PUEBLO, Colo. – As the first half of the 25th PBR: Unleash The Beast came to a close, the bull that reigned supreme was SweetPro’s Bruiser.
Currently ranked No. 1 in the world, the bovine athlete is enjoying a season on par with his stellar career, which includes an average bull score of 45.56 on the premier series since his 2014 debut. Though Bruiser is famously gentle and calm, when the bucking chute opens, fireworks are certainly set to go off.
Take a look back at Bruiser’s top five bull scores of the first half of the 2018 season.
1. 47.5 points; bucked off Ryan Dirteater (Glendale, Arizona)
Ryan Dirteater may have ridden Bruiser for a season-high score of 93.25 points in January, but in March it was Bruiser that had the upper hand, bucking Dirteater off in 6.67 seconds for 47.5 points in Glendale, Arizona.
2. 47.25 points; bucked off Brennon Eldred (Albuquerque, New Mexico)
Bruiser bucked off Brennon Eldred in 4.71 seconds at the Ty Murray Invitational in March, scoring 47.25 points for his effort. Eldred later said that out was one of the rankest he’s ever taken.
“I would say that trip right there was pretty honky,” Eldred told PBR.com. “That was a lot. One of the strongest and hardest bucking ones I have ever been on.”
3. 46.5 points; bucked off Jess Lockwood (North Little Rock, Arkansas)
Bruiser and Jess Lockwood have faced off three times, and Lockwood has yet to record a qualified ride. Bruiser had previously set a then-career-high score of 47.25 points when he bucked off Lockwood in 2017, and set another monster score of 46.5 points at the Bad Boy Mowdown in Little Rock, Arkansas in March.
4. 46.25 points; bucked off Claudio Montanha Jr. (Billings, Montana)
Claudio Montanha Jr. may have won the 25th PBR: Unleash The Beast, Stanley Performance In Action Invitational in Billings, Montana, this April to become the No. 1 bull rider in the world, but in the 15/15 Bucking Battle, it was the No. 1 bull in the world that had the upper hand. Bruiser bucked Montanha Jr. off in 4.67 seconds, earning 46.25 points and YETI “Built for the Wild” Bull of the Event honors for the sixth time this season.
5. 46 points; bucked off Emilio Resende (Arlington, Texas)
Emilio Resende and Bruiser have squared off twice, and neither has gone in favor of the rider. At the PBR World Finals, Bruiser bucked off Resende to the tune of 47 points, and then followed that up with a 46-point buckoff in 5.39 seconds at the Winstar World Casino and Resort Iron Cowboy presented by Kawasaki in February in Arlington, Texas.