PUEBLO, Colo. – At the inaugural PBR Teams Championship in Las Vegas last November, the Arizona Ridge Riders finished second, going 3-1 and falling just one bull short of taking home the world’s largest gold buckle.

An incredible accomplishment, to be sure, but their regular season left a little to be desired. At 14-13-1, their record left them in fifth place heading into Vegas, though just 1.5 games behind the first-place Austin Gamblers.

The Ridge Riders began the season with a 1-1, fourth-place showing in Cheyenne, Wyoming, before winning their only event of the season in Kansas City, Missouri, going 3-0 with a commanding eight rides in 15 total outs.

The Ridge Riders went 3-0 again in Austin, finishing second overall, and 2-1 for a fourth-place finish in Nashville.

Those were, however, the only times Arizona would place in the top half of the standings. They finished fifth in Oklahoma City (1-1-1), sixth in Fort Worth, Texas (1-2), seventh in Ridgedale, Missouri (1-2) and Glendale, Arizona (1-2), and eighth in Anaheim (0-2) and Winston-Salem (1-2).

It was a solid, if unspectacular, regular season.

So who are the real Arizona Ridge Riders?

We’ll find out in 2023, as the team will feature five returning riders from last year’s squad.

Returning Ridge Riders: Luciano de Castro, Eduardo Aparecido, Chase Dougherty, Vitor Losnake, Keyshawn Whitehorse

New Ridge Riders: Colten Fritzlan, Jeff Askey, Jesse Petri, Nick Tetz, Guilherme Valleiras, Davi Henrique de Lima, Levi Gray

“We feel like as much or more than any other team, we have the best team energy,” general manager Casey Lane shared with Fanchon Stinger on an episode of PBR Now! “In terms of camaraderie, in terms of what our leadership group looks like, in terms of guys knowing and understanding their roles. We want to build on that.”

“You definitely feel the emotion,” team manager Colby Yates added. “It’s very strong. This is a group of guys that we put together, who, in any other season previously, wouldn’t have hung out as friends or do much together, but their open-mindedness to this whole team atmosphere was a big part of coming together like they did.

“We have a very strong talk before they go out, (technical coach) Paulo (Crimber) and I do, and then Luciano (de Castro) leads us in prayer – and it is a very, very strong prayer – to get everyone together as a group before we got out there and that played a huge role in a lot of our success.”

Castro was the Ridge Riders’ top performer last season, going 18-for-35 (51%) and finishing fourth in the MVP race. He ended the season with a 91.25-point ride on Chateau Montelena’s Montana Jacket in the championship game in Las Vegas, even though the Nashville Stampede had already clinched the victory.

“We had the option to stop it right there, be done before Luciano rode, but that was no way to leave the team in a season that they did such a great job on,” Yates said. “To be able to finish it that strong was important. 

“At the end of the day, there are places we can improve, and that’s where we need to look. We don’t need to focus on the faults.”

The Ridge Riders were the only team with three riders in the Top 10 in the MVP race, and two of them are returning this season – Eduardo Aparecido finished eighth thanks to his 16-for-25 (64%) season. He chipped in Arizona’s only other ride in the championship game, riding Pickle Moonshine for 91.5 points.

With Castro and Aparecido, the Ridge Riders have a formidable 1-2 punch. They finished the 2023 Unleash The Beast season ranked No. 19 and No. 11, respectively.

Vitor Losnake was a breakout star for Arizona last season, going 7-for-18 (38%) in his first elite-level experience in the PBR. He struggled on the Unleash The Beast this season, competing in eight events and going 4-for-21 (19%), but he will be an important piece for the Ridge Riders again this season. Keyshawn Whitehorse, meanwhile, went just 5-for-18 (27%) last season and is capable of far better. If the Ridge Riders can get even his 2023 UTB riding percentage of 32% out of him, that could translate to more wins.

Of the returnees, Chase Dougherty is the biggest question mark. He competed in just one event for Arizona last year due to injury, going 0-for-3. He then competed in just 13 UTB events in 2023, going 9-for-36 (25%), but finished the season strong, with one event win and two other Top-10 finishes in the last four events of the regular season. When healthy, Dougherty can compete with the best of them, and he’s looked good of late.

Colten Fritzlan, meanwhile, was a big get for Arizona, who traded its 2023 first-round draft pick to the Missouri Thunder in return. He went 5-for-20 (25%) for the Thunder last season but finished the 2023 UTB season ranked No. 18.

The Ridge Riders also have impressive depth on their reserve roster, including reigning PBR Canada Champion Nick Tetz and Jesse Petri. Tetz made his UTB debut last season and is currently ranked No. 1 in Canada, while Petri went just 1-for-7 for the Thunder last year but finished the UTB season ranked No. 12, placing fifth at the PBR World Finals, winning one event and notching three other Top-5 finishes. There’s also Guilherme Valleiras, who won the second event of his UTB career.

While it remains to be seen what production the Ridge Riders get out of their roster, one thing is certain: they’re loaded with proven performers, and the potential to make a championship run is there.

The Ridge Riders kick off the 2023 season at Cheyenne Frontier Days on July 24-25 in Cheyenne, Wyoming, against the Oklahoma Freedom and Carolina Cowboys.

They host PBR Ridge Rider Days on Sept. 29-Oct. 1 at Desert Diamond Arena in Glendale, Arizona, facing off against the Stampede, Thunder and Freedom.

Photo courtesy of Todd Brewer/Bull Stock Media