bulls were pretty comparable, but Jess just dominated and went to spurring that bull and impressed the judges. That’s why we pay the judges. Jess just dominated that bull and that’s what got him the victory.”
Lockwood added, “That bull felt like he was bucking pretty hard. I went to spurring him and I just got him rode and spurred him. When I can spur one like that, it lights a fire in me.”
Berger was quick to tip his hat to Davis, who also came up half a point shy of defeating Lockwood at RFD-TV’s THE AMERICAN in February.
“It was quite a show,” Berger said. “It was Cooper’s to lose, and God dang, he tried everything he could to ride that bull. That bull just really bucked hard today, and it wasn’t that he jumped off. That bull bucked him off. He tried right until his head hit the ground. What a great show. I’d never seen so many people so excited and into an event. I don’t care where you go. It was loud. It was crazy. Great event. That’s all I can say.”
Dakota Louis was the only other rider in the Match of Champions to reach 8 seconds, picking up 88 points aboard South Texas Gangster.
The 13 riders competing went a combined 3-for-25. Three-time World Champion Silvano Alves was disqualified for taking too much time in the bucking chutes on Saturday night.
Lockwood said he didn’t expect Davis to buck off on the final ride.
“I figured we were all kind of screwed with Coop getting one ahead of us,” Lockwood said. “You don’t buck him off often. I look up to that guy and how consistent he is. He is tough and just gets the job done.
“The only thing you can do is ride your bull and leave the rest to everyone else. Sometimes you get screwed and other times they give it to you. I have had it work in both favors. I got lucky today like I have been telling everyone.”
Lockwood not only won $75,000, but he took home a $40,000 Montana Silversmiths belt buckle, a $10,000 custom-made saddle, spurs and a gold-plated rifle.
All of those items will fit in just nicely in his new ranch in Volborg.
“Oh there is going to be a trophy room in that new place,” Lockwood said. “We will make it in the house some place. I honestly haven’t been in the house. I am going to have find somewhere to put the trophy room. I don’t know. I am just excited.”
If he had it his way, Lockwood would like to add a few more PBR World Champion belt buckles to his future trophy room as well.
Lockwood is currently seventh in the world standings and 1,205 points behind world leader Kaique Pacheco.
Berger believes the prestigious victory will certainly give Lockwood some momentum for the summer run and eventual second half of the 25th PBR: Unleash The Beast.
“Any time you win something like this, you think you’re King Kong,” Berger said. “That just makes you ride better and do better. So any time you can get a boost like this, it’s just good for him and they’ll look for good things from Jess.”
The third-year pro had plans of making a deep summer run, but Lockwood admitted on Saturday night that he may need to take a few weekends off to rest his injured riding hand, which flared up on Friday night during his 3.86-second against South Texas Gangster.
“I want to go every time because this (Match of Champions) doesn’t count for world standings, but I have to be healthy before I go,” Lockwood said. “I just don’t want this injury to keep nagging at me. It is not a bad injury. It doesn’t hurt when I ride. That is the thing. It just gets so swollen that I can’t get my glove on and off.
“I just want to do the best I can each time and hopefully everything works out.”
Follow Justin Felisko on Twitter @jfelisko
