HOUSTON, Texas – Seeing the talented pack of Unleash The Beast riders put on a legendary short round performance in Tulsa, Oklahoma, last weekend, complimented by several spicy opening round and encouraging qualified ride counts, Friday night’s bovine-dominated outcome was quite the refresher for stock contractors throughout the industry.
Allowing just 10 total conversions during the opening outs inside Toyota Center, the bull power was once again on display. Yet, with five different bulls tying for the Round 1 honors (Kodiac, Hard Candy, Trophy Hunter, Tchoupitoulas, The Judge), courtesy of matching 43.75-point bull scores, there’s plenty of room for the boys to get back into the ride column when the action reignites in Round 2.
With the Texas Rattlers’ Cody Jesus and the Missouri Thunder’s Felipe Furlan tying to split the opening round win, via their identical 88.5-point scores, they’ll each have a leg up on the competition on Champion Saturday.
Whether you’re chasing down some late-night sodas or enjoying with an early cup of joe, PBR.com is taking a brief look at some of Friday night’s biggest takeaways during Round 1 of the Kubota PBR Houston Presented by Michelob ULTRA.
Red-on-Red: Storming into PBR competition just a few weeks ago after enjoying quite the fiery start to his PBR career (which included picking up a career-first win during his inaugural Pendleton Whisky Velocity Tour appearance and a quality fourth-place showing at PBR Bullmania, a Touring Pro Division event which concluded on New Year’s Eve), 18-year-old Clay Guiton is now making waves on Unleash The Beast.
Turning in a welcomed fifth-place finish last weekend in Tulsa, highlighted by a pair of 90-point efforts, the first of which also represented his first premier series conversion, the youngster was just getting warmed up. Evident as ever on Friday night, as he extended his ride streak while getting on the board inside Toyota Center.
“Three in a row feels great. I just have to keep it rolling and keep doing my job. That’s what I’m supposed to do,” Guiton shared moments after his qualified ride.
“Last week, it was a little relief, because if I didn’t ride, I was cut. Now, I feel like I’m supposed to be here and that’s what I’m supposed to do every time I’m on. Stay on.”
Scored a quality 86.5 points for his red-on-red showdown with Washita Red, it represented the Cherryville, North Carolina, native’s first opening-round conversion.
“It’s nice to get the weekend off to a better start. I’ve got a little more confidence going into Saturday. I’m feeling good, just have to keep knocking them down when I’m up to bat,” he offered.
“It gives you all of the confidence in the world, you know? I rode a couple of the best bulls in the world last weekend. There’s no feeling better than that, when you’re a rookie and can show everybody else. You know that you can do it, but when you show everybody else you can do it, it’s a good feeling.”
Slated to dance with Trophy Hunter in Round 2, Guiton will look to remain one of the hottest riders on tour en route to advancing his ride streak to four.
Re-Ride Revenge: Second chances don’t come around too often, but when they do, you’d be wise to get it right! With four riders accepting re-ride opportunities throughout Friday night’s opening round, the pack turned in just a 1-for-4 effort aboard backup bovines, with 2018 World Champion Kaique Pacheco the lone cowboy to convert in Section 15.
Championing his Round 1 opponent, Renegade, for 86.75 points, the revered Brazilian finished off his eighth conversion on the season, improving to 8-for-14 (57.14%) on the season and netting 16.5 UTB points for his third-place tie with rookie Marco Rizzo (who survived the requisite 8 during his premier series debut).
Now ranked No. 11 in Unleash The Beast World Championship standings, Pacheco has recorded at least one qualified ride in four of his five events attended as the pro continues to round into full-time shape since returning from injuries sustained during the end of the 2023 UTB season and later re-aggravated during the PBR Teams season this past summer.
Awaiting a date with Smooth Steel during the final out of Round 2’s slate, Pacheco hopes to improve to 2-for-2 on the weekend en route to punching a ticket to what would be his third short-round appearance of the season.
Riding with Rizz(o): Speaking of Rizzo, he joins Guiton as one of the tour’s most electrifying up-and-coming talents, ever evident Friday night during his career-first out on Unleash The Beast!
Climbing his way up the ranks in similar fashion to Guiton, Cort McFadden and several of the industry’s promising phenoms, Rizzo may look like he’s enjoying his time on the big stage …
… but he’s 100% about his business.
Finishing as the runner-up to Guiton in Lexington on Jan. 5, he went on to capture the Velocity tour’s event title in Charleston, West Virginia, the following weekend before finishing the trio of events with another third-place showing in Grand Rapids Jan. 19.
Just like that, he found himself inside a locker room full of the best bull riders in the world Friday night.
And after going the distance atop Wall Street Train for 86.75 points, thus tying Pacheco to round out yet another podium finish, Rizzo should be on the radar of both bull riding fans and PBR Teams coaches as the premier series rages on!
Skills to Pay the Bills: By now, it’s common knowledge that Eli Vastbinder is the father to three lovely children and the lucky husband to his caring wife. Since returning to action after welcoming a newborn baby boy, he’s reminding fans that he’s got the skills to pay the bills.
Going head-to-head with Ninja Cowboy just 13 days after the animal athlete forced the veteran into an early exit, Vastbinder bared down and went to work.
“I actually got on that bull two weeks ago and he bucked me off because he went back the other way and I wasn’t ready. So, that direction change got me,” Vastbinder admitted.
“And when you get that old, you learn how to not do the same thing,” an eavesdropping Dalton Kasel added with a smile and some sarcasm as he passed by.
“Being on him before, I knew that there was a good chance he could come back left, so I just kind of hung out over there kind of waiting for it. He did it and we got it done,” Vastbinder continued.
“I’m my own worst enemy, so anytime I try to put a lot of thinking into any of them (bulls), it never works, out. Every once in a while, they’ll kick you in the butt. Sometimes they’ll go back the other direction and you’re not ready for it. For me, the less I think, the better I am. If I just let my body do what it’s supposed to, I’m better off.”
Scored 85 points for his ninth qualified ride of the season, now 9-for-19 (47.37%), Vastbinder will look to improve his record to a perfect 2-for-2 Saturday during his showdown against Dana White’s Twisted Steel, who’s been front and center in the spotlight as of late after being challenged by Cowboy Cerrone earlier this month inside Madison Square Garden!
Photo courtesy of Andy Watson/Bull Stock Media