PUEBLO, Colo. – When 2024 Pendleton Whisky Velocity Tour (PWVT) Champion Grayson Cole punched his inaugural ticket to the PBR World Finals at age 21, he knew what he was “signing up for” by accepting the invite.
Which is quite different than knowing what you’re “getting into” per se, ever-evident as the youngster went a combined 0-for-4 atop the grandest stage in the industry as he went head-to-head with the rankest bulls in the business.
Fast-forward three seasons.
Now 24, he’s somehow only attempted two more bulls at the Unleash The Beast level since his less-than-ideal World Finals debut, officially 0-for-6 since 2021 after bucking off during both of his opportunities in Manchester, New Hampshire, earlier this year.
Refining his skillset and building up some confidence as he continues to impress within a variety of circuits, he’s been on a tear here lately as he attempted to grind his way back to not only the top tour itself, but its campaign-culminating showcase.
And what better confidence-builder than ending the season atop the Velocity Global standings?!
“If definitely felt good. I kind of took a little bit of a butt-whooping in the short round but I wouldn’t have wanted to win it any other way,” Cole shared.
“I’m kind of just a nitty-gritty, all grit and try kind of deal.”
Entering the final showdown of the season just 17.5 Velocity Global points behind then tour-leader Ederson Santos, he understood what needed to happen should the whole thing work out in his favor. But with the 36-year-old rookie eventually doctoring out of the remainder of the contest following his Round 1 attempt, where he further banged up the knee, Cole suddenly needed a little bit less to get himself to the top of the race.
Knowing he needed to make some noise last weekend in Corpus Christi, Texas, Cole ensured he went out with a BANG, courtesy of his highest-scored ride of the season.
Despite struggling during his Friday night matchup, eventually tossed to the dirt, he returned to American Bank Center Arena Saturday knowing his goal was still in sight.
Logging the highest-scored ride of the entire event and the third-best of his young career, he matched Pearl Snap’s every move en route to earning a rank 89.25-point score, the highest of his 2024 campaign.
“The first night I had a really good bull drawn and I was super excited; definitely should’ve rode him,” Cole said.
“But it was just one of those humbling experiences that God kind of knew I wasn’t putting all of my trust into him and he kind of showed me like ‘Hey, I got you.’”
Hoping to parlay his success into the event’s short go while finishing the job strong, in grit-forward fashion, he eventually endured a pair of bruising matchups as his bull count continued to climb.
Unable to keep it rolling, he struggled against both Not Yet and Game Over on his way to finishing the competition ninth overall. Thankfully, via his round win, he netted a much-needed 58 Velocity Globally points, enough to launch him to the top of the tour’s overall standings.
“In the short round, the first one kind of stalled and it was all kind of weird. Then he came out and jerked me down, wrecked me out. I got on the re-ride and the same thing kind of happened, but I don’t mind selling some tickets for next year,” he said with a laugh.
“The body is feeling good. I’m a little sore in the shoulder, but that’s nothing new.”
Specifically, less than a week away from Unleash The Beast’s endgame gauntlet, a majority of riders tend to minimize the number of practice bulls, let alone competition bovines, they endure during the postseason ramp-up, as availability is the most important ability in this sport.
Thankfully for Cole, he embraces the overtime. Especially when it … naturally, leads to more bulls here come Thursday within the Fort Worth Stockyards.
“I usually do a lot better when I get on a lot of bulls. I like getting on bulls and I like getting on as many as I can,” he shared.
“The last time I added up all of the bulls that I’ve been on this year, I was just over 100 bulls, and that was a week ago when I added it all up.”
After attempting a combined five dances throughout the three-round, season-ending showcase last weekend, that’s one hell of an attitude to sustain. But when bull riders have a way, they usually stick to it. Just what the trending 24-year-old will look to do in Round 1 of Eliminations May 9.
The potential career-altering win in Corpus Christi means a lot.
And, yet, for as big of a deal winning the outright honors of the season-long race are to Cole, he immediately locked in on his next, and final, stop of the journey: the 2024 PBR World Finals: Unleash The Beast.
But among all of the takeaways, the biggest may have been that the favorable finish opened a set of doors for the youngster, as he officially clinched a spot at next weekend’s grand finale.
RELATED: 2024 PBR World Finals: Unleash The Beast field officially set following PWVT Finals
Knowing his new path would lead him into Fort Worth come Wednesday morning, the clock was already ticking. Eventually leaving Corpus Christi night-of and later settling in Decatur, Texas, where he plans to stay until midweek, it was all a bit of a whirlwind.
Of course, when the woman who brought him into this world in the first place calls, he knew he’d be wise to answer!
“I got the check and the buckle, packed up my stuff, showered and headed out,” he shared of the quick turnaround.
