CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas – Cody Jesus and his girlfriend, Faith, woke up early on Saturday morning and decided to head out to the beach across the street from the Omni Corpus Christi Hotel.
Jesus had spent the last few weeks scratching and clawing to qualify for his fourth PBR World Finals. His 1-for-3 performance last weekend at the Unleash The Beast regular-season finale in Billings, Montana, had him finally able to let out a deep breath knowing he was well on his way to Fort Worth, Texas, next week for the Finals.
Having a few hours to decompress on the beach was the kind of mental break Jesus needed.
“Very relaxing,” Jesus said. “I went out there early in the morning when there was nobody, maybe one person, on the beach, and I got to swim around, play around like a little kid for a little bit. Take my mind off of bull riding.”
The 23-year-old knew just how vital a berth at the World Finals would be for his draft stock at the PBR Team Series Draft, presented by ZipRecruiter, on May 23 at Texas Live! He entered the 2022 Pendleton Whisky Velocity Tour Finals quietly believing he was peaking at precisely the right time.
In preparation for the Velocity Tour and PBR World Finals, Jesus had dropped 10 pounds. The 140-pounder was running 5-6 miles per day during the week while also riding a new mountain bike he recently purchased.
All that hard work paid dividends this weekend. His 2-for-3 performance inside American Bank Center helped him hold off Clayton Sellars for the 2022 Pendleton Whisky Velocity Tour Finals event average victory and $29,250.
“This is very special,” Jesus said. “I always wanted to win something big, and this was it. I am trying to be the best as I can be. Mentally, I’m there. Physically, I’m there. And we’re backing it up with the riding a little bit. I’ve just got to keep doing what I do and just having fun with it.”
Jesus looked flawless through the first two rounds of competition in Corpus Christi. The Window Rock, Arizona, native began the weekend with 87 points on Blue on Black in Round 1 before taking over the event lead with a 91-point ride on Johnny Rocket in Round 2.
“Once (Johnny Rocket) started bucking around in the chute, it was game on,” Jesus said. “I was fired up. I got the feel of him in the bucking chute when he was bucking around in there, so when he came out, I just knew I had to watch my free arm and keep control of it.”
Rounding out the Top 5 in the event average were 2022 Pendleton Whisky Velocity Tour champion Clayton Sellars (2-for-3, 176 points), new world No. 1 Daylon Swearingen (2-for-3, 174.5 points), PRCA No. 2 bull rider Josh Frost (2-for-3, 173.5 points) and 2002 World Champion Ednei Caminhas (2-for-3, 174 points).
Sellars beat Jesus by 5.08 points for the overall Pendleton Whisky Velocity Tour championship and its accompanying $50,000 bonus.
“How about that? I had no idea either until Mason Taylor told me in the locker room I won the $50,000,” Sellars said. “One thing I know for sure is I am really going to have to show out next week at Finals, and I plan on doing that. I feel like I am in a real good spot right now.”
Jesus tipped his hat to Sellars.
“He rides really good, and I’m super happy for him,” Jesus said. “All the other bull riders who made it here, man, it’s just phenomenal to see these guys step up and ride good.”
Jesus will head into Round 1 of the World Finals on Friday night at Dickies Arena ranked No. 26 in the world standings. A strong showing during the eight-round PBR World Finals could help push him into consideration to be a Top 24 draft pick for the inaugural PBR Team Series.
The Window Rock, Arizona, native has erupted at the World Finals before. The second-best ride of his career came at the 2019 PBR World Finals when he won Round 2 with a 92-point bull ride aboard Lil 2 Train.
“Oh yeah,” Jesus said. “We’re loose. We’re ready.”
Follow Justin Felisko on Twitter @jfelisko
Photo courtesy of Andre Silva/Bull Stock Media