FORT COLLINS, Colo. – Just before Cross Canadian Ragweed took the stage and had Canvas Stadium rockin’ on the opening night of the two-day CSU (Colorado State University) PBR (Professional Bull Riders) Last Cowboy Standing, Daylon Swearingen (Piffard, New York) had the crowd at full volume as he won Round 1.
Swearingen, the 2022 PBR World Champion, who rides for the Carolina Cowboys during the separate PBR Teams league, was paired with Last Call as the first rider of the night. Earning a less-than-ideal 71.75-point score he elected to take the re-ride offered by judges.
Reaching 8 seconds aboard Smooth Violation, Swearingen flashed a big smile as his 87.5-point score was announced pushing him to the very top of the leaderboard.
The round win awarded the New York cowboy 38 Challenger Global points.
Seventeen cowboys out of a field of 35 recorded qualified rides in Round 1, guaranteeing the group of athletes among the best bull riders in the world a spot in Tuesday’s Round 2.
Twenty bull riders from Monday’s Round 1 will return to Canvas Stadium on Tuesday, July 22, for Round 2 of the CSU PBR Last Cowboy Standing. With a minimum of 20 riders required to advance to Round 2, the remaining three draw spots will be determined by buck-off time and Unleash The Beast standings as of July 21 heading into the event in Fort Collins.
The Top 8 riders in the aggregate following the second round will then advance to Round 3. Round 4 will then consist of the Top 4 riders in the aggregate based on the previous three rounds.
Round 5 will feature every rider who posted qualified rides in Round 4. A minimum of two riders will compete in Round 5. If only one rider covers in Round 4, the PBR will draw back one rider based on aggregate scores following the completion of Round 4.
In a winner-take-all format, the rider with the highest score in Round 5 will win the title of Last Cowboy Standing.
Not far behind Swearingen in the hunt for a buckle at the inaugural event in Fort Collins was Lucas Martins Costa (Frutal, Brazil) and New York Mavericks athlete Leonardo Castro (Cassilandia, Brazil) in a tie for second place.
Matched with Rowdy, Costa launched from the chutes in perfect form as the Colorado crowd cheered.
Castro, who finished the 2025 Unleash The Beast season among the Top 20, was paired with Tchoupitoulas.
Their matching 86.5-point ride scores earned the duo 25 Challenger-Global points each and a ticket to Round 2.
Texas Rattlers man Brady Fielder (Clermont, Queensland, Australia) and Arizona Ridge Riders captain Eduardo Aparecido (Gouvelandia, Brazil) tied for fourth place with matching 85.75-point rides in Round 1.
Early in the night Aparecido was matched with Diablo. Despite a little trouble in the chutes with the rowdy bovine, the veteran rider was able to reset and seal the deal.
Fielder who finished the 2025 Unleash The Beast at No. 3 in the world after a contentious race for his first world title, confidently rode Holdin My Own as the penultimate rider of the night.
The duo earned 19.5 Challenger Global points and were guaranteed a spot in the second round.
The CSU PBR Last Cowboy Standing continues on Tuesday, July 22, at 7:30 p.m. MT. Following the on-the-dirt bull riding action and championship round, Jon Pardi will bring the ‘Best of the West’ event to a celebratory close.
CSU PBR Last Cowboy Standing
Fort Collins, Colorado – Canvas Stadium
Top 25 Advancing to Round 2
1. Daylon Swearingen, 87.5-0-0-0-0-87.50-38 Points.
2. Lucas Martins Costa, 86.5-0-0-0-0-86.50-25 Points.
(tie). Leonardo Castro, 86.5-0-0-0-0-86.50-25 Points.
4. Brady Fielder, 85.75-0-0-0-0-85.75-19.5 Points.
(tie). Eduardo Aparecido, 85.75-0-0-0-0-85.75-19.5 Points.
6. Thiago Salgado, 85.25-0-0-0-0-85.25-16.5 Points.
(tie). Cort McFadden, 85.25-0-0-0-0-85.25-16.5 Points.
8. Daniel Feitosa, 85-0-0-0-0-85.00-13.5 Points.
(tie). Anderson de Oliveira, 85-0-0-0-0-85.00-13.5 Points.
10. João Ricardo Vieira, 84.5-0-0-0-0-84.50-11 Points.
11. Alan de Souza, 84.25-0-0-0-0-84.25-10 Points.
12. Sandro Batista, 83.5-0-0-0-0-83.50-9 Points.
13. Elizmar Jeremias, 83.25-0-0-0-0-83.25-8 Points.
14. Jeferson Silva, 83-0-0-0-0-83.00-8 Points.
15. Clay Guiton, 80.25-0-0-0-0-80.25-8 Points.
16. Paulo Eduardo Rossetto, 78.25-0-0-0-0-78.25-7 Points.
17. Maverick Smith, 77.25-0-0-0-0-77.25
Julio Cesar Marques, 0-0-0-0-0-0.00
Daniel Keeping, 0-0-0-0-0-0.00
Andy Guzman, 0-0-0-0-0-0.00
Vinicius Pinheiro Correa, 0-0-0-0-0-0.00
Eli Vastbinder, 0-0-0-0-0-0.00
Braidy Randolph, 0-0-0-0-0-0.00
Alex Junior da Silva, 0-0-0-0-0-0.00
Michael Lane, 0-0-0-0-0-0.00
Andrew Alvidrez, 0-0-0-0-0-0.00
Felipe Furlan, 0-0-0-0-0-0.00
Ezekiel Mitchell, 0-0-0-0-0-0.00
Claudio Montanha Jr., 0-0-0-0-0-0.00
Luciano De Castro, 0-0-0-0-0-0.00
Bruno Carvalho, 0-0-0-0-0-0.00
John Crimber, 0-0-0-0-0-0.00
Dawson Branton, 0-0-0-0-0-0.00
Cole Melancon, 0-0-0-0-0-0.00
Ramon de Lima, 0-0-0-0-0-0.00
Photo courtesy of Bull Stock Media