Keep an eye on the top and the bottom of the world standings here in the long rounds and the aggregate. Nampa will be the final UTB event before the 2020 PBR World Finals – the last chance for guys hoping to qualify for the Finals. At the top of the standings, Joao Ricardo Vieira is the only rider with a realistic outside chance of catching Jose Vitor Leme, and he outdrew Leme in this round at least. Vieira has a bull he should be able to ride, while Leme has an unknown debut bull. Leme had two of those last week, and they were not good for him.
Round 1:
Brennon Eldred on 21 Jaynette’s Pet:
Eldred has the Finals made, but he may play spoiler and hoard some of the round points from the guys who need them most. This bull is a good draw for any high-level rider, and Eldred was 86.75 points on him in Cheyenne in 2019.
Ryan Dirteater on 15-5 Dr. Campbell:
Eduardo Aparecido was 87.5 on this bull in Billings. Aside from that, no one has ridden him, and he only has four outs on record other than that one. Dirteater needs to earn some points here. He’s in 35th place right now, and a couple of the guys right behind him have good draws tonight.
J.B. Mauney on D27 Home Brew:
Mauney may have done enough in the last couple of events to secure his spot in the World Finals, but he probably won’t be coasting here. We haven’t seen much of this bull in 2020, but last year, Daylon Swearingen was 87 on him. Mauney may come up with another qualified ride here. He only has a few qualified rides on the season, but he’s made them pay at the same rate as the standings leaders.
Keyshawn Whitehorse on 0511/4 Space Monkey:
Space Monkey is a pretty safe draw for a right-handed rider; he’s 2-5 against them. Whitehorse has done well this season, but he would probably like to get an event win here. He doesn’t have a UTB-level win this year.
Taylor Toves on 77B Medicine Man:
Toves is 1-for-2 on this bull, having met twice in 2019. Medicine Man is 10-14 against right-handed guys, and he can deliver good scores. Andrew Alvidrez was 91.25 on him in Billings, and Eduardo Aparecido was 87.25 on him in Lincoln. Toves is 15 points away from qualifying for the World Finals, and a round win would move him up to 33rd position, bumping Ryan Dirteater off the bubble.
Junio Patrik Souza on 342 Tykro Pound Sand:
Souza needs more than a round win to get inside the top 35. He’s currently in 40th and 22.5 points out of 35th. He really needs to place in the average to be safe, and he has the bull on which to do that. Pound Sand is a quality bull, but he’s very predictable and exceptionally good to lefty riders. He’s been ridden in his last six outs, and eight of his last nine.
Chase Dougherty on B402 Big City:
Dougherty needs about 32 points to reach 39th in the standings and 53 points to reach 35th. He needs to have a big event here, not just one round. This is a rideable bull, and he’s been good to the better riders he’s faced. This is not a sure win for Dougherty, but he has a chance.
Boudreaux Campbell on 594 Tractorland Arizona Dreamin’
This bull has a pretty impressive buckoff record, but he hasn’t faced the top riders very often. When he has, he’s 2-3 against them. Campbell is another guy on the bubble. He’s in 34th, and would be safe if this event weren’t happening, but it is. He could use any points he can get here.
15/15 Round
Cody Teel on 513 Good Night Robicheaux:
Teel is faced with a tough one here. Robicheaux was ridden twice at the same event this summer, but those are the only two rides he’s ever given up in 41 career outs. Teel has been on him twice, most recently a couple of weeks ago in Lincoln, Nebraska. He didn’t make it to the four-second mark either time. Robicheaux has a lot of tricks up his sleeve, and he can do every kind of thing that makes bulls hard to ride.
Mauricio Gula Moreira on 43C- Chiseled:
Chiseled is leading the World Champion bull race by a slim margin, but he’s a special case. Most bulls who get the biggest scores are very hard to ride. Chiseled is honest enough and has good enough timing that makes him more like SweetPro’s Bruiser, although he has a different style. He can and has been ridden, and more importantly, he usually still delivers impressive bull scores when they do ride him. He’s a better fit for a right-handed rider because he goes to the right, but Moreira has a chance.
