Soft-spoken Fielder lets 73% riding percentage do the talking as he ascends to No. 1 rank
Brady Fielder took over the No. 1 spot in the Unleash The Beast standings with his win in Pittsburgh.
By Darci Miller
PITTSBURGH – In his own way, Brady Fielder stands out in the Unleash The Beast locker room.
A tall Australian in a sea of American and Brazilian riders, his quiet, soft-spoken manner is one-of-a-kind.
So, to be frank, is his bull riding.
After winning the 2024 PBR Camping World Team Series Great 8 award, given to the rider with the highest riding percentage, Fielder is enjoying the best UTB campaign of his career.
He’s 21-for-31 (67%) on the premier series and Pendleton Whisky Velocity Tour in the 2025 season and has ridden his last nine bulls on the premier series and 14 of his last 16.
He’s also ranked No. 1 in the world.
“It’s what I want in my life and in my bull riding, so I’m really happy for it,” Fielder said. “I’m really blessed and thankful for the opportunity and where I’m at with it right now.”
His latest feat was a win at the U.S. Border Patrol PBR Pittsburgh, presented by Ariat – the third event win of his career.
It’s his fifth Top 10 finish in eight UTB events this season and fourth Top 5. He earned the second event win of his career at the PBR Chicago earlier this month.
While it may look easy, Fielder says it’s simply a matter of staying focused.
“It’s just remaining focused on my job at all times and keeping the ball rolling,” Fielder said. “Like I said, staying focused is the biggest thing for me, and just doing my job.”
Taking a step into the upper echelon of world title contenders has meant a new spotlight, more pressure, and special attention, particularly because he’s looking to become the first Australian PBR World Champion since Troy Dunn in 1998.
Fielder may not particularly enjoy talking to cameras and other media obligations, but he’s taking on this new responsibility with laid-back affability – and the perspective of a man who knows what he wants.
“I just take it all as it comes,” Fielder said. “None of it really bothers me because it is what it is in the moment I’m in. I’m going to get the spotlight on me in becoming the best bull rider in the world, and that’s what it’s all about. It’s all part of becoming what I want to be, so it doesn’t really matter. I’m open to it, and it doesn’t affect me because I accept it for what it is.”
Since the 2024 PBR Teams season began in July, Fielder is 43-for-60 (71.67%). He went 26-for-37 for the Texas Rattlers in 2024, earning the inaugural Great 8 award with a 70% riding percentage.
At 17-for-23 (73%) on the 2025 Unleash The Beast, he’s actually maintaining the torrid pace he set last year. The Teams season (11 events total) is much shorter than the Unleash The Beast (24 events total), so the question will be if he can keep it up until the 2025 PBR World Finals in May.
Pittsburgh was the 10th event of the UTB season – combined with the 11 from Teams, that’s about the length of a full UTB season at an above-70% pace.
“I think that’s going to be the biggest thing, is just keeping the ball rolling,” Fielder said. “As long as I’m putting in the work every day and just becoming better in myself – that’s what helps me a lot, I find, is just becoming better every day and moving forward. Just shooting for that, to be No. 1 every day of my life. That’s what it’s going to take.”
Today, he is, in fact, No. 1 in the standings, usurping former No. 1 John Crimber, who’s out for a few weeks with a back injury. Fielder leads Crimber by 71.5 points heading into next weekend’s Wrangler Long Live Cowboys PBR Sacramento, presented by Cooper Tires, on Jan. 31-Feb. 2.
Fielder claimed the top spot thanks to a 3-for-3 performance in Pittsburgh. He first rode Money Moves for 86.5 points in Round 1 and followed that up with 85 points on Chuck in Round 2, entering the championship round in a tie for second place. He selected UTZ BesTex Smokestack to be his opponent and took full advantage to the tune of 90.75 points, his first 90-point ride of the season.
Fielder has also been grinding during the week, competing on the Pendleton Whisky Velocity Tour’s Denver PBR Chute Out at the National Western Stock Show in Denver, Colorado, and Last Cowboy Standing in Fort Worth, Texas, in back-to-back weeks. (He placed sixth and third, respectively.)
“It’s been a lot of bulls lately so I’m feeling pretty good,” he said. “I only get on practice bulls when I think I need to, but as long as I feel good and feel good about it, I don’t really have to worry about it. I ride horses during the week as much as I can and try to take care of my body as much as I can as well, getting on so many bulls. My body’s the main ingredient to what I do, so I have to take care of it.”
The slate of mid-week events has come to an end, and Fielder will head into Sacramento with a little bit of a break.
And he’s certainly not worried about anything that comes with being the No. 1 bull rider in the world.
“All I can be is myself,” Fielder said. “That’s where I don’t really have trouble with it because I’m not being someone I’m not, so I never have a worry in the world.”
