DEL RIO, Texas – Rising above the rest on a cold Saturday afternoon in Del Rio, Texas, current PBR (Professional Bull Riders) world No. 1 Cooper Davis (Jasper, Texas) increased his lead on the pack with a 15/15 Bucking Battle win in his home state.
One of only three riders to conquer their mounts, Davis wrapped the day with a monstrous 90-point ride aboard Born To Sin (Martinez Bucking Bulls, LLC).
Earning 59 world points with the special-round win, Davis’s lead on the No. 2 rider in the world standings, Junior Patrik Souza (Sonora, Brazil), is now 130 points after Souza bucked off I’m Legit Too (Hart Cattle Co/Hale/Bloyd).
“I’ve been on that bull before, and he made pretty short work of me, so I knew I had to do something different,” said Davis. “I kept my hand closed today and kept going to him, and it all worked out.”
Davis, 26, a seven-year veteran on the Unleash The Beast tour and 13 months removed from a broken neck suffered in the 2020 PBR opener, is off to the best start of his career.
“I’m going to keep doing what I’m doing, taking it one bull at a time, and not get too far ahead of myself,” said Davis.
Brazilian Dener Barbosa (Paulo de Faria, Brazil) bested Wild Onion (Andrews Rodeo Co. Inc.) for 87.5 points during the special round, finishing second.
Barbosa earned 48 world points and moved two spots to No. 7 in the world.
Utah’s Keyshawn Whitehorse (McCracken Springs, Utah) was the final rider to make the 8 in the bonus round. Drawing Last Resort (Andrews Rodeo Co. Inc.), Whitehorse matched his mount jump for jump on the way to an 87.25-point score.
Whitehorse netted 43 world points with the third-place finish, moving from No. 12 to No. 9 in the world.
The PBR Unleash The Beast tour returns to action Saturday, February 20, in Pecos, Texas, at 2 p.m. CT.
Professional Bull Riders
PBR BUILT FORD TOUGH INVITATIONAL 15/15 BUCKING BATTLE
Del Rio, TX, 2021 - Event Leaders (Round 1-Event Aggregate-Event Points)
1. Cooper Davis, 90-90.00-59 Points.
2. Dener Barbosa, 87.5-87.50-48 Points.
3. Keyshawn Whitehorse, 87.25-87.25-43 Points.
Junior Patrik Souza, 0-0.00
Kaique Pacheco, 0-0.00
Mauricio Gulla Moreira, 0-0.00
Colten Fritzlan, 0-0.00
Cole Melancon, 0-0.00
Silvano Alves, 0-0.00
Alex Cerqueira, 0-0.00
Derek Kolbaba, 0-0.00
Cody Teel, 0-0.00
João Ricardo Vieira, 0-0.00
Brennon Eldred, 0-0.00
Dalton Kasel, 0-0.00
2021 Professional Bull Riders Unleash The Beast World Finals Standings
(Place, Rider, Events, Wins, Top 5's, Points, Total Winnings)
1. Cooper Davis, 6, 1, 4, 326.50, $40,516.50
2. Junior Patrik Souza, 10, 0, 4, 196.50, $21,499.81
3. Kaique Pacheco, 6, 1, 2, 193.50, $34,600.72
4. Mauricio Gulla Moreira, 10, 1, 3, 162.00, $30,415.52
5. Colten Fritzlan, 4, 1, 2, 153.50, $28,829.35
6. Cole Melancon, 6, 0, 2, 152.50, $17,641.72
7. Dener Barbosa, 9, 0, 2, 149.83, $16,699.89
8. Marco Eguchi, 4, 1, 2, 134.50, $16,797.23
9. Keyshawn Whitehorse, 7, 0, 3, 129.50, $14,400.00
10. Silvano Alves, 6, 0, 1, 106.50, $8,183.87
11. Alex Cerqueira, 6, 0, 1, 98.00, $13,793.31
12. Derek Kolbaba, 7, 0, 1, 97.00, $18,864.15
13. Cody Teel, 7, 0, 2, 83.50, $16,076.79
14. João Ricardo Vieira, 7, 0, 1, 74.00, $4,400.00
15. Brennon Eldred, 7, 0, 1, 70.50, $11,058.93
16. Brady Fielder, 3, 1, 2, 69.00, $6,529.40
17. Dalton Kasel, 8, 0, 1, 68.50, $10,722.85
18. Taylor Toves, 5, 0, 1, 55.50, $8,591.72
19. Eduardo Aparecido, 4, 0, 0, 55.00, $7,584.15
20. Kyle Jones, 4, 0, 1, 50.50, $7,492.39
21. J.T. Moore, 7, 1, 3, 49.00, $8,789.02
22. Marcelo Procopio Pereira, 8, 1, 2, 47.00, $7,657.05
23. Kurt Shephard, 3, 0, 2, 44.33, $4,028.40
24. Aaron Kleier, 3, 1, 2, 42.00, $14,105.40
25. Rafael Henrique dos Santos, 5, 0, 0, 38.00, $1,400.00
26. Kyler Oliver, 3, 0, 0, 35.00, $3,650.00
27. Claudio Montanha Jr., 7, 0, 0, 33.50, $4,734.94
28. Mason Taylor, 5, 1, 1, 33.00, $5,212.30
29. Ezekiel Mitchell, 6, 1, 1, 26.00, $3,900.00
29. Bailey Woodard, 3, 1, 1, 26.00, $2,285.40
31. Dakota Louis, 6, 0, 1, 24.50, $3,617.07
32. Lachlan Richardson, 3, 0, 1, 20.00, $1,775.00
33. Cody Casper, 6, 0, 1, 18.00, $2,860.13
34. Jess Lockwood, 2, 0, 0, 16.50, $400.00
35. Lawson Nobbs, 3, 0, 1, 16.00, $1,175.00
36. João Henrique Lucas, 5, 0, 0, 15.00, $3,449.95
36. Rodrigo Melgar, 5, 1, 1, 15.00, $3,480.75
36. Aaron Pass, 2, 1, 1, 15.00, $3,432.49
39. Leonardo Lima, 5, 0, 0, 13.83, $1,821.28
40. Paulo Ferreira Lima, 3, 0, 1, 12.33, $2,136.88
41. Thor Hoefer II, 5, 0, 1, 10.50, $2,090.85
42. Lucas Divino, 4, 0, 1, 9.50, $10,400.00
42. Seth White, 2, 0, 1, 9.50, $1,696.35
44. Valdiron de Oliveira, 2, 0, 1, 9.33, $2,477.41
44. Jackson Gray, 3, 0, 2, 9.33, $1,067.80