What to Watch For: Brady Fielder primed for productive 2025 UTB debut
Can the efficient Australian win his first world title after finishing No. 2 overall in PBR Teams?
By James Youness
FORT WORTH, Texas – For most bull riders, the only thing that comes before their love for the sport is God and family.
Which is why it’s important for guys to take advantage of the season breaks by resting up and relaxing with those they love most.
For a good portion of cowboys who call somewhere in Texas, Oklahoma or the greater south/southwest home, some of that TLC can be soaked up between event weekends. Hell, that goes for guys who live anywhere in the continental United States, for the most part.
The circuit and all of its glory can be quite the grind, so those few days between showdowns go a long way in keeping the guys grounded and reminded why they’re out there giving their all.
The same can’t be said for some of the sport’s international athletes, however.
And while some of those athletes have been able to bring their families to the U.S. and call our beautiful country “home” for a good part of the year, if not permanently, several of our friends from Brazil, Australia and beyond are limited to making the most of the few weeks between the conclusion of the 5-on-5 summer series and the fall’s Unleash The Beast campaign.
Thankfully, riders who have qualified for the premier series are allotted a handful of exemptions at the start of the season in order to better sort some offseason affairs and catch up with their respective communities.
Afforded some flexibility and knowing he’s been able to produce the type of riding that will catch him up quite quickly, Australian sensation Brady Fielder missed the first two events of the season as he spent some time in his homeland.
But after some farewell hugs and one hell of a flight back stateside, the budding talent is back and ready to ride.
Set to make his 2025 debut Saturday night in St. Louis, Missouri, during a head-to-head showdown against Mahan, the lanky cowboy now looks to pick up right where he left his summer series slate: absolutely ON FIRE.
It’s always fun making history. It’s even more thrilling when it’s a first-time feat and proves you were amongst the most consistent riders on tour. Scratch that — THE most consistent rider on tour.
Going 24-for-34 throughout the regular season, his 70.59 ride percentage was nearly four points better than the tour’s next-best competitor, with Sandro Batista of the Kansas City Outlaws finishing the season ranked No. 2 in efficiency among riders who attempted at least 20 outs with a quality 66.67% (22-for-33 on the year).
Known for accepting some unideal scores, albeit finishing the sometimes questionable outs, during his 2024 campaign, both in the 5-on-5 landscape and within his career-best No. 8 UTB finish, Fielder was keen to keeping scores rather than seeing his bull count climb and climb.
His most recent trip around the camaraderie-driven circuit?
He averaged an 87.9-point score throughout his 24 conversions, as he put his re-ride-ridden stretch in the rearview en route to taking the next step in becoming a title contender.
Eventually finishing the 2024 PBR Camping World Team Series season ranked No. 2 in the MVP race, trailing only 19-year-old John Crimber of the Florida Freedom, Fielder will now set his sights on the same man as he looks to chase down the youngster who sits atop this year’s premier series standings with 182 points to his name. Knowing a pair of in-state rivals from the Austin Gamblers sit just behind Crimber in Dalton Kasel and Jose Vitor Leme means he’ll need to grind his way through the greater pack before bumping elbows with the current top dawgs.
But after seeing Leme go 0-for-2 in Tucson, Arizona, before drumming up his epic 3-for-3 event-winning effort during Week 2’s showcase in Ontario, California, we know tour veterans very much understand how to identify a lead and tear it to shreds.
Exactly what Fielder will look to do as he gets back up to speed following his elongated season-swapping session of rest and recovery.
Having helped capture the 2023 PBR Teams Championship with his Texas Rattlers means he understands what it means to celebrate a big win in the state of Texas.
However, securing a 2025 PBR World Championship, which would include fruitful stops in Cowtown Coliseum and AT&T Stadium, would be the tastiest cake topper in the game, should Fielder be able to pull of what would be one hell of a run.
We’ve seen several different Brazilians win it all over the years.
Surely it’s about time an Aussie gets the job done, right?
Fielder’s quest to do just that begins Saturday night as the premier series pack prepares to invade Enterprise Center during one of the tour’s longest tenured events, the PBR St. Louis Presented by Michelob ULTRA.
Fans can catch all of this weekend’s midwestern-based action beginning on Saturday, Dec. 7 at 7:45 p.m. CT and concluding on Championship Sunday, Dec. 8 at 1:45 p.m. CT.
All of this season’s Unleash The Beast out are set to continuing airing via RidePass on Pluto TV, PBR’s YouTube channel, PBR’s mobile app and PBR’s app on connected TVs, including Apple TV, Fire TV, Roku and Google TV.
