FORT COLLINS, Colo. – After two nights of intense competition made its debut at Canvas Stadium, Leonardo Castro (Cassilandia, Brazil) went 4-for-5, out-riding Australian phenom Brady Fielder (Clermont, Queensland, Australia) to win the inaugural CSU PBR Last Cowboy Standing “Best of the West’ in Fort Collins, Colorado.
After riding Tchoupitoulas on Monday night to tie for second place in Round 1, Castro sailed into Tuesday night’s Round 2. The 21-year-old, who rides for the New York Mavericks in the separate PBR Teams series, knew that Tuesday night would be more grueling but was up to the task.
As Round 2 began, he was paired with Kill Switch. Flying through the air, his score of 87.5 kept him in the running and pushed him through to Round 3.
Matched with Red Mosquito in the third round of the night, Castro clung to the powerful animal athlete, gritting it out until he reached the 8. His consistent 87.5 score punched his ticket into the fourth round.
As the four-man Round 4 began, Castro fired from the chutes aboard Benjamin Ranklin. To the crowd’s dismay, he hit the ground at 6.83 seconds but still made the cutline for Round 5 based on his previous scores and leaderboard command.
The other man to make it to the final round of the night was none other than Texas Rattlers man Fielder.
Castro was up first in the duo. Paired with Tulsa Time. As fans inside of Canvas Stadium roared, Castro was in complete control. His 88.25-point score held the lead.
Climbing aboard Ugly This it all boiled down to Fielder, but his 87.5-point score was no match, securing the win for Castro.
The lanky Brazilian joins fellow New York Mavericks teammate Leandro Zampollo (Pirassununga, Brazil) as a Last Cowboy Standing Champion. Zampollo earned the title in late January at the PBR’s Last Cowboy Standing at the Fort Worth Stock Show & Rodeo.
In addition to a $133,233.33 check, the win earned Castro 279 Challenger Global points, putting him at No. 14 in the Challenger standings.
The ride-to-survive format of the CSU PBR Last Cowboy Standing welcomed 35 riders on Monday night as the two-night event began. Seventeen cowboys out of a field of 35 recorded qualified rides in Round 1, guaranteeing the group of athletes a spot in Tuesday’s Round 2.
With a minimum of 20 riders required to advance to Round 2, the remaining three draw spots were determined based on time and Unleash The Beast standings.
The Top 8 riders in the aggregate following the second round then advanced to Round 3. Round 4 then consisted of the Top 4 riders in the aggregate based on the previous three rounds.
Round 5 featured every rider who posted qualified rides in Round 4. A minimum of two riders were required to compete in Round 5.
In a winner-take-all format, the rider with the highest score in Round 5 then won the title of Last Cowboy Standing.
With his final round score falling just short, Fielder claimed a second-place finish. In Tuesday night’s opening round the 25-year-old was paired with Barbarosa showcasing his flawless form for 86.25 points.
In Round 3 Fielder came down early off of Iceberg Slim but advanced to Round 4 based on his aggregate score thus far. In Round 4, Fielder gritted out for an 87-point ride aboard Margin of Error.
For his efforts, Fielder earned 199.5 Challenger Global points to sit at No. 1 in the Challenger standings.
After a dedicated effort across the two-day event, Alan de Souza (Tremembe, Brazil), who rides for the Nashville Stampede in the separate PBR Teams series, settled into a third-place finish.
The 31-year-old veteran had the crowd after delivering an exhilarating 88-point ride aboard Coal Train in Round 2. Firing out of the chutes again in Round 3 Souza was again victorious, conquering The Player for a score of 86.5 points.
Making his way into Round 4, Souza was unable to convert aboard Sucker Pop, hitting the ground at 5.02 seconds, which ended his night.
Souza took home 76 Challenger Global points, pushing him to No. 16 in the Challenger standings.
With a fourth-place finish, 2022 PBR World Champion Daylon Swearingen (Piffard, New York) made a splash in Fort Collins by capturing the Round 1 win on Monday night.
The 26-year-old Carolina Cowboys athlete sat at the top of the aggregate as Tuesday night commenced but struggled to convert in Round 2. Making it to Round 3 courtesy of his victory on night one, Swearingen showcased his world champion form sailing through the air aboard Ridin’ Salty to the tune of 85 points.
Despite the Round 3 comeback, Swearingen was unable to convert aboard Big Mac in Round 4, hitting the ground at 3.77 seconds.
Swearingen collected 60 Challenger Global points for his two nights in Colorado.
Kansas City Outlaws’ Sandro Batista (Pedra Preta, Brazil) also rode his way to a fifth-place finish for the event overall.
After an 83.5-point ride aboard Carlos Danger in Round 1 and an equally electric 85.5-point dance with Smooth Violation in Round 2, he faltered in Round 3.
Bested by Mystified after a mere 1.82 seconds, the Brazilian cowboy still picked up 28 Challenger Global points. Batista sits at No. 7 in the Challenger standings.
CSU PBR Last Cowboy Standing
Fort Collins, Colorado – Canvas Stadium
1. Leonardo Castro, 86.5-87.5-87.5-0-88.25-349.75-279 Points.
2. Brady Fielder, 85.75-86.25-0-87-87.5-346.50-199.5 Points.
3. Alan de Souza, 84.25-88-86.5-0-0-258.75-76 Points.
4. Daylon Swearingen, 87.5-0-85-0-0-172.50-60 Points.
5. Sandro Batista, 83.5-85.5-0-0-0-169.00-28 Points.
6. Clay Guiton, 80.25-86.75-0-0-0-167.00-30 Points.
7. Lucas Martins Costa, 86.5-0-0-0-0-86.50-25 Points.
8. Eduardo Aparecido, 85.75-0-0-0-0-85.75-19.5 Points.
9. 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.
11. 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.
13. João Ricardo Vieira, 84.5-0-0-0-0-84.50-11 Points.
14. Elizmar Jeremias, 83.25-0-0-0-0-83.25-8 Points.
15. Jeferson Silva, 83-0-0-0-0-83.00-8 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