PUEBLO, Colo. – With 2023 fast approaching – and the 2023 Unleash The Beast season already well underway – we’re not quite ready to move on from 2022 just yet. It’s been an incredible year full of rank rides, thrilling victories and the beginning of a whole new era in bull riding.

Before bidding adieu to 2022, take a look back at the 11 highest-scoring rides of the year – all 93 points or higher – and tune in for one last premier series event this year with the PBR Albany Invitational kicking off on Thursday (7:45 p.m. ET, RidePass on Pluto TV).

1. Jose Vitor Leme rides Ridin Solo for 94.75 points

Two World Champions teamed up for the highest-scored ride of the Unleash The Beast season. Back in February, during the 15/15 Bucking Battle in Oklahoma City, 2020 and 2021 World Champion Jose Vitor Leme squared off against 2022 YETI World Champion Bull Ridin Solo. The two had been matched up once before, in August of 2021, as Leme bulldozed the field en route to his second world title, but Ridin Solo emerged as the dominant athlete in that meeting. This time, however, Leme walked away with 94.75 points and the bucking battle win, while Ridin Solo went on to win the world title.

T2. Chase Outlaw rides Woopaa for 94.5 points

In its inaugural season, the PBR Team Series was no stranger to rank rides. The best of the best came at Freedom Fest in Oklahoma City, and it came from one of their own. The Oklahoma Freedom’s Chase Outlaw was the team’s emotional leader, and after the event win was already secured, he nabbed 2021 YETI World Champion Bull Woopaa in the bonus round. With two athletes known for creating fireworks, they were almost guaranteed, and the two stunned for a 94.5-point ride.

T2. Austin Richardson rides Woopaa for 94.5 points

It wouldn’t be a list of highest-scoring rides without at least a few appearances by Woopaa! Back in April in Tulsa, Oklahoma, Austin Richardson nabbed the highest-scoring ride of his career thus far when he took the bovine to the whistle for 94.5 points in Round 1. Woopaa had the two highest bull scores of that event – 46.25 points with Richardson and 46 points in a 7.2-second buckoff of Dalton Kasel in the championship round.

T4. Joao Ricardo Vieira rides Woopaa for 94.25 points

One more for Woopaa, this time with perennial world title contender Joao Ricardo Vieira. He finished the Unleash The Beast season ranked No. 3 in the world, and his highest-scoring ride of the season came aboard Woopaa in Albuquerque, New Mexico, in March. The two teamed up for a 94.25-point ride in the championship round, giving Vieira one of his three event wins.

T4. Mauricio Moreira rides WSM’s Jive Turkey for 94.25 points

Mauricio Moreira went a disappointing 2-for-7 at the 2022 PBR World Finals, finishing in 16th place. But the first of his two rides was by far the best of his PBR career. Moreira teamed up with WSM’s Jive Turkey for 94.25 points, winning the most competitive round of the event as one of seven riders to score 90 points or higher.

6. Jose Vitor Leme rides I’m Legit Too for 94 points

While it was a down year by Leme’s standards – he finished No. 5 in the world standings with seven 90-point rides and two event wins – he still cranked out some of the highest-scoring rides of the year. One of those event wins came in April in Tulsa when he rode I’m Legit Too for 94 points in the championship round.

T7. Manoelito de Souza Jr. rides Blue Duck for 93.5 points 

In Billings, Montana, in April, Manoelito de Souza Jr. earned his first win of any kind on the premier series, taking the victory at the 15/15 Bucking Battle. His achievement came thanks to his matchup against Blue Duck – the two teamed up for 93.5 points, edging out two other 90-point scores for the special-round win.

T7. Daniel Keeping rides Flapjack for 93.5 points

Daniel Keeping was one of the most unexpected stars of the PBR Team Series in its inaugural season, dominating for the Texas Rattlers and turning in three 90-point rides. The highest of those scores came at the PBR Team Series Championship in Las Vegas with everything on the line. The Rattlers had lost their first game, relegating them to the Last Chance Game, where only the winner would advance. Taking on the No. 1 Austin Gamblers and No. 4 Carolina Cowboys, the No. 2 Rattlers were the only team to put two scores on the board. One was courtesy of Keeping, who rode Flapjack for 93.5 points on the sport’s biggest stage.

9. Dalton Kasel rides Manaba for 93.25 points

Dalton Kasel was part of one of the season's biggest trades when the former face of the Kansas City Outlaws was sent to the Austin Gamblers for their championship push. He was an immediate impact player for the Gamblers, though they ultimately fell short of their goal. His highest-scoring ride of the season came for the Gamblers at Rattler Days in Fort Worth, Texas, when he rode Manaba for 93.25 points to win the bonus round.

T10. Daylon Swearingen rides I’m Legit Too for 93 points

We round out our highest-scoring rides of the year with a couple from the World Champion. In Albuquerque in March, Daylon Swearingen fell just short of earning the event win, but he did notch two 90-point rides to finish second overall. His second 90-point ride came aboard I’m Legit Too for 93 points and stood as his highest score of the season.

T10. Daylon Swearingen rides Big Black for 93 points

Swearingen didn’t fall short of anything at the 2022 PBR World Finals, going a stunning 6-for-8 to win the event title and World Championship. His best ride of the event was his first, coming in Round 2 when he rode Big Black for 93 points to put the world on notice. He didn’t buck off again until the world title was his.

Photo courtesy of Andy Watson/Bull Stock Media