TRYON, N.C. – It has been quite the week for Mason Moody.
Last week, the 19-year-old was in Fort Pierre, South Dakota, celebrating a second consecutive South Dakota High School Rodeo Association state bull riding championship.
On Saturday night, Moody was delivering the Nashville Stampede an 84.25-0 victory over the Carolina Cowboys with his qualified ride aboard Bolo.
**“**I expect myself to be at this level, and I’ve been riding through the Velocities all year, so I know my capability is there,” Moody said. “I’ve just got to reach my full potential to be where I want to be someday. So it’s not mind-blowing to me, but at the same time, it’s kind of an honor. I know I’m here representing the team, but I’m also representing my state, and I’ll be doing that throughout Nashville and the rest of my career.
“I know a state title is a building block for that, and just being able to represent everyone back home means a lot to me.”
Moody is not done this weekend, either.
In fact, a personal dilemma led to him actually entering Sunday’s PBR event at Cowtown Coliseum (3 p.m. ET on RidePass on Pluto TV) in Fort Worth, Texas.
Moody was supposed to travel with teammate Matt Triplett to Tryon before Triplett got banged up in Deadwood, South Dakota, two weeks ago. Moody, though, is unable to rent a car because of his age, and he was unsure about how he could get to the event on the North Carolina-South Carolina border with no easily accessible airport.
Therefore, Nashville head coach Justin McBride offered to travel with Moody to Tryon while also encouraging the youngster to enter the event Sunday in Fort Worth, where teammates Fernando Henrique Novais, Thiago Salgado and Joao Henrique Lucas are also competing. Novais and Salgado are making the 15-hour drive from Tryon with Stampede Director of Rider Development and Scouting Keith Ryan Cartwright.
Three Texas Rattlers are also making the trip to compete in Fort Worth this weekend – 2002 World Champion Ednei Caminhas, Ednelio Almeida and Rafael Jose de Brito.
Moody will fly out Sunday at 8 a.m. from Charlotte Douglas International Airport.
“It actually worked out good,” Moody said. “I’m kind of being Justin’s little boy this weekend, and he’s like, ‘You want to enter this? If we get a flight right, we can do it.’ And I was like, ‘If I’m going to be there, there’s no point in not going.’ So that’s how I ended up going.”
McBride was happy with Moody’s progression this weekend in his first preseason event. Moody went 1-for-3, and McBride even elected to roll with him in Saturday’s Bonus Round against Apper’s Mind Freak.
Moody lasted 6.1 seconds against Mind Freak to help Nashville (1-1 in Tryon) finish second in the Bonus Round and second overall in the event. The Bonus Round helps break ties in the event standings.
“He did pretty good,” McBride said. “That was a big test for him in the Bonus Round deal there, and he was bearing down. He didn’t shrink away from it. That was really good. Just one little mistake – he stretched him out and popped his rope out of his hand. But he did pretty good. I liked how he adjusted going back the other direction (against Bolo). He didn’t just sit there and ride a direction. He actually rode the bull for what he was doing, and that’s where it’s all got to start.”
The Stampede concluded the preseason 2-2 and fifth in the standings, which will be completely wiped out and reset once the regular season begins on July 25-26 in Cheyenne, Wyoming (LIVE on CBS Sports Network).
“It’s always a building stone from where you’re at today, so you’ve got to keep going and just have fun with where you’re at, but be able to build from where you’re at, too,” Moody said.
This weekend was just the beginning of an important week for the Stampede as McBride continues the team’s preparation for the inaugural 2022 PBR Team Series regular season, including Nashville hosting Stampede Days on Aug. 19-21.
Not only are four of Nashville’s riders competing in Cowtown Sunday, but the team begins its training camp on Tuesday in Texas.
2018 World Champion Kaique Pacheco is returning from Brazil to attend camp, and it will be the first time the majority of the Stampede trains together as a unit. Manoelito de Souza is not expected to attend camp because of visa issues.
“It’s going to be a bit of an eye-opener for some of them because those boys (Novais, Salgado and Lucas) have been working hard. Really, really hard, already in our program,” McBride said. “I like the way that they’ve all been willing to work. Some of these guys coming Tuesday are going to be shocked when they get there, and it’s going to be a little different environment than what they’re accustomed to, which is fine.
“I’m ready to get the boys in there and get to work.”
Moody admitted he is a little nervous about the camp and is expecting to get his butt kicked.
“Probably going to die,” Moody said with a chuckle. “Luckily, I’ve been sitting on a tractor in 100-degree weather with humidity in South Dakota, just like Texas, so we might be alright.”
Follow Justin Felisko on Twitter @jfelisko
Photo courtesy of Andre Silva/Bull Stock Media