PUEBLO, Colo. – The inaugural PBR Team Series organizations have been established. Coaching staffs have been installed. And, at the PBR Team Series Draft, presented by ZipRecruiter, riders have been selected and rosters filled out.

Now, all that remains is … well, everything.

“After the draft, it was like the fun was over,” said Carolina Cowboys Head Coach Jerome Davis. “We’ve got to get to work.”

The third episode of PBR Team Series: Getting the Job Done, presented by ZipRecruiter, brings fans behind the chutes as coaches evaluated the riders they selected, chose their starting lineups and competed for the first time. The latest installment from the series airs on RidePass on Pluto TV, with episode three set to debut on Sept. 15 at 8:30 p.m. ET.

Despite drafting five riders, filling additional spots through the supplemental draft and free agency, teams were certainly not set on their starting five.

“You’re always seeking out to have the best roster, and that was the goal,” said Austin Gamblers Head Coach Michael Gaffney. “All of them, quite frankly, are looking for a spot on the active roster of the seven or five that’ll go into Cheyenne, plus our two alternates. So, it’s a job that still has to be attained.

“To win a job and to make yourself be one of those Austin Gambler roster individuals means you’ve got to go out there and ride for 10 seconds. We’re not going for 8 seconds because when you’re down, you’re shooting for that finite mark. I don’t want it to be that, and every night I remind them of that. Just keep charging.”

Teams assembled for training camps across the country, and team dynamics began to take shape.

“We’ve got some veterans on the team,” said Oklahoma Freedom Head Coach Cord McCoy. “We’ve got some top guys for the last several years, consistently. And then we’ve got a handful of young bucks that – I mean, I think they’re firing and going and up-and-coming bull riding stars. So, we’ve got quite a combination on the Oklahoma Freedom.”

As groups gelled, younger riders with less PBR experience got to mix with veterans and World Champions. In an environment unique to the PBR Team Series, they will get to lean on and rely on each other as they chase the same goal.

“The biggest thing for me, coming into the locker room, when I was 18, 19 years old – I had guys like Douglas Duncan to look up to, J.B. Mauney,” said 2016 World Champion and Carolina Cowboy Cooper Davis. “And those guys filled the role that I’m trying to fill right now, and that was step up and kind of make them feel at home, and teach them that it’s not so much different than what they’re used to. These guys have the talent to do it. It’s just getting it out of them, and that’s what I want. I want the best for the team. I want the best out of them. If we all pull together as a team, we all win.”

One of the draws of the PBR Team Series has been the mentorship inherent with coach/athlete relationships. Bull riding has traditionally been an individual sport, with riders responsible for finding their own schools, practice pens and coaching, should they want to seek it out. Now, riders are in an environment with coaches always on hand.

“I’ve had plenty of people growing up where I’m from, Utah, mentor me, for sure, but nobody really on a PBR level,” said Briggs Madsen of the Freedom. “So, it’s been really cool to have Cord McCoy and Kody Lostroh, my two coaches, to kind of help bring me into this side of the sport, where before I was just rodeoing, and I think that’s going to make all the difference. I think it’ll fast-track some of us younger guys to help us reach our higher potential quicker.”

As the teams completed their preseason slate of games, there was nothing but potential ahead of all of them. They headed to Cheyenne, Wyoming, for the first regular-season event with everything to prove.

“Now it’s that reality check. It’s bull riding time,” McCoy said. “The bulls, they don’t care what your name is. They don’t care what you’ve won before, what your background is. Now you’ve got to ride the bull.”

Photo courtesy of Josh Homer/Bull Stock Media