PUEBLO, Colo. – The best is certainly yet to come, but the 2022 PBR Team Series has already provided lifetime memories for PBR cowboys, PBR Teams, and its ever-growing fan base.
While the greatest memory of all – a 2022 PBR Team Series Championship – is yet to be decided in Las Vegas, there are still plenty of jaw-dropping moments to look back on as the PBR gears up for the 2022 PBR Team Series Championship on Nov. 4-6 in Las Vegas.
In preparation for the postseason, PBR.com takes a look back at some memorable rides from the regular season.
Jose Vitor Leme rides Ninja Cowboy for 88 points (Gambler Days)
Jose Vitor Leme went 19-for-25 to win the $50,000 PBR Team Series MVP title, but one of his best MVP moments came during his team’s homestand at the Moody Center. The two-time World Champion christened the state-of-the-art home of the Austin Gamblers by riding Ninja Cowboy for 88 points to deliver Austin a walk-off victory over in-state rival Texas.
The ride on CBS national television sent the Moody Center into pandemonium, and riding in front of a raucous crowd was something coach Michael Gaffney and Leme wanted the team to learn how to handle.
“Well, it’s mindset. It is your focus,” Leme said. “All of that matters. If you are not able to control your mentality, you won’t be able to do your job. Our team is learning that, and I am trying to help the young guys control their emotions too. Do your job. It is working.”
Daniel Keeping rides Willis for 88.75 points (Thunder Days)
The Texas Rattlers’ season began to turn around when they signed Daniel Keeping via free agency at the end of August. Coach Cody Lambert’s faith in the unknown talent started to show dividends in Ridgedale, Missouri, when Keeping posted back-to-back walk-off rides for his Rattlers squad.
Keeping’s last ride, 88.75 points on Willis, not only helped the team defeat Nashville, 88.75-86.75, but it also clinched Texas the first of three consecutive event wins.
“No, I’m not a hero. Just another guy on the team who likes riding bulls,” Keeping said in Missouri. “We’re all heroes at the end of the day. I wouldn’t call (our winning streak) so much luck – I would call it a blessing. Some days, it might have to take one of the guys. Some days, it may have to take the entire team. These are the circumstances, and there are little things that we have to work on, but it’s nothing we can’t overcome, and we’ll get it under control.”
Keeping was spot on, and Texas enters Las Vegas riding a PBR-record 10-game winning streak.
Derek Kolbaba rides Lone Survivor for 89.25 points (Freedom Fest)
Not one. Not two. How about three walk-off rides for Derek Kolbaba at Freedom Fest?
Kolbaba was a man on a mission, and he nearly singlehandedly helped the Oklahoma Freedom become the first team to win its respective homestand with three monster game-winning rides.
The 26-year-old clinched the Freedom Fest victory for Oklahoma by riding Lone Survivor for 89.25 points to help Oklahoma defeat the Carolina Cowboys 180.5-176.5.
“It was really cool,” Kolbaba said in OKC. “It’s one of those things that’s just trickling down. The pressure just starts building a little bit, and those are the kinds of moments you want to put yourself in just to see what you’re made of. It was definitely a special feeling, just to step off and know that you just rode a great bull with the game on the line, and all your buddies are right there trying to build you up as well. It was pretty special, for sure.”
Daylon Swearingen rides Jailhouse Cat for 87.75 points (Cowboy Days)
Jerome Davis was almost in tears in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, after Daylon Swearingen nearly brought the house down with his walk-off, 87.75-point ride on Jailhouse Cat.
The Carolina faithful erupted as Swearingen helped propel the Carolina Cowboys to a 256.5-169.5 victory over Arizona in a battle between the top two teams in the league at the time.
Davis has watched Swearingen evolve from a kid practicing at his ranch in Archdale, North Carolina, to winning a PBR World Championship this year and now becoming the face of the Carolina Cowboys.
Moments like this were why Davis had Carolina Cowboys General Manager Austin Dillon work so hard to acquire Swearingen in a draft-night blockbuster trade with Texas back in May.
“We call on Daylon a lot,” Davis said. “A whole lot, and we’re excited. It was a God thing that we even ended up with Daylon. With us having the seventh pick, and we still get the World Champ? I mean, how does that work? Daylon has been our guy. He’s a young guy who’s really got the grit and the want-to, and that’s what this team is built around. That’s what I like about our team. You just don’t see them quit.”
Silvano Alves rides Yatesy Down Under for 85.25 points (Stampede Days)
Three-time World Champion Silvano Alves made quite the first impression for the Nashville Stampede after signing as a free agent a few weeks into the season.
Alves helped Nashville become the first team to win a game in front of its home crowd with a walk-off ride of 85.25 points as the Stampede defeated Texas 85.25-0 during one of the loudest moments of the regular season at Bridgestone Arena.
“Everybody put the pressure on me and my back, and it was so loud,” Alves said. “This reminded me of riding in Brazil at Barretos. All week, there have been people in the street here. Everybody has been loud. Everybody is having fun. It looked like a great time, and they were welcoming their hometown Nashville Stampede.
“I am so happy to help defend our city and get a win. Thank the Lord for another fortunate moment. I trust myself.”
Cody Jesus rides Drago for 87.75 points (Ridge Rider Days)
All year long, every team was searching for a perfect game. Texas was finally able to be the proud team to accomplish the feat at the final event of the regular season.
Jesus helped the Rattlers become the first team to go 5-for-5 during a PBR Teams game when he rode Drago for 87.75 points to punctuate Texas’s 431-256 victory over the Arizona Ridge Riders in Glendale, Arizona.
Not only was the 5-for-5 showing historic, but the victory over Arizona would be the difference-maker in Texas earning a first-round bye for the PBR Team Series Championship.
“It was huge,” Jesus said. “Once I seen the first one get rolling, and then the second one, and the third one, and then finally the fourth one, then it was me. And I just believed in myself, and I figured Lambert wanted me as a top draft pick for a reason. I wasn’t going to blow it and have us go 4-for-5, so I just stepped up to the plate and tried to do the best I could.
“That’s what we’re shooting for. If we go 3-for-5 and we win a game, that’s cool, but every time we crawl down in the bucking chutes, we want 5-for-5. So I felt like the job wasn’t done yet, so we had to go 5-for-5.”
Chase Outlaw rides Woopaa for 94.5 points (Freedom Fest)
The highest-scored ride of the regular season came from Chase Outlaw when he teamed up with 2021 World Champion Bull Woopaa for a career-high 94.5 points in the Bonus Round.
Kaique Pacheco rides Money for 86.75 points (Ridge Rider Days)
The most historical ride of the season so far may have been 2018 World Champion Kaique Pacheco’s 86.75 points on Money, as it marked the 300th ride of his career on the premier series.
Pacheco is one of only 21 men in PBR history to reach the prestigious plateau. The ride also helped Nashville defeat the Kansas City Outlaws 172-168.
“I’m really happy to reach that number,” Pacheco said. “That’s really hard, to reach that number on that kind of bulls. That’s why we are here. That’s what we’re working for, to ride the bulls.
“That’s really important for me, for the team to win, and for my career, this is a good moment. I’m pretty happy.”
Follow Justin Felisko on Twitter @jfelisko
Photo courtesy of Andy Watson/Bull Stock Media
