Just the four Australian bull riders featured on PBR daysheets over the weekend. Let’s recap how it all went down for the Aussies in the USA.
2020 PBR Unleash The Beast Tour – Oklahoma City, OK.
Coonamble’s Nathan Burtenshaw picked up on of the many alternate spots on the Premier Tour, and he joined Clermont’s Aaron Kleier in bull country.
The Round 1 bull pen featured the first ABBI Classic Round held in conjunction with the UTB Tour for 2020, while the Round 2 pen looked rank, but much more favourable for the riders.
Round 1
Burtenshaw was the first of the duo out on night one, and he went up against Little Hott from TM Cattle Co. and BS Cattle Co. The bull got a slight headstart in the chutes and then turned back to the left as soon as the gate cracked. Burtenshaw got slightly behind and slipped to the outside, and he couldn’t recover. The buck off came at 2.75 seconds with the bull awarded a score of 43.5 points.
Kleier‘s opponent was Tuffy from Flying S Bucking Bulls, and the matchup finished with a 1.78 seconds buck off. The bull left the chutes in a hurry, taking off towards the centre of the arena. After his second leap, he was able to draw the touch from Kleier.
Round 2
Burtenshaw made a great ride aboard Rockin’ T Ranch’s Slice of Heaven in early stages of Section 1. The bull turned back to the right and wound his way across the arena. Burtenshaw stuck it to him all the way to the whistle for 86-points.
Cowboy’s Red River tried to rough Kleier up in the chute, but they cleared the gate with no issues. The JD Nix bucker turned back to the right and away from Kleier’s hand. Kleier had a great seat and handled the late change of direction with ease. The pair combined for 85 points.
Burtenshaw finished the round in sixth place, collecting 5.5 World Points. He would end the long rounds splitting eleventh place.
Kleier collected 4 World Points for his eighth-place finish in the second round, and he would enter the Championship Round splitting thirteenth.
Championship Round
After Gage Gay withdrew from the short-go with a riding hand injury, Kleier would have the thirteenth selection, and he picked Frequent Flyer from D&H Cattle and Erwin Cattle.
Frequent Flyer turns back to the left and put Kleier out of position early. Kleier fought hard to get back in the game from the outside, but the bull kept bringing the forward movement, and the buck off was recorded at 5.48 seconds. The bull score is 42.25 points.
Burtenshaw had the tenth pick, and he took Canadian Mist from TNT Bucking Bulls and Hart Cattle Co.
Canadian Mist left the chutes very strong and turned back to the left as expected with loads of pace as he whipped his back end around with purpose. Burtenshaw couldn’t stick with him, and he slid off the outside at 2.48 seconds. The bull was marked 44.25 points.
Burtenshaw finished the aggregate in twelfth place, and Kleier split fourteenth place. Neither rider earned World Points for their finish.
Jose Vitor Leme made it back to back Premier Series wins after he rode Bullseye from Owens, Wyatt, Smith and Mears for 92-points in the Championship Round. The Brazilian accumulated 266.5 points across the weekend to hold off Ramon de Lima, who also went 3-for-3. Jess Lockwood was the best of the riders with two scores.
2020 PBR Velocity Tour – Knoxville, TN.
Queenslanders Lane Mellers and Lawson Nobbs reunited at the Velocity Tour stop in Tennessee. Mellers spent last weekend competing in Canada, while Nobbs was active on the UTB tour over the past fortnight of competition.
Round 1
Mellers took on Real Talk from Barrett Bucking Stock with the bull earning the win in 3.36 seconds. The bull took a hop or two out to clear the gate and was able to jerks Mellers down on the turn back to the left causing the slap.
Nobbs was out very late in the round aboard Boom Boom from Davis Rodeo Inc. The bull caught plenty of air with a lot of drop as he looked to the right. He went turned around to the left slightly and earned the slap from Nobbs, who avoided going over the front end at 4.70 seconds.
The event win went to Brazil’s Joao Lucas who was one of six riders to finish 2-for-2.
Other Events
The second Velocity Tour event of the weekend was held in Grand Rapids Michigan, and it was Joseph McConnel that emerged with the buckle. The New Mexico cowboy was the only rider to finish 2-for-2 with 168.5 points.
Head to the PBR Results Page for full results from all events.
World Standings Update
We once again have a new World No. 1.
Jose Vitor Leme moved back to the top spot following his win in Oklahoma City. His 425 total points has him 81-points ahead of No. 2 ranked Jess Lockwood.
Joao Ricardo Viera, Kaique Pacheco and Daylon Swearengen complete the Top-5.
Aaron Kleier is the best-placed Australian rider, sitting 18th in the standings on 82 points. He is 343 points behind the No. 1 ranked Leme.
Lachlan Richardson is next best Aussie in 21st place, 352 points adrift of Leme with Nathan Burtenshaw a further 5.83 points back in 23rd place. Troy Wilkinson is the only other Australian inside the Top-35.
Check out the full 2020 PBR World Standings here.
Check back on Wednesday for a full rundown of what is coming up this week in the PBR!