FAIRFAX, Va. – As action got underway for the debut PBR (Professional Bull Riders) Pendleton Whisky Velocity Tour event in Fairfax, Virginia, no contenders were more dominant than Dalton Krantz (Somers, Iowa) and Quentin Vaught (Crane, Missouri). Delivering matching 88.5-point rides, the duo of fearless riders tied for the Round 1 victory at the PBR Fairfax Invitational.
Now the high-marked ride of both Krantz and Vaught’s careers, they went the distance atop Keep ‘Em Guessin (UTC/Sellers Bucking Bulls) and Last Chance (Sho-Me Rodeo), respectively.
Each rider earned 5.5 world points for the golden finish and will advance to Championship Sunday atop the event leaderboard.
Home-state hopeful Carlos Garcia (Abingdon, Virginia) brought the Virginia crowd to its feet when the veteran rider went to work against Beefcake (Dustin Denning), making the requisite 8 for an 85.5-point score.
As one of 10 riders to experience success Saturday evening, Garcia concluded the electric opening round of competition sixth, earning 1 world point.
Brazilian Joao Paulo Fernandes was third in Round 1, netting 3 world points.
Competing in just the third PBR event of his career, Fernandes proved the more dominant athlete in his showdown against Here I Am (T&G Bucking Bulls), besting his bovine athlete counterpart for 87.5 points.
The qualified ride was the first of Fernandes’s career in PBR competition.
Fourth was Dakota Eagleburger (Fair Grove, Missouri).
Emerging from a more than four-month hiatus from PBR action, Eagleburger made a statement in his return. He rode Fat Boy (T&G Bucking Bulls) for 87 points to earn 2 points towards the race for the 2021 PBR World Championship.
Rounding out the Top 5 in fifth was Eduardo de Oliveira (Nova Lacerda, Brazil), who rode Lucky Laffite (Frenzel Bucking Bulls) for 86 points.
He exited EagleBank Arena having earned 1 world point.
In addition to the aforementioned riders, Ramon de Lima (Rio Branco, Brazil), Alvaro Aguilar Alvarez (La Punta Lagos Moreno, Mexico), Mason Moody (Letcher, South Dakota) and Wallace Vieira de Oliveira (Goiania, Brazil) will all advance to the final day of competition having registered a score in Round 1.
Tying for seventh, Lima, Alvarez and Moody all delivered 85-point efforts. They rode O’Malley (Bonafide Bucking Bulls/Diamond M Pro Rodeo), Fu Man Chu (Sho-Me Rodeo) and No Doubt (Richard & Teri Braun/Jenkins Cattle).
At the bottom of the leaderboard, Oliveira was 10th courtesy of his 84-point score atop White Wolf (Bonafide Bucking Bulls/Diamond M Pro Rodeo).
The PBR Pendleton Whisky Velocity Tour’s Fairfax Invitational was also a stop on the 2021 Million Dollar Bull Team Challenge.
Sho-Me Rodeo won the performance with 361.77 points courtesy of the trips notched by Big Shot, Bean, Last Chance and Fu Man Chu.
Second place was T&G Bucking Bulls with 359.8 points, while Richardson Land & Cattle Company was third with 358.52 points. T&G Bucking Bulls’ team included Homer, Here I Am, Funky Cold Medina and Fat Boy, while the bronze effort from Richardson Land & Cattle Company was earned courtesy of outs recorded by Bolo, Great White, Latch Party and Armed & Dangerous.
PBR Pendleton Whisky Velocity Tour action from Fairfax, Virginia, and EagleBank Arena continues on Sunday, September 26, with Round 2 and the championship round. Action gets underway at 2:00 p.m. EDT.
PBR Pendleton Whisky Velocity Tour – Fairfax Invitational
EagleBank Arena – Fairfax, Virginia
Event Leaders (Round 1-Round 2-Round 3-Event Aggregate-Event Points)
1. Dalton Krantz, 88.5-0-0-88.50-5.5 Points.
(tie). Quentin Vaught, 88.5-0-0-88.50-5.5 Points.
3. Joao Paulo Fernandes, 87.5-0-0-87.50-3 Points.
4. Dakota Eagleburger [1], 87-0-0-87.00-2 Points.
5. Eduardo de Oliveira, 86-0-0-86.00-1 Points.
6. Carlos Garcia [1], 85.5-0-0-85.50-1 Points.
7. Ramon de Lima, 85-0-0-85.00-0.33 Points.
(tie). Alvaro Aguilar Alvarez, 85-0-0-85.00-0.33 Points.
(tie). Mason Moody [1], 85-0-0-85.00-0.33 Points.
10. Wallace Vieira de Oliveira, 84-0-0-84.00
Kyle Jones, 0-0-0-0.00
Alex Cardozo, 0-0-0-0.00
Joe Hostetler, 0-0-0-0.00
Bob Mitchell [1], 0-0-0-0.00
Bob Mitchell [2], 0-0-0-0.00
Marcos Gloria, 0-0-0-0.00
Eli Byler, 0-0-0-0.00
Rubens Barbosa, 0-0-0-0.00
Venn Johns, 0-0-0-0.00
Francisco Morales, 0-0-0-0.00
Carlos Garcia [2], 0-0-0-0.00
Allen Burkholder, 0-0-0-0.00
Kane Taylor, 0-0-0-0.00
Bryan Titman, 0-0-0-0.00
Mason Moody [2], 0-0-0-0.00
Devon Weaver, 0-0-0-0.00
Dakota Eagleburger [2], 0-0-0-0.00
Matt Oliver, 0-0-0-0.00
Alex Jenks, 0-0-0-0.00
Eloisio Boaventura, 0-0-0-0.00
Eduardo Perez, 0-0-0-0.00
Jaron Hughes [1], 0-0-0-0.00
Jaron Hughes [2], 0-0-0-0.00
Joseph Petersheim, 0-0-0-0.00
Matt Allgood, 0-0-0-0.00
Zach Laney, 0-0-0-0.00
Jason Landing, 0-0-0-0.00
Felipe Nogueira, 0-0-0-0.00
Grant Fulks, 0-0-0-0.00
Wyatt Calvert, 0-0-0-0.00