TUCSON, Ariz. – Marking the start of the 2023 PBR (Professional Bull Riders) Unleash The Beast (UTB) individual competition season, the chutes were on fire as 19 qualified rides were recorded with three cowboys sharing the PBR Monster Energy Invitational Round 1 win at the Tucson Arena. Eleven of the qualified rides were 88 points or better.
In a three-way tie for first place, Brady Oleson (Blackfoot, Idaho), Daniel Keeping (Montague, Texas) and 2016 PBR World Champion Cooper Davis (Jasper, Texas) had the Arizona crowd at full volume as they recorded matching 89.75-point scores.
First up in the trio was Oleson paired with the previously-unridden Hard Candy (Braun Bucking Bulls). Sailing from the chutes as the first ride of the night, the Idaho man matched the athletic bovine jump-for-jump as the buzzer sounded.
On the heels of his standout performance for the Texas Rattlers during the inaugural season of the recently concluded PBR Team Series, which featured riders in 5-on-5 bull riding games, 23-year-old Keeping, a Rattlers’ teammate of Oleson, stood on the back of the chutes Saturday night with his bovine opponent Sky Walker (M Rafter E/ Chad Berger Bucking Bulls) as his only teammate. Having only been ridden once, the animal athlete was no match for Keeping’s budding talent.
The last in the group to lock in an 89.75-point score was former World Champion Davis, who rode for the Carolina Cowboys. Paired with Mikey’s Surprise (Ogden Ranch/ Hart Cattle Co.), as the clock neared 8, the seasoned veteran looked as though he might be tossed by his powerful opponent but hung on to barely make the whistle.
All three riders collected 21 points for the inaugural round victory of the 2023 season and now share the No. 1 spot in the UTB standings.
For video highlights of Round 1 including Oleson, Keeping and Davis’ winning rides, courtesy PBR, click here.
Tucson’s opening night – the first time since 2016 that the world’s premier bull riding organization has visited the city – proved disappointing for reigning PBR World Champion Daylon Swearingen (Piffard, New York). His ride aboard Otis (M Rafter E/ High View Cattle) while qualified, only garnered an 85.75-point score, leaving Swearingen in the No. 14 spot on the leaderboard and No. 12 in the UTB season standings as he heads into Round 2 on Sunday.
In another unprecedented tie, two cowboys claimed second place. Boudreaux Campbell (Crockett, Texas) and Vitor Losnake (Bauru, Brazil) recorded matching 89.50-point scores.
The Brazilian rookie Losnake showcased his talents early in the round. Paired with Muscles (Leffew Bucking Bulls), the 18-year-old young gun matched his opponent with perfect form as his fellow Brazilians athletes erupted on the back of the chutes.
Campbell launched from the chutes shortly after Losnake, determined to secure an 8-second ride. The Texas cowboy paired with Riser (Jenkins Cattle Co.) to round out a spot in the second-place tie.
Both Campbell and Losnake earned 15.5 UTB points as night one in Tucson rolled to a close, and they are currently tied for the No. 4 spot in the UTB standings.
The PBR Unleash The Beast Monster Energy Invitational in Tucson will continue on Sunday, Nov. 27 at 1:45 p.m. MST with Round 2 followed by the championship round to determine the winner of the season-launch event. Championship Sunday will be televised on CBS Sports Network at 4 p.m. EST.
During the 2023 UTB season, the PBR is celebrating its 30th anniversary since 20 cowboys broke away from the traditional rodeo with the belief that bull riding could be a standalone sport. Throughout the seven-month individual season, UTB will hold 24 events, travelling to cities across the country including New York City, Chicago and Los Angeles, culminating in the 2023 PBR World Finals May 12-21 at Dickies Arena in Fort Worth, Texas.
PBR RidePass on PlutoTV will offer re-airs and on-demand replays of every PBR UTB event. PBR RidePass is available on desktops, laptops and mobile devices via www.pluto.tv. Tune to channel 720 for the latest programming schedule.
PBR Unleash The Beast – Monster Energy Invitational
Tucson Arena -Tucson, Arizona
Event Leaders (Round 1-Round 2-Round 3-Event Aggregate-Event Points)
1. Brady Oleson, 89.75-0-0-89.75-21 Points.
(tie). Cooper Davis, 89.75-0-0-89.75-21 Points.
(tie). Daniel Keeping, 89.75-0-0-89.75-21 Points.
4. Boudreaux Campbell, 89.5-0-0-89.50-15.5 Points.
(tie). Vitor Losnake, 89.5-0-0-89.50-15.5 Points.
6. Kaique Pacheco, 88.5-0-0-88.50-12 Points.
(tie). Cody Jesus, 88.5-0-0-88.50-12 Points.
(tie). Eli Vastbinder, 88.5-0-0-88.50-12 Points.
(tie). Chase Outlaw, 88.5-0-0-88.50-12 Points.
(tie). Colten Fritzlan, 88.5-0-0-88.50-12 Points.
11. Thiago Salgado, 88.25-0-0-88.25-9 Points.
12. Keyshawn Whitehorse, 87.75-0-0-87.75-8 Points.
13. Rafael Henrique dos Santos, 86.5-0-0-86.50-8 Points.
14. Daylon Swearingen, 85.75-0-0-85.75-8 Points.
(tie). Mason Taylor, 85.75-0-0-85.75-8 Points.
16. Andrew Alvidrez, 85.5-0-0-85.50-8 Points.
17. Wingson Henrique da Silva, 84.5-0-0-84.50-8 Points.
18. João Henrique Lucas, 84-0-0-84.00-8 Points.
19. Wyatt Rogers, 82.25-0-0-82.25-8 Points.
Mauricio Gulla Moreira, 0-0-0-0.00
Kyler Oliver, 0-0-0-0.00
Eduardo Aparecido, 0-0-0-0.00
Derek Kolbaba, 0-0-0-0.00
Manoelito de Souza Junior, 0-0-0-0.00
Bob Mitchell, 0-0-0-0.00
Dakota Louis, 0-0-0-0.00
Marcelo Procopio Pereira, 0-0-0-0.00
Matt Triplett, 0-0-0-0.00
Ezekiel Mitchell, 0-0-0-0.00
Ednei Caminhas, 0-0-0-0.00
Jesse Petri, 0-0-0-0.00
Koltin Hevalow, 0-0-0-0.00
Casey Roberts, 0-0-0-0.00
Briggs Madsen, 0-0-0-0.00
Marcus Mast, 0-0-0-0.00
Junior Patrik Souza, 0-0-0-0.00
Braidy Randolph, 0-0-0-0.00
Photo courtesy of Andy Watson/Bull Stock Media