OKLAHOMA CITY – It was slow and ugly, but two-time World Champion Jess Lockwood’s 74.5-point ride on Two Socks last weekend at the PBR Ariat Invitational was another step in the right direction as Lockwood attempts to regain his prior form.
Yes, Lockwood turned down his re-ride opportunity, and, yes, the ride was not a round-winning, 90-point home run like people are accustomed to seeing from the PBR superstar. But for the first time in two years, and the first since his career-threatening left hamstring and pelvis surgeries, Lockwood had reached the 8-second mark for a third consecutive time on the Unleash The Beast.
“If I cement my hand in there, I can stay on,” Lockwood said. “Even if I am not doing something correctly through a ride, my hand will stay in, and he will pull you where you need to be. I knew that bull was going to be a hard bull to ride, and I was out of position plenty, but my hand stayed in there. It is going to pull you back to where you need to be. It is as simple as that.
“It gets better with every bull I get on for dang sure. Giving myself that extra chance with more rosin – you can grip as hard as you want, but if you don’t have something to give you a little stability, you are going to lose your rope.”
Lockwood has had quite the learning experience the last two years, especially the past nine months since he had reconstructive surgery on his pelvis. He admits he has struggled to regain his previous World Champion form as he works to regain his strength and create new muscle memory to ride the rankest bulls in the world.
The 24-year-old is 4-for-11 through five events.
“I know I know how to ride bulls,” Lockwood said. “It is getting my body back to the fact that it knows how to ride bulls. You don’t have time to think on the back of the bull. I can’t make myself set my hips or get off my rope. It just needs to come naturally. At this level, dang near any level, you don’t have time to make yourself do anything. It just has to happen. It is just not happening like it used to. It is really weird, and it is dang sure frustrating, but all I can do is keep getting on. It is going to change around.”
According to Lockwood, the biggest challenge to overcome has been his pelvis surgery last spring compared to his first hamstring surgery in 2020. Both injuries are connected and go back to when he caught his spur and had his hamstring ripped off the bone following a 91.5-point ride on I’m Legit Too in March 2020 in Kansas City.
“I have strength, but it is just like I have talked with the PBR sports med guys, it’s not the strength that is weird to me. The hamstring isn’t too bad. It’s the pelvis,” Lockwood said. “That is the middle of the bull. The center. It doesn’t work the same. The muscle memory isn’t the same as it used to, so it is the fact that pretty much my body is learning how to ride bulls again at the highest level. Things aren’t naturally happening to where my pelvis is shoving up to that rope, and my hips are going up on my rope, and my pelvis is rolling like it should.”
Lockwood is set to face Sammy (1-0, UTB) in Round 1 of the PBR Express Ranches Invitational, presented by Union Home Mortgage, on Friday night at Paycom Center (9:30 p.m. ET on RidePass on Pluto TV).
The No. 37-ranked bull rider in the world is 22.83 points behind No. 25 Marcos Gloria.
“I am really happy with how I am starting to feel,” Lockwood said. “I have felt this good since the third bull in New York. I have struggled at a few places. The main thing that I have noticed is everything may not be working quite correctly like I want it to, but my hand keeps popping out of my rope because I didn’t have the strength I did before I got hurt. I trust myself and my body. All this new stuff. New pelvis, new muscles, new core strength. That hand being cemented in there, it will give me a chance if I slip up somewhere.”
The last time Lockwood had ridden three in a row was in February 2020. He was then the reigning World Champion and the No. 2-ranked bull rider in the world and seemed poised to become potentially the third rider in PBR history to win three world titles.
Much has changed since then, including Lockwood himself outside of the arena. Lockwood says he is happy and knows he has nothing left to prove when it comes to his career. The youngest two-time World Champion in PBR history knows he has accomplished so much in seven years that others could only dream of.
However, don’t take that to mean he is content, either. Lockwood said he still desires to win every time he shows up to the arena. If that desire to win ever completely fades away, he will know it is time to walk away.
“Some have questioned if I want to be here, and in the middle of the week, it is somewhat questionable,” Lockwood admitted. “But when I get to the arena, I am happy to be here. I don’t want people thinking his mind isn’t in it and he is checked out, but I have talked with mom and dad and everyone, the older I have gotten and the things that have happened in life. Bull riding, I love it still, but I am going to prioritize my family over bull riding.”
Follow Justin Felisko on Twitter @jfelisko
Photo courtesy of Michael Pintar/Bull Stock Media