CHEYENNE, Wyo. – As the inaugural season for the groundbreaking PBR (Professional Bull Riders) Team Series got underway Monday evening in Cheyenne, Wyoming, the world’s best bull riders made history at the iconic Cheyenne Frontier Days Rodeo, squaring off in the first of four games for the new sports league.
The evening was highlighted by a slugfest between the Nashville Stampede and Carolina Cowboys. In a game where 70% of the outs ended in qualified rides, veteran rider Ryan Dirteater delivered the game-winning score, emerging from retirement to give the Stampede its first regular-season victory.
The Missouri Thunder earned their position in the league’s record books, registering the first game win in the PBR Team Series, edging the Ariat Texas Rattlers by one ride score. The final game of the evening between the Arizona Ridge Riders and Austin Gamblers was also decided by one score, with the Ridge Riders collecting the victory to bring the evening to a climactic end.
Also making history, the contest between the Oklahoma Freedom and the Kansas City Outlaws ended in the league’s first tie, as neither five-rider roster was able to log a qualified ride.
The PBR Teams Series: Cheyenne event continues Tuesday, July 26 at 7:45 p.m. MDT.
CBS Sports Network will televise all the action from the second day of action for the PBR Team Series season debut in Cheyenne, Wyoming, LIVE, with coverage beginning at 10 p.m. ET on Tuesday, July 26. CBS Sports will also air a one-hour highlight show from the season-launch PBR Team Series event on Sunday, July 31, at 1 p.m. ET.
PBR RidePass on Pluto TV will offer replays of all the PBR Team Series action from Cheyenne, Wyoming. Check https://pluto.tv/en/live-tv/pbr-ridepass for the latest programming schedule.
Nashville Stampede: 337.75
Carolina Cowboys: 257.25
In the first shootout of the new PBR Team Series, the Nashville Stampede out-rode the Carolina Cowboys by one qualified ride to register the team’s first win in the new league, 337.75-257.25. In a dramatic ride-for-ride showdown, the riders of the Stampede and Cowboys covered 70% of the game’s bulls. The Stampede (4-for-5) boasted an 80% riding average, while the Cowboys (3-for-5) concluded the game with a 60% conversion rate.
Joao Henrique Lucas (Bastos, Brazil) and reigning PBR World Champion Daylon Swearingen (Piffard, New York) registered scores for the Stampede and Cowboys, respectively, to set the tone early in the ferocious showdown. The Carolina Cowboys emerged the early leader, pulling 5.25 points ahead as Swearingen was marked a game-best 88 points atop WSM’s Nasty Wishes (WSM Auctioneers/Clay Struve/Dakota Rodeo/Chad Berger), while Lucas scored just 82.75 points aboard Blunt Force Trauma (Hadley Cattle Co.). Stampede first-round draft pick Kaique Pacheco (Itatiba, Brazil) came down short of the 8 on High Country Hitman (High Country Solutions/JR Phillips), but he was awarded a crucial re-ride after the bull fouled himself.
The Cowboys briefly extended their lead to 93 points over the Stampede following an 87.75-point ride by Boudreaux Campbell (Crockett, Texas) on The Undertaker (Cornwell Bucking Bulls/Riley Bucking Bulls/PCP Bucking Bulls). Free agent Fernando Henrique Novais (Pereira Barreto, Brazil) was next up for the Stampede, delivering an 85-point effort aboard Experiment 626 (Classic Jack Cattle/Viducic Bucking Bulls). Novais’s score, coupled with Mason Taylor’s (Maypearl, Texas) ever-close 6.37-second buckoff aboard Slim Shady (Hadley Cattle Co.), allowed the Stampede to close within 8 points of the lead, as the scoreboard read 175.75-167.75 ahead of Pacheco’s re-ride. The 2018 PBR World Champion then converted when his team needed it most, giving the Music City contingent a 78.5-point lead when he covered Mr. Winston (Dakota Rodeo/Mark Baker/Clay Struve/Chad Berger) for 86.5 points.
The lead, however, was short-lived. After Thiago Salgado (Navirai, Brazil) failed to convert for the Stampede, PBR newcomer Wingson da Silva (Navirai, Brazil) put the Cowboys back atop the game leaderboard by three points, 257.25-254.25, when he reached the whistle on Juju (Tommy Julian/D&H Cattle) for 81.5 points. With one rider left to compete for each team, the game came down to veteran riders Ryan Dirteater (Hulbert, Oklahoma) and Ramon de Lima (Rio Branco Acre, Brazil). In a must-ride situation, Dirteater, who emerged from retirement to compete in the groundbreaking PBR Team Series, delivered the clutch score of the evening, putting the Stampede a bull ahead with his 83.5-point ride on Twisted Feather (Blake Sharp/Michael Floyd/Cain Kobert). As Lima climbed into the chutes, the Carolina Cowboys needed a score above 80.5 points to win the game. Lima, however, was unable to rise to the occasion, bucked off by Falcon Eddie (Lari Crane/Gene Owen) in a quick 1.73 seconds.
When the PBR Team Series continues in Cheyenne, Wyoming, the Stampede will look to earn their second win when they face the Missouri Thunder, and the Carolina Cowboys will attempt to rebound against the Arizona Ridge Riders.
“It feels good,” said Nashville Stampede Head Coach Justin McBride. “That’s what everybody wanted to do is win their game. We got a lot of work to do. This is obviously the start, and it’s a long way to the finish, so we’ve got a lot of improvement to work on. From the time we set on him in the chute ’til the time the whistle blows, we’re going to keep working every day at it.”
“I’m just happy to be here,” Nashville Stampede rider Ryan Dirteater added. “I’m on a great team, the Nashville Stampede. We got Justin McBride as a coach, and the team owners are here also. We did our job, and that’s what we’re here to do – ride our bulls. We’ll see how it unfolds at the end.”