PUEBLO, Colo. – A year ago, it appeared as if Bruno Scaranello was going to challenge for the PBR Rookie of the Year title.
The young Brazilian had gone 2-for-2 at the 2019 WinStar World Casino and Resort Global Cup USA, presented by Monster Energy, and he seemed poised to use the Pendleton Whisky Velocity Tour to earn himself a full-time spot on the Unleash The Beast.
However, Scaranello went 3-for-7 in four events before flying back home to Brazil to help work on his parents’ ranch.
“I had to attend to some personal stuff and help my family with some stuff at home,” Scaranello said with the help of Paulo Crimber translating last weekend in Kansas City, Missouri.
Scaranello, though, returned to the United States at the end of January and has quickly made up for lost time. The 23-year-old went 5-for-8 in four Velocity Tour events, placing second at the Youngstown Invitational before winning his first career Velocity Tour title with a 2-for-2 showing at the Hampton Classic two weeks ago.
That victory earned Scaranello the opportunity to make his Unleash The Beast debut last weekend at the Caterpillar Classic, and the rookie bull rider rode Harold’s Genuine Risk for 87.25 points in Round 2.
“Yesterday, everything was kind of blurry (in Round 1),” Scaranello said about his 5.98-second buckoff against Top Shelf. “This is a new place, and it was all different, and it didn’t work out as great. Today I tried to forget about last night and just focus a little better today. Just try and do my job. I drew a good bull and thank God, I did a great job.”
Scaranello was no match for Western Skies in the championship round, but his ninth-place finish in Kansas City earned him 11.33 points, and the No. 23-ranked bull rider in the world will get another crack at the UTB this weekend at the Bad Boy Mowdown in Little Rock, Arkansas.
The General Salgado, Brazil, bull rider is the second-ranked bull rider in the Rookie of the Year race, and he heads into his Round 1 matchup against Born To Sin (0-0, UTB) trailing ROY leader Cole Melancon by 190.01 points.
Round 1 airs exclusively on RidePass beginning at 8:45 p.m. ET.
RELATED: Daysheet for Little Rock
“I just want to thank God for the gift to be here, and ride bull by bull and see what happens,” Scaranello said. “It will be amazing if I do good here.”
Scaranello is currently living with world No. 1 and 2017 Rookie of the Year winner Jose Vitor Leme in Decatur, Texas. He has quickly become a member of the Brazilian family in Decatur, and plays soccer weekly with Leme and company, studies videos of his rides and bulls with Leme and works out with the perennial world title contender in the gym and in the practice pen.
“He is a really good friend,” Scaranello said. “We play soccer together. We play video games together. We laugh a lot. We work out together. We get on bulls. It is pretty fun. He is a good friend.”
The opportunity to pick Leme’s brain for advice and tutelage is something Scaranello does not take lightly.
“Like his posture in the chute,” Scaranello said of the things he is learning from Leme. “Getting in and out, not screwing around. I just try to stay focused and not try hard and not let the pressure get to me. I study video of the bulls and pay attention.”
Scaranello has only been riding bulls full-time since he was 19 years old. He did attempt a bull when he was 15.
The first generation bull rider credits Flavio Viana for helping him learn how to ride in Brazil. Viana is nine years older than Scaranello and is from the same hometown.
“I always loved bull riding, and in my hometown Flavio Viana always rode, and I watched those guys and I wanted to be like one of them,” Scaranello said.
LEME STILL UNSURE ABOUT HIS STATUS FOR LITTLE ROCK
As of Wednesday afternoon, Leme was still listed in the draw for this weekend as he continues to mull over whether or not he can ride with three broken ribs on Friday night.
X-rays in Dallas revealed on Monday that Leme has three non-displaced right rib fractures, according to Dr. Tandy Freeman. Freeman said the injuries could keep Leme out for six weeks.
Leme said he wants to ride in Little Rock, but he is waiting to see if his condition improves between now and Friday night.
“I want to go to Little Rock, but I don’t know yet if I can do this,” Leme said Tuesday. “I feel pain, so I go to Fit-N-Wise in the next few days to recover. I will wait a few more days to make sure. I want to go, but I want to (be close) to 100%.”
