MILWAUKEE – 2012 PRCA champion Cody Teel stood off in a corner and peered up at the jumbotron inside Fiserv Forum.
Teel knew the chances of Joao Ricardo Vieira bucking off Outlaw on the final out of the PBR Ariat Invitational were pretty slim to none – the No. 1 ranked bull rider in the world has been riding lights out through the first month of the season – but Teel did what every other rider would do in his situation. Hang tight and see what happens.
Vieira would eventually clinch the event win with an 88.75-point ride on Outlaw, but it does not take away from the flawless effort Teel put forth in the Cream City.
Teel went a season-best, 3-for-3 to finish just behind Vieira in a breakout performance for the five-time PBR World Finals.
The 29-year-old has struggled this year to put together a full event, and he failed to put forth more than one qualified ride at any of the previous five Unleash The Beast events to begin this season.
However, Teel never wavered in his confidence and he knew the pendulum would swing in his favor in due time. That moment came at Fiserv Forum.
Teel capped his 3-for-3 performance with 86 points on BuzzBallz following precision rides of 86.25 points on Lil Larry and 86 points on Chubby.
“It felt good,” Teel explained before third-place finisher Eli Vastbinder, who is one of Teel’s biggest fans in the locker room, congratulated him for a job well done. “I have just been going at it the same way I have been all year. Nothing different. I have really been focusing on my approach. I try to leave the bucking chute focusing on those small things and I think I have been doing it all year, and things came together a little better this weekend than in the past few weeks.”
Milwaukee is Teel’s best finish since finishing runner-up at last year's Arcadia, Florida, event on January 23, 2021.
Teel said he is trying to focus on things he can control this season. He knows he can be at a disadvantage, as Vastbinder (3-for-3) has mentioned as well before as a fellow tall rider, because of his height. Instead of worrying about trying to be flashy or dressing up a ride, the 6-foot Teel instead is just looking to make clean 8-second rides and let the chips fall where they may.
“I am preparing how I slide up in the bucking chute,” Teel said. “Where I position myself. Being a little taller and longer, I have to take advantage of what I can control, and that is in the bucking chute and leaving the bucking chute. Once the gate opens, you just have to trust your body and your training then takes over.
“I am focusing on the things I can control. I am not just getting complacent and am showing up every weekend.”
A week ago, Teel walked into Sacramento, California, in danger of losing his full-time UTB draw spot he barely qualified for Milwaukee as an alternate.
Teel is now closer to where he wants to be – inside the Top 5 – following his 3-for-3 showing in Milwaukee. Teel earned 94 world points to jump from No. 29 to No. 12.
The College Station, Texas, bull rider will take his talents to Oklahoma City next weekend for the PBR Express Ranches Invitational, presented by Union Home Mortgage.
“The whole part of finishing strong is stringing together multiple rides in a weekend instead of one a week or two a week,” Teel concluded. “That is the key to consistency. I wouldn’t say I was riding bad. I just wasn’t doing it enough. That is part of being a professional, you have to show up every weekend and ride the ones you are supposed to.”
Follow Justin Felisko on Twitter @jfelisko
Photo courtesy of Andy Watson/Bull Stock Media