PUEBLO, Colo. – The last few years have been full of inconsistency for Conner Halverson. He made his premier series debut in 2021, but he hasn’t been able to make it stick.
He’s bounced back and forth between the Unleash The Beast and the Pendleton Whisky Velocity Tour, qualifying for two PBR World Finals. He’s competed in both PBR Teams seasons but spent most of the 2023 season competing in Challenger Series events before being picked up by the Carolina Cowboys.
Coming into the 2024 season, Halverson decided something needed to change.
“I’ve always bounced around from the UTB to the Velocities and back and forth,” he said. “Last season, I really got tired of that, so I made a deal with myself this year that I’m going to stay here this year. I’m doing everything I can to do that.
“Just kind of focusing on myself and what I need to do to become better, and just taking everything a little more serious.”
So far, that effort has been paying off.
Halverson is 6-for-13 (46%) in five events this season. He’s recorded at least one ride at all but one event and is currently ranked No. 12 in the Unleash The Beast World Championship standings.
He saved his best performance for the best time – the Monster Energy Buck Off at The Garden, presented by Ariat, in New York City. The PBR Major offered more money and points than a regular event, and Halverson took advantage.
Halverson finished fifth overall – the best premier-series finish of his career – to take home $10,400 – easily his biggest PBR payday – and earn 89.5 points toward the standings, helping him climb to No. 12 from No. 33.
He began the weekend with a Round 1-winning 90-point ride on UTZ BesTex Smokestack – the first 90-point ride of his career.
“It feels good. It’s been a long time coming, so it feels really good,” Halverson said following Round 1. “I knew that bull. I’d seen him around, and I knew that if I stayed on him, there was a good chance that it would be 90. I just nodded my head and just did what I knew how to do, and everything worked out.”
Twenty-four hours later, Halverson rode Wilson for 85.5 points to hold the overall event lead heading into the final day of competition at Madison Square Garden.
“It’s one-of-a-kind. It’s one of the venues we get to come to, and the crowd, they love it, and they packed this place,” Halverson said. “It’s just a different atmosphere.”
Halverson was unfortunately unable to finish the job in New York, bucking off his final two bulls of the weekend, but he created some good momentum for himself heading into this weekend’s Tractor Supply Co. PBR Chicago in Rosemont, Illinois. Action begins with Round 1 on Friday at 8:45 p.m. ET on RidePass on Pluto TV. Halverson will take on Puckered Up.
Despite his strong numbers so far this season, it hasn’t been the easiest ride. Halverson suffered a concussion in Round 2 of the PBR Johnstown in December, forcing him to skip the PBR Manchester the following week. Thanks to the holiday break, he ended up having about three weeks off.
“I just took the weekend off the next weekend and just kind of took it easy, started slowly working out and doing some cardio and stuff,” he said. “Mainly taking it easy and not bobbling my head around too much. Just letting it rest.”
As soon as he got back into the proverbial saddle at the PBR Albany, he recorded a qualified ride in his very first out.
“To me, it comes with the sport,” he said. “That stuff happens, and it was just a minor setback, so I just tried to stay on the positive side of it and come back and not think about it at all. Just show up to the event and focus on staying on my bull.”
Rest hasn’t really been in Halverson’s vocabulary lately. Over the summer and fall, he doubled the number of bulls he was getting on, both in practice and at Challenger Series events. He’s continued working hard this season to refine his technique, not letting his riding arm get too high and not riding too far forward.
But the drive beneath all of it is his newfound resolve to get – and stay – on the premier series.
“Mainly just tired of not being here,” Halverson said. “I feel like I should be here. I know I should be here. Not being here was weighing on me pretty good. So I just tried to dial in my focus and started working really hard at it.”
Photo courtesy of Andy Watson/
