PUEBLO, Colo. – The 2022 YETI World Champion Bull race continues to be a neck-and-neck battle between defending champ and world No. 1 Woopaa and No. 2 Ridin Solo.

The top two bulls in the world are now separated by .08 points in the YETI World Champion Bull race following this past weekend’s PBR Express Ranches Classic, presented by Hard Rock Hotel and Casino.

“They are absolutely the favorites, and Grand Theft is still the rankest bull,” PBR Director of Livestock Cody Lambert said Friday in Tulsa. “I have felt that way the whole year. I really like both of those bulls. I think Woopaa is better because he doesn’t mess up as much. Cord (McCoy) has done such a good job with Ridin Solo. He has gotten the most out of him. Laramie has done a great job with Woopaa, but Cord took one that couldn’t get out of the chute.”

Woopaa (46.29 World Champion Bull average) jumped ahead of Ridin Solo (46.21 World Champion Bull average) in the standings in Tulsa, Oklahoma, with two impressive outs inside the BOK Center that allowed him to knock two of his lower scores from his World Champion Bull average (top six outs).

First, Woopaa was marked 46.25 points for teaming up with Austin Richardson for a 94.5-point ride on Friday night. The 6-year-old bovine superstar followed that with a 46-point score for bucking off 2019 Rookie of the Year Dalton Kasel in 7.2 seconds on Saturday in the championship round.

“I thought Dalton would be good for him,” Wilson said. “Thought Dalton would be behind him, and he would stay left. Dalton got a little bit in there at about the five-second mark, and he felt him and jumped forward and went back right.

“I still think Woopaa looks better, and they score him better, when he stays left. I just need Dalton or someone like Jose (Vitor Leme) to take him and get him to go left.”

Wilson explained the plan is now for Woopaa to rest until the start of the 2022 PBR World Finals on May 13.

Meanwhile, Cord McCoy told PBR.com on Monday he hopes to bring Ridin Solo to Billings, Montana, in two weeks to make one final push at winning the regular-season bull title ($25,000).

Ridin Solo was unable to increase his World Champion Bull average in Tulsa with his 5.52-second buckoff of Bob Mitchell in the championship round (45 points).

Ridin Solo only needs a 46.5-point bull score to move back into the No. 1 ranking. A 46.25-point outing would tie him with Woopaa. If Ridin Solo were to buck two more times this season, he could look to drop his two lowest scores in his top six (45.75 points) and have another pathway to the world No. 1 ranking before the Finals.

The 2022 YETI World Champion following the World Finals earns $100,000.

Wilson said Woopaa will be resting at home for the next month regardless of what McCoy and team may do with Ridin Solo.

“No Nampa and no Billings for us,” Wilson said. “Now we rest until the Finals. It doesn’t change anything for us. That is too far to travel before the Finals.”

Here is a comparison of Woopaa and Ridin Solo’s Top 6 outs this season.

World No. 1 Woopaa (46.29)
1. 46.75 points vs. Austin Richardson in Oklahoma City (4.14 seconds)
2. 46.5 points vs. Derek Kolbaba in Glendale, Arizona (6.99 seconds)
2. 46.5 points vs. Chase Dougherty in Duluth, Georgia (3.21 seconds)
4. 46.25 points vs. Austin Richardson in Tulsa, Oklahoma (94.5 points)
5. 46 points vs. Dalton Kasel in Tulsa, Oklahoma (7.2 seconds)
6. 45.75 points vs. Daylon Swearingen in Sioux Falls, South Dakota (5.85 seconds)

World No. 2 Ridin Solo (46.21)
1. 47.5 points vs. Dalton Kasel in Little Rock, Arkansas (4.65 seconds)
2. 46.25 points vs. Jose Vitor Leme in Oklahoma City (94.75 points)
3. 46 points vs. Keyshawn Whitehorse in Everett, Washington (6.4 seconds)
3. 46 points vs. Mason Taylor in St. Louis, Missouri (3.69 seconds)
5. 45.75 points vs. Kyler Oliver in Glendale, Arizona (90.75 points)
5. 45.75 points vs. Joao Ricardo Vieira in Milwaukee (5.5 seconds)

Follow Justin Felisko on Twitter @jfelisko

Photos courtesy of Andy Watson/Bull Stock Media