The PBR Air Force Reserve Cowboys for a Cause team bull riding competition airs Sunday at noon ET on CBS.

Eduardo Aparecido (Team South Point) on 4-4 Diamond Cutter:

We will see several bulls like this in the first round. Diamond Cutter has been around and active since 2018, but he has only been to a couple of lower-level PBR events in all that time. He’s qualified for the National Finals Rodeo twice. He doesn’t get ridden very often in the rodeo world, but Aparecido should get along with him. This bull usually goes to the right out of a right-hand delivery.

Aparecido hasn’t been riding that well, and he’s teamed up with Cole Melancon, who also hasn’t been winning recently. However, their third team member is Jose Vitor Leme. This team format leads to an interesting psychological scenario. This can be a brutal sport to compete in when you are not doing well. Rider performance is seriously affected by each rider’s mental state, and riders are normally all alone. Aparacido and Melancon may both benefit from simply being responsible for helping Leme, who is the best rider in the world right now, and a guy they both greatly admire. 

Dalton Kasel (Team Zip Recruiter) on 639 The Duke:

The Duke is another south Texas based rodeo bull, but he’s relatively new to the scene. His first out was in June of this year. His second out carried J.B. Mauney to 90.5 points and win at a rodeo in Weatherford, Texas on June 8. Kasel is teamed up with Austin Richardson and Joao Ricardo Vieira. Kasel will be the first rider to go on his team, and he has the best matchup, so he could set the tone for Team Zip Recruiter.

Cooper Davis (Team Pendleton Whisky) on 4441 Wileywood Blue:

Davis has a tough matchup here. This bull bucked him off at the 2018 World Finals. Wileywood Blue is a veteran PBR bull, and can be a hard draw for right-handed riders. Davis does have a chance here, and his teammates Mason Taylor and Jesse Petri both have similar matchups. All three guys could come through and push team Pendleton Whiskey to the top, even though they didn’t draw the best bulls here.

Cody Jesus (Team Wrangler) on 823 Happy Days:

This is another veteran rodeo bull who rarely goes to PBR events. He went to the NFR last year, and more importantly, he’s a good fit for left-handed riders. Jesus is deadly on bulls that go into his hand. Like Kasel, Jesus will be the first rider on his team to compete, and could give them a spark.

Jose Vitor Leme (Team South Point) on 712E Steel Wishes:

Steel Wishes is a newcomer, and he has followed an interesting, and not uncommon, career path so far. The Pages have a lot of bulls, and some of them are very well known before they even get old enough to compete against riders. But every year we see what you might call D&H Cattle Co’s late bloomers start out at age 3 or 4 primarily going to rodeos. Some of the most famous PBR bulls started this way. This is one of them. He went to his first rodeo in June of this year, and has produced solid bull scores this summer. He is unridden, but he will obviously be facing the biggest test a bull can face in this sport – going against Leme.

Eli Vastbinder (Team Bad Boy Mowers) on -42 Panic Button:

Vastbinder is coming off his best showing of the season in Fort Worth last week, where he rode four straight bulls and came up less than one second short of riding five in the Iron Cowboy format event. He has a chance here. Panic Button is 13-2 overall, but the two rides have come in his last four outs. Rafael Henrique dos Santos rode him in Nashville for 86.5 points two weeks ago. Vastbinder is teamed up with Claudio Montanha Jr. and Mauricio Moreira, both of whom drew tougher in this round, and Vastbinder will be the last of the three to compete.

Kaique Pacheco (Team Boot Barn) on Page 723E:

Like Steel Wishes, this bull is a Page 4-year-old who got his career going at rodeos this summer. He’s turned in some big bull scores – averaging over 44 points - and he threw Sage Kimzey off in Belle Fourche, South Dakota, in July. Pacheco is anchoring the Boot Barn team. His teammates Alex Cerqueira and Joao Henrique Lucas both drew into decent matchups in this round as well.

Joao Henrique Lucas (Team Boot Barn) on 556 Listen Linda:

This is a rodeo bull based out of Texas who has been pretty good to right-handed riders. He’s given up a couple of big scores this season. Lucas has a good chance on a bull going into his hand here. Lucas has not been dominant this year, but he’s been consistent on bulls he matches up well against, and this is one of those.

Thiago Salgado (Team Wrangler) on 59 Hanna Motors Homeboy:

This bull has spent most of his career in Canada, and he’s a really nice draw at this level, and one of the easier bulls to ride in this round. He is especially nice for left-handed riders, although he threw Daylon Swearingen off this summer at a TPD event. Salgado is teamed up with Silvano Alves and Cody Jesus. Alves drew the toughest, but Jesus and Salgado could carry this team to the next round.