PUEBLO, Colo. – The 2023 Unleash The Beast season is less than two weeks away from starting with the Monster Energy Invitational in Tucson, Arizona (Nov. 26-27). And the journey for riders attempting to work toward the 2023 UTB begins this weekend with the PBR Ouncie Mitchell Memorial Pendleton Whisky Velocity Tour event.
The Saturday night bull riding at Cowtown Coliseum in Fort Worth, Texas, (8:30 p.m. ET, RidePass on Pluto TV) will be the capper on a full day of Western sports activities. The slate includes a Bill Pickett Invitational Rodeo event, a Bulls Gone Wild bullfighting competition, and fundraising efforts supporting A’nyla Allen, the 4-year-old daughter of bull rider Ouncie Mitchell, who passed away in September.
The Velocity Tour event is tentatively set to feature a mix of 2023 Unleash The Beast riders, such as Ouncie’s cousin Ezekiel Mitchell, 2022 Rookie of the Year Bob Mitchell, Mauricio Moreira, and Wingson da Silva.
Here is the full list of UTB qualifiers to begin the 2023 season
With that being said, let’s take a look at some younger riders who can get off to a fast start this weekend as they attempt to work their way to the Unleash The Beast.
Austin Richardson
Austin Richardson is one of the biggest names who failed to qualify for the 2023 Unleash The Beast after an extremely surprising 2-for-20 during the PBR Team Series for the Austin Gamblers. Richardson was a shell of his prior self after being the No. 16 pick at the inaugural PBR Team Series Draft in May.
The 22-year-old had a breakout season just six months ago, going 14-for-42 (33.33%) on the 2022 UTB with two event wins and two 90-point rides to finish 11th in the world standings. Some may believe Austin reached with the selection of Richardson so high in the draft, while others will point to his obvious potential. If Richardson can return to his 2022 UTB form, he should quickly work his way back on tour.
Conner Halverson
Conner Halverson was another youngster on the Gamblers, but he mainly stayed on Austin’s practice squad. Halverson is still only 20 years old and has a potentially bright future ahead of him. Halverson has appeared at the last two World Finals, including this past May, where he rode Walking Tall for 89 points in Round 6 as an alternate. Could 2023 be the year Halverson finishes inside the Top 30 for the first time in his young career?
Mason Moody
Two-time South Dakota High School Rodeo Association bull riding champion Mason Moody should be a rider to keep an eye on in 2023 on the Pendleton Whisky Velocity Tour. Moody won the PBR Team Series Championship with the Nashville Stampede as a practice squad rider, and coach Justin McBride and company focused on developing Moody for future years. The 19-year-old went 8-for-30 this summer on the PBR Challenger Series with three Top-5 finishes and will now look to continue his development on the 2023 Velocity Tour.
Ross Freeman
Arizona Ridge Riders team manager Colby Yates and technical coach Paulo Crimber are incredibly high on Ross Freeman. In fact, they hoped Vitor Losnake would qualify for the UTB via the team standings so they could give their team exemption to Freeman. The Ridge Riders believe Freeman, 23, has a bright future and deserves a crack at the UTB.
Like Moody and Halverson, Freeman spent most of the 2022 PBR Team Series as a bench/practice squad rider for Arizona. Freeman went 1-for-6 in limited action while also going 9-for-34 (39.16%) at Challenger Series events.
Now, Freeman will look to use the VT to make his first push at qualifying for the UTB full-time and make his first run at the PBR World Finals.
Dustin Martinez
Dustin Martinez nearly punched his ticket to the 2022 World Finals during the 2022 Pendleton Whisky Velocity Tour Finals when he rode True Religion for 90 points but bucked off his next two bulls. That ride, though, did help Martinez earn a spot on the Kansas City Outlaws practice squad. He spent the Teams season learning under the tutelage of coach J.W. Hart. but was not healthy, as he was dealing with a torn labrum and fractured tibia. If Martinez, 25, can get healthy, it will be interesting to see if he can take the next step in his career.
Follow Justin Felisko on Twitter @jfelisko
Photo courtesy of Todd Brewer/Bull Stock Media