PUEBLO, Colo. – The 2021 PBR World Finals was one for the ages. It saw the highest-scoring ride in PBR history, the crowning of the second-oldest Rookie of the Year in PBR history, cowboys pushing through injury all in the name of glory, and so much more.

Want to relive all the action? You’re in luck. Tune into RidePass on Pluto TV on Sunday, Dec. 26 at 9 p.m. ET for Chasing Greatness, which looks back at the 2021 PBR World Finals and all the iconic moments that came with it.

In the meantime, read on to learn a little bit more about some of the stars of the 2021 PBR World Finals, and don’t miss Chasing Greatness to hear more of their stories.

Eli Vastbinder

Eli Vastbinder made history at the 2021 PBR World Finals. Not only is he the second-oldest Rookie of the Year in league history, but his four 90-point rides in T-Mobile Arena also tied a World Finals record and made him just the eighth rider ever to achieve the feat. Vastbinder is the only non-World Champion to produce four 90-point rides during one World Finals and is the only rookie to do so.

He also did it with a separated shoulder and broken ribs suffered attempting to ride Whiskey Bent in Round 3.

“I knew it was going to hurt, but my goal was to nod my head,” Vastbinder said. “I knew once I nodded my head, then my body was just going to react, and it was just going to take over after that. I slid up there and nodded my head, and everything worked out the way it should.”

Vastbinder ultimately went 4-for-6, finishing fifth in the event aggregate despite repeatedly having to be carried off the dirt by the PBR Sports Medicine team.

“I felt like Eli was peaking at the right time, and then when he got to the Finals, not only did he ride really good, but just the mental and physical toughness that he showed through all of it, he was very deserving to be the Rookie of the Year of the PBR at 30 years old,” McBride said.

Mason Taylor

Mason Taylor may not have won the World Finals event title, but if there was one breakout star in Las Vegas, it was him.

Taylor finished third overall behind only the men who have won three of the last four PBR world titles in Kaique Pacheco and Jose Vitor Leme. Taylor went 5-for-6, remaining perfect until his very last out.

“Mason Taylor, let’s just go ahead and lead with this: he’s an extremely talented young guy,” McBride said. “He’s got an ability and an understanding of the mechanics of bull riding that most guys don’t have, and that they’ll never understand. So Mason’s definitely got an edge on guys, and you’ve seen it at the World Finals.”

Taylor was also riding with his jaw wired shut. He underwent surgery just days before the World Finals to repair his broken jaw and two fractured ear canals. He’d planned on not even going to World Finals but says his father gave him the push he needed to go.

The rest, as they say, is history.

“When you’re 90 points in T-Mobile Arena, and everybody’s screaming your name, that’s probably the coolest-feeling moment of my whole Finals,” Taylor said. “They holler out 90 points, everybody’s screaming, and all I could do was put my hands up. That’s all I knew to do.”

Jose Vitor Leme

The 2021 World Finals was a career moment for Jose Vitor Leme, whose short career is already full of career moments.

The two-time reigning PBR World Champion capped a season for the ages – easily one of the best of all time – with a flawless World Finals performance. Leme went 6-for-6 and, in the championship round, rode Woopaa for 98.75 points – an eye-popping total that set a new record for highest-scoring ride, breaking the record he’d set just 100 days prior.

“To break the record and set a new one again, I don’t know that you could ever find a better World Finals moment than that,” McBride said. “That’s the biggest stage that you have in bull riding, down to the last bull, and then just happen to get the greatest bull that there is in the world, and probably I would say the coolest bull that we’ve ever seen in the PBR, with the athleticism and the things that he can do. And to have those two special athletes match up again? That’s a pretty special moment.”

Leme set or tied six records en route to his second consecutive gold buckle – most 90-point rides in a season (24), most round wins in a season (21), highest-scored ride (98.75 points), highest rider score (50 points), highest average ride score in a season (89.82 points), and most event wins in a season (tied with Justin McBride with eight).

“I think Jose can win three, four, five world titles,” McBride said. “Because to me, he’s just now starting to reach his potential.”

Photo courtesy of Andy Watson/Bull Stock Media