Even though Friday marked the rookie’s first event appearance in more than two months, Hudson Bolton sat No. 2 on the weekend leaderboard after advancing to a perfect 2-for-2 Saturday night in Albuquerque, New Mexico as he continued to put his recently recharged batteries to good use.
Nobody enjoys watching the party from afar. But the New York Mavericks standout recognized that some of the built-up suspense and tension accrued during his time away from the sport may have provided him a bit of an adrenaline boost.
Having last competed in Chicago back in mid-January, he’s missed quite the action-packed season.
But understands the 2025 campaign is FAR from over.
“Honestly, I’ve been sitting on the couch watching these guys and it was eating me alive, so it’s good to be back,” Bolton shared.
“These guys are at the top of the sport, top of the league. To be here with everyone – That’s just what everybody wants. To be here with them is one thing, now I have to keep up with them.”
Returning to competition in the fast lane courtesy of a quality 86.5-pointer aboard Hunter, Bolton had something to build on following his opening out.
Between the intense stair climbs, rank pens of bulls and the overall intimate vibe The Pit presents, we’ve seen plenty of cowboys, this weekend included, storm into the New Mexico University storming grounds only to be met with a couple horns or a less-than-8-second effort.
That wasn’t the case for the 19-year-old on Saturday night, however.
Well the climb in and out still applied.
Thankfully, he’s got some fresh legs under him.
“I was more out of breath climbing up those stairs than I was riding that bull,” he added with a laugh.
“It’s different than any other PBR I’ve been to. The crowd is right on top of you here and you can feel it. The crowd gets super loud in here and just makes it different.
Crediting a ton of physical therapy and working out in general, Hudson spent some of his downtime recovering while trying to improve his overall strength and conditioning.
Getting the injury bug after a blazing hot 9-for-14 stretch earlier this year couldn’t have put more of a damper on the kid’s spicy start. Able to stay positive and remain reflective of the situation, he looks back at the stretch as a reminder of what can be. Not what once was.
“For sure. That just lets me know I’m very capable of competing,” Bolton said of his early-season stint while refusing to look too far back or down the road.
“I definitely want to qualify for my first PBR World Finals and I’d like a shot at winning the PBR World Finals event itself. Maybe make a late push and try to win the PBR Rookie of the Year.”
And for as great as Anderson de Oliveira has been leading this year’s 2025 PBR Rookie of the Year race, it’s the New York Mavericks stud that’s applying some late-season pressure since returning from injury.
Oliveira went 0-for-2 to start his weekend, so Bolton has a chance to start eliminating some more of the now 260.33 UTB points separating him from reclaiming a spot atop the first-year perch.
We’re not sure exactly when “beginner’s luck” wears off for a first-year competitor these days.
Knowing the tour’s last two World Champions were respective rookies in Rafael Jose de Brito (2023) and Cassio Dias (2024), sometimes the youthful or fresh element can go a long way for some of the circuit’s newcomers.
However, it’s clear a stroke of “returner’s luck” may have played into Bolton’s exciting return to the chutes, as he kept his favorable run going via his second conversion of the weekend.
Scored an improved 87.5 points this time around, he exited his dance with The Kraken en route to becoming just one of four men to begin the showcase in flawless fashion.
For as competitive of a vibe the premier series locker room can provide a mere six weeks out from the 2025 PBR World Finals: Unleash The Beast, we couldn’t count the number of guys who came up to fist-bump or high-five the trending talent following his second conversion.
Whether they wanted to sap some of the kid’s electric aura or were plain out happy to see him thriving during his first event back, it was clear the boys were gravitating around his successful return.
Set to dance with Irish Car Bomb during the final out of Sunday’s third round, can the kid keep it going while he looks to complete what would be one HELL of a run at the Rookie of the Year honors?
