PBR’s Unleash the Beast Tour
The PBR Unleash the Beast tour kicked off the first full weekend of the 2019 PBR season in New York City with the Monster Energy Buck Off at The Garden.
Nathan Burtenshaw (Coonamble, NSW) was the lone Australian competing in the USA this weekend and looked to be fit and healthy heading into the event following a well deserved summer break.
Round 1
In the opening round, more than half of the field recorded a qualified ride. Unfortunately, Burtenshaw was down early courtesy of Zorro (Jane Clark/Gene Owen) who put up the second highest bull score of the round in their 4.35-second dual. The bull simply had too much speed for the 24-year-old as he turned back to the right and put the accelerator down for a 43.25 point bull score
Round 1 was taken out by Cannon Cravens and Jess Lockwood who both put up 88.25 points.
LOCKWOOD AND CRAVENS SPLIT ROUND 1 VICTORY IN NEW YORK
Round 2
Round 2 was another good one for the Cowboys with 19 riders making the whistle. Burtenshaw was one of those riders to get this name onto the leaderboard with 82.25-points aboard Really Western (Curt Check Bucking Bulls) to split 17th place in the round.
I haven’t seen a replay of the ride as it appears as though Burtenshaw’s trip happened during an ad break on the CBS telecast, but if any vision pops up on social media, I’ll be sure to pass it along. The ride put Burtenshaw into 26th and final spot on the leaderboard.
Emilio Resende and Stetson Lawrence tied for the high marked ride of the Round with 87.25 points. Jess Lockwood led the aggregate with 174.75 total following Round 2 with Chase Outlaw second on 171.75 points and Claudio Montanha Jr. in third place on 170.25 points.
2017 WORLD CHAMPION LOCKWOOD LEADS IN NEW YORK CITY AFTER ROUND 2
Round 3
Twelve riders were a perfect 2-for-2 heading into Championship Sunday and a further 14 riders were on the board so it was going to take a solid ride score if Burtenshaw going to make it back for the short round.
The Punisher appeared to bang his hip as they left the chute which resulted in the bull taking an extra hop or two before turning back to the left. It was a rough, jerky ride and it was enough to get Burtenshaw out of position for the 3.80 second buckoff. The Punisher was marked 42.25 points.
Chase Outlaw and Cody Jesus tied for the round win with a pair of 87.25 point rides. Jess Lockwood led the field into the final round with a total of 259.75. Six riders remained perfect across the weekend, and Nathan Burtenshaw finished the weekend in 28th position.
Championship Round
Event Leader Jess Lockwood was cleared to take his place in the Championship Round following a dismount in the final section of Round 3. He was cleared to compete in the Championship Round as he chased his first Premier Tour event win since Sioux Falls in April last season.
Eight qualified rides went into the books during the 15-rider Championship Round, and the result came right down to the wire.
There were multiple lead changes heading into the final five riders with Alisson de Souza and Claudio Montanha Jr. making the whistle to remain 4-for-4 and apply some pressure to the final two competitors.
In the penultimate out of the event, Cochise (Gene Owen/Jane Clark) recorded the high marked out of the event, scoring 44.75 in his 2.52-second demolition job on Chase Outlaw to leave Montanha Jr. in leaders chair with just Lockwood remaining.
On the final ride of the event, Jess Lockwood put up a career-high 91.75 points aboard Prayer Warrior from Halpain and Roth to climb back to the top of the leaderboard in one of the most thrilling final rounds that I can remember seeing.
Credit: @Aaron HalpainThe 21-year-old finished with 351.50 points. Claudio Montanha Jr. was second on 344.25 points with Alisson de Souza just behind on 340.0 points. Cannon Cravens was the best rider 3-for-4 on 264 points with Matt Triplett rounding out the Top 5 on 261.50 points.
Lockwood leaves New York City as the No. 1 bull rider in the world with a 572.5 point lead and $122,000 already in the bank.
View the full Monster Energy Buck Off at The Garden results here
15/15 Bucking Battle
New York also hosted the first 15/15 Bucking Battle of the season and it was Jose Vitor Leme who took home maximum points following his 91.25-point effort aboard Cochise. Jess Lockwood and Cody Teel split second place with 89-point rides.
Short Pop (Wallgren & Hale Bull Co/JOPA) was the high marked bull of the Bucking Battle with 44.75 points posted in his 3.26 seconds work against Luciano De Castro.
LEME WINS 15/15 BUCKING BATTLE WITH FIRST 90-POINT RIDE OF 2019
PBR’s Real Time Pain Relief Velocity Tour
Coming into his debut PBR event fresh off two round wins at the NFR, it was Joe Frost who took home the buckle with a 2-for-2, 173-point night in Oakland, California.
The Utah cowboy opened his event with 85.5 points aboard Bit A Bad News (Rocking Forty-Five Cattle) in the long round. That score had his enter the Championship Round in sixth place behind round winner Justin Granger who put up 89-points on Humpz and Hornz’ Smoke Show.
Frost was one of four riders to make the whistle in the short go, combining with High Razor (Humpz and Hornz/Sis ‘N’ Stan Bucking Bulls) for 87.5 points.
Filling the second step on the podium was Utah’s Kache Moosman with Missouri’s Mason Lowe taking home third money.
FROST WINS OAKLAND CLASSIC IN HIS PBR DEBUT
PBR’s Touring Pro Division
Full Results are not yet through for the Touring Pro doubleheader in Fort Worth, Texas.
Up Next
The PBR’s Unleash the Beast Tour heads to Chicago, Illinois for the Chicago Invitational. I am sure Nathan Burtenshaw will be fired up for a good result and we may see Lachlan Richardson back on deck after he sat New York out with an ankle injury. We will also have Jason Mara competing for a share in $1million at the WCRA Windy City Roundup on Friday.
Looking to the