Brennon Eldred on 001 Smooth Operator:
The last time we saw Smooth Operator was two weeks ago when Eldred rode him for 86.5 points. It’s the lowest score ever for him, and the lowest bull score he’s posted since 2017. This is a good matchup with potential for Eldred, but this 15/15 round is loaded with good matchups for riders, maybe more than any other 15/15 round this season.
Alex Cerqueira on 449 Jive Turkey:
Cerqueira took this bull to 7.97 seconds in Bismarck in August. Jive Turkey has been ridden a few times, all by lefty riders, and Cerqueira may have him figured out enough to get the job done this time.
Mason Taylor on 511T Stretch:
These two have never met, but Stretch is one of the best draws available in this round for a right-handed rider. Lucas Divino was 91.75 on him in Billings last month. This is a fantastic matchup for Taylor, who hasn’t had much luck at the past few events.
Cole Melancon on 41B- Cool Customer:
Cool Customer will probably go away from Melancon’s hand, but he is rideable. Melancon is pretty good on bulls that go away from his hand, and this bull has given up a couple of rides to right-handed guys, but it’s been two years since that happened. Melancon actually had this bull drawn at a rodeo last year, but turned out.
Stetson Lawrence on 561C Hocus Pocus:
Lawrence has the odds stacked against him here because Hocus Pocus has been tough on left-handed riders. The upside is that for the kind of scores he can deliver, this bull is pretty rideable. However, over the past 18 months, only Cooper Davis and Kaique Pacheco have managed to get by him.
Derek Kolbaba on 319 Canadian Mist:
Canadian Mist has 44 career outs, and to the eye he looks like a bull that should be ridden by the top guys fairly often, but he’s not. He can be very fast, and more importantly he is very quick out of the chute. He goes from zero to max speed in one jump, and riders have little time to get dialed in to him. This is a deceptively difficult bull. Kolbaba has bucked off of him once before, but it was a couple of years ago.
Ezekiel Mitchell on W55 War Fury:
This is the least known of all the bulls in this round, but he may be a good fit for Mitchell. He goes to the right, and has some timing. He bucked Cole Melancon off in Salt Lake City earlier this season. He’s another bull who gets going quickly, and Mitchell will have to find the sweet spot in the first couple of jumps.
Cooper Davis on 679 I’m Busted:
Pretty tough bull here. I’m Busted is unridden in 10 outs. He goes to the left, and he’s faced mostly left-handed riders up to now. Only two riders have made it four seconds on him. He has some speed and forward movement, and he’s a tough matchup for anyone, but especially for right-handed riders.
Lucas Divino on 35 Spotted Demon:
Spotted Demon is a world class veteran bull with an illustrious nine-year career. He’s only been ridden 15 times in 101 career outs, but nearly half of those rides have come over the past year or so. This is a great matchup for Divino, but there is no secret strategy for this bull. He’s better for right-handed riders, but every ride on Spotted Demon is a straight-up heavyweight fight. There’s no avoiding his power. Divino will just have to deal with it.
Daylon Swearingen on 32Y SweetPro’s Bruiser:
Swearingen was 88 points on Bruiser just a couple of weeks ago. Bruiser is one of the classiest bulls to ever play the game. He’s not a perfect fit for Swearingen because of his signature leap and drop move late in the 8 seconds. The same thing that makes Bruiser a perfect fit for J.B. Mauney makes him more difficult for Swearingen, but if Swearingen can grow to handle that kind of bull as well as Mauney does, he will be a serious threat to win the world.
Kaique Pacheco on 500 I’m Legit Too:
Pacheco is really good on bulls that go away from his hand, and he will need that here. I’m Legit Too is in the middle of the world championship race, and he goes to the left with a lot of gusto. He’s hard for every rider and a little bit harder for right-handed riders.
Joao Ricardo Vieira on 162 The Right Stuff – Jose Vitor Leme on 44A Smooth Over:
This 15/15 round is crucial to the world title race, just as the event here in Nampa is crucial to guys trying to qualify for the Finals. Vieira is just out of realistic striking distance right now, and he must make up some ground before the Finals and then have an exceptional Finals, and hope against hope that Leme does not. But, the odds in this round are heavily in Leme’s favor. He’s ridden Smooth Over before, while Vieira’s bull is much more difficult. The Right Stuff has only given up one ride – to Jess Lockwood at last year’s Finals – and Jess didn’t make him look any easier.