Leme leads No. 2 Jess Lockwood, who is going to be out for six months because of a torn left hamstring, by 72.5 points, and No. 3 Joao Ricardo Vieira by 149.75 points in the world standings.
UPDATE: Leme has withdrawn from Little Rock and is replaced by Tyler Werner, who will be making his premier series debut.
VIEIRA, MELANCON TWO OF SIX RIDERS THAT WILL MISS LITTLE ROCK FINALE TO CHASE $1 MILLION
Vieira will not be able to take too big a chunk out of Leme’s lead this weekend, even if Leme is out. The 35-year-old is one of six Unleash The Beast riders that are qualified to compete at RFD-TV’s The American on Saturday and Sunday in Arlington, Texas.
Melancon, Derek Kolbaba, Claudio Montanha Jr. and Brennon Eldred are eligible for the $1 million bonus at The American. Daylon Swearingen is also riding in Arlington, but he is only eligible for the $100,000 bull riding prize seeing as he qualified via his finish in the 2019 PRCA standings.
All of the riders, except for Eldred, will compete in Little Rock on Friday night in Round 1 before heading to Arlington on Saturday. Eldred is going to stay home as he and his fiancé, Jewel Owens, are expecting their first child in the coming days.
Vieira won a share of the $1 million bonus last year at The American, leaving AT&T Stadium with $333,333.33.
ROUND 1 IN LITTLE ROCK TO FEATURE 40 RIDERS/ALTERNATES
With five riders unable to compete in Round 2, the PBR extended the Round 1 field to 40 riders instead of the normal 35 riders that ride at an Unleash The Beast event.
There are 12 alternates competing in Little Rock this weekend that are ranked outside of the Top 35 – No. 36 Jake Lockwood, No. 40 Alex Cerqueira, No. 41 Cody Casper, No. 42 Dakota Louis, No. 43 Mauricio Gula Moreira, No. 45 Devon Weaver, No. 46 Joseph McConnel, No. 47 Wallace de Oliveira, No. 51 Lindomar Lino, No. 51 Junio Patrik Souza, No. 51 Andrew Alvidrez and No. 55 Paulo Lima.
Cerqueira, Moreira and Alvidrez are making their Unleash The Beast debuts. Cerqueira and Moreira are both from Brazil, and are competing in the United States for the first time in their careers.
Cerqueira is 26 years old and is from Iguatemi, Brazil. He is 6-for-13 at all levels this season, and he just recently won the North Charleston, South Carolina, Velocity Tour event last weekend. Cerqueira only competed in five PBR Brazil events the last two seasons. However, he finished sixth overall in PBR Brazil in 2017 when he went 28-for-41 (68.29%) with one win.
Moreira is only 20 years old and is from Gavio Peixoto, Brazil. He is 4-for-8 this season and is coming off back-to-back third-place finishes on the Velocity Tour. He went 5-for-10 last year at three PBR Brazil events.
Alvidrez is the 2018 TPD Champion and is 9-for-19 this year. The 23-year-old from Seminole, Texas, holds a 28% riding average in his career (50-for-178) at all levels of competition.
No. 57 Silvano Alves (World Champion invite) and No. 151 Keyshawn Whitehorse (injury exemption) are also outside of the Top 35. Alves has nine more invites, while Whitehorse has two more exemptions.
RIDERS OUT FOR LITTLE ROCK; EGUCHI RETURNING
2018 PBR World Finals event winner Marco Eguchi is set to face Landslide (1-1, UTB) in Round 1 after missing the last two weeks with a concussion. Eguchi is sitting 19th in the world standings.
No. 2 Jess Lockwood (torn left hamstring)
No. 16 Mason Taylor (right wrist)
No. 18 Ryan Dirteater (thoracic fractures)
No. 20 Dakota Buttar (declined UTB spot)
No. 22 Brennon Eldred (personal reasons)
No. 25 Cooper Davis (neck fracture)
No. 25 Lachlan Richardson (declined UTB spot)
No. 31 Nathan Burtenshaw (shoulder)
No. 44 Cody Jesus (right groin)
No. 46 Cody Teel (right knee)
No. 85 Rubens Barbosa (broken jaw)
Dalton Kasel (groin)
Chase Outlaw (left shoulder)
Cody Nance (right shoulder)
Joe Frost (right leg)
J.B. Mauney (right shoulder)
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