Part 2: Who is the best bull rider in PBR history? Current riders weigh in
With 30 years of rank action, is there a crystal clear answer?
PUEBLO, Colo. – As PBR continues to celebrate 30 years of bull riding adventures, fans, riders and even tour executives, new and old, constantly find themselves asking:
Who really IS the best bull rider in PBR history?
While any one cowboy’s answer likely depends on what year they were born and who was the hottest at the time, there are a few names that can’t help but be mentioned throughout three decades of work.
RELATED: Who is the best bull rider in PBR history? Current riders weigh in
The craziest part about history, of course, is that it’s constantly being written.
With the elite talents of guys like Jose Vitor Leme, Kaique Pacheco and company continuing to carve out their respective legacies in real time, perhaps the record books, and answer to the ever-evolving question, will again draw different results in just a few years’ time.
Thanks to a little help from our friends at Pendleton Whisky, the legendary installment has officially began rolling out the PBR’s Top 30 bull riders and bovines and will continue to showcase the sport’s biggest stars throughout the duration of the organization’s 30th anniversary campaign.
PBR Top 30 Bull Riders - Episode 3: #15 to #11
Follow along each week as we count down the best bull riders and bovines in history like JB Mauney, Little Yellow Jacket, Jose Vitor Leme, Bushwacker and more with the PBR Top 30 presented by Pendleton Whisky
As the topic continues to generate some steam heading into this summer’s 5-on-5 PBR Teams action, read on to see what some of today’s top riders thought when asked: Who is the best bull rider in PBR history?
Daniel Keeping: “I’m not going to lie, Kody Lostroh, I used to watch him a lot when I was younger. And Pistol Robinson, I watched him a lot.”
Keyshawn Whitehorse: “That’s a really tough one, but I have to go with my mentor, Robson Palermo. He’s always been there for me. He’s ridden Smackdown a couple of times, but I remember the first time he rode him and it was crazy. I used to love to see those two go at it. I kind of got to know him around that time, and that’s when I was kind of hanging out at his house, but Robson riding Smackdown will always stick out in my mind.”
Boudreaux Campbell: “I’ve got a Top 2: I like Jim Sharp and Sage Kimzey.”
Eli Vastbinder: “Jerome Davis (is the best bull rider of all time), but I grew up with Daylon Swearingen. He’s a few years younger than me, so I was always a little bit older than him, but I grew up watching him riding calves and steer and stuff. Since we’ve both been on the PBR, we’ve become really good friends, and to watch him win the World Finals last year, that doesn’t hurt his odds of becoming the best rider some day.”
Brady Oleson: “J.B. Mauney has got to be in there. Then I would go with Jose (Vitor Leme) and Kaique (Paheco) for a Top 3, but I used to like to watch J.B. go against Bushwacker all the time. That was some pretty good watching.”
TOP RIDES from J.B. Mauney
Daylon Swearingen: “I would probably go with J.B. Mauney.”
Bob Mitchell: “The guy I looked up to the most when I was younger was probably Cooper Davis. Watching Cooper ride TLW’s Big Cat back in the day … I mean, nobody got along with him, and then Cooper went out and rode him, hipped himself twice, rode him for like 91 and stepped off on his feet. That was pretty cool.”
Cooper Davis rides TWL’s Big Cat for 91.75 points
Cooper Davis rides TWL’s Big Cat for 91.75 points in the 15/15 Bucking Battle of the 2017 PBR Built Ford Tough Series in Austin, TX.
Mason Taylor: “Justin McBride is my favorite rider. Seeing him ride Chicken on A Chain, can’t beat it.”
Marcelo Procopio Pereira: “There are a lot of good bull riders, American, Brazilian, but my favorite is Adriano Moraes because he was one of the first (Brazilian) guys to come to America and has opened the door for all of us Brazilians to come here and ride. He’s inspired me so much because he came to America without any translation, without any GPS, without anything. He came and he rode and he’s now known for where all of us Brazilians come from.”
Wyatt Rogers: “My favorite rider growing up was Chris Shivers and Ryan Dirteater has always been a true idol of mine because he lives so close to me. I’ve followed his career since the time he was calf and steer-riding to the PBR ranks, and then to finally make it to the PBR with him was just a dream come true.”
Photo courtesy of Leo Loera/Bull Stock Media