“My mom called when I was packing up and she was losing it. Growing up, this was always something I wanted to do since … Well, my mom said I was three running around wanting to ride bulls. My family wasn’t a rodeo family or even relatively knew anything about rodeo. The older and older I get, and the more experienced I get with it, the more I realize that this was just a God-given gift: That I was meant to be a professional bull rider and I’ve always wanted to be that.”
After all, there was just a mere five days which separated him from his second-ever opportunity to impress beneath the brightest lights in the building.
The craziest part of this entire late-season roller-coaster ride? The scenario which played out in allowing Cole to position himself to make a run in the first place.
Bringing just a combined 18-for-59 slate into the final contest of the season (which included a 15-for-46 slate in PWVT action and 4-for-16 record in Touring Pro Division events), we wouldn’t describe Cole’s season in totality as “dominant” by any means.
But as the famous saying goes, “It’s not how you start, it’s how you finish.”
“Before that, I wasn’t riding too well. I rode two bulls in Lincoln, but slapped both of them,” he added.
“Wichita, I didn’t even look like the Grayson Cole I knew I was.”
Outside of a middling 84-point strike at the weekly PBR Stockyards Showcase April 25, one week before the PWVT Finals, Cole’s last successful qualified ride dated back to April 6, albeit a mere 81.5-point journey. Not exactly the trend you’d like to see develop during the season’s final month of action.
“I was in Clovis on Wednesday, then I went to Fort Worth on Thursday,” Cole continued.
“Del Rio for an Extreme Bulls event Friday then caught a flight out of San Antonio heading to Grand Forks on Saturday.”
As the man said, he likes to ride bulls.
In what ended up being quite the crucial event for Cole, his opportunity in Grand Forks April 27 not only provided some much-needed momentum heading into the PWVT Finals, but some much-needed points in closing the gap between he and then tour-leader Ederson Santos.
By the time Saturday rolled around, Cole knew his odds of making up some ground significantly increased with a successful double-entry. Willing himself to make the most of his opportunity, he turned in a pair of Top 3 finishes, claiming both first and third-place honors during his weekend of catch-up. All while earning a combined 179 Velocity Global points.
“That helped me. I think I was sitting third or maybe second, but Ederson had a pretty big gap on us, so double-entering in Grand Forks definitely helped me get all of those points to get a bit closer and make the climb … not easier, but more achievable,” he said.
“I’ve done it (double-entered) a couple of times throughout the season. This year, it hasn’t really worked out as well as year’s past for me, but it did that weekend.”
Being that insane string of outs concluded just five days before the talent makes his second-ever appearance on the World Finals stage, he was wise to take Sunday off in soaking it all in while resting up his body. But when Monday dawned, it was back to the gym, one of the avenues Cole has used over the past few years in bringing his game to the next level.
“I’ve got more bulls under me and I’ve found God again. I’ve kept my priorities more straight, so I’ve got back into the gym working out and cut about 10 pounds off,” Cole shared.
“Cutting the weight has really helped and I’ve just been conditioning my body to be able to handle getting on as many bulls that I want to get on and whenever I want to get on. Finding God really helped me a lot with the whole mental side of it and I just keep reminding myself to put all of my trust in him.”
Set to compete in Thursday night’s first overall out, there won’t be much time for the New Ringgold, Pennsylvania, native to work up some butterflies. Just like his descent from American Bank Arena Center Saturday night, he’s preparing for another quick turnaround!
“I’m super excited. I definitely didn’t have the showing I wanted to during my first World Finals, so I’m excited to get some redemption and hopefully do a lot better this year,” Cole added.
“In the past year and a half, I’ve really broken down and studied some riders … Cooper Davis, Michael Lane … I’ve watched a bunch of videos of other guys riding bulls, watching their styles, and I pick guys that are close to my style to study. How they break it down and how they understand it more.”
While a glance at the past could very much help the Missouri Thunder cowboy ride his way into some additional glory, he’ll need to focus on blocking out the bright lights and all of the hoopla that goes hand in hand with this week’s finale.
After all, he’s done the hard part in beating the odds to receive an invite.
Now he just has to show up and soak it all in!
“I just always try to have fun with it. I do way better when I don’t think about it at all,” he concluded.
“My mind isn’t always a great helper for me. I tend to overthink things and most of the time I just need to leave it in God’s hands and trust his process.
With just one 90-pointer to his name, Cole happened to log his career-best strike in the very city which is set to welcome the 45 top-ranked bull riders May 9-19 …
… So if there’s a talent with an outside chance of finding himself ranked in the Top 15 despite sitting outside the Top 40 right now, we’d put his name in the hat!
Photos courtesy of Andre Silva/Bull Stock Media
