(Photo by Nancy Delander Beecher)
JACKSONVILLE – With a raucous Sunday afternoon crowd watching on, Austin Richardson (Dallas, Texas) rode lights out, going a perfect 3-for-3 inside VyStar Veterans Memorial Arena in Jacksonville, Florida, winning the elite PBR (Professional Bull Riders) Unleash The Beast’s Michelob ULTRA PBR Jacksonville to vault to No. 7 in the race for the 2025 World Championship.
The 44 competing riders in Jacksonville delivered a performance those in attendance won’t soon forget, with eight going 3-for-3, and eight riders registering a score in the championship round, including three 90-point rides. On the weekend, they rode at a torrid 54-for-96 pace, covering 56.25% of the event’s bovine athletes.
Richardson made his way to the Sunshine State ranked No. 16 in the world. In Round 1 he covered Dangerous Medicine (Hart Cattle Company) for 86.25 points, the eleventh-best score on a sold-out Saturday night.
In Round 2 on Sunday, Richardson, who rides for the Nashville Stampede in the separate PBR Teams league, climbed to third on the leaderboard when he dominated Hunting Trip (Universal Pro Rodeo/Rachel & Dustin Powell/Delmas/Williams) for 87.5 points.
Richardson used his early pick in the championship round bull draft to architect a showdown with Eyes On Me (Blake Sharp/Hanks), who he outlasted for a monstrous, and event-best, 91.5 points. The conversion marked the fourth lead change in the championship round, this one enough to clinch the win.
With the golden finish, Richardson earned $45,616.67 in addition to a crucial 132 Unleash The Beast points. He surged from No. 16 to No. 7 in the world, propelled within 269 points of No. 1 Brady Fielder (Clermont, Queensland, Australia).
Fielder maintained his position atop the race for this season’s gold buckle and $1 million bonus courtesy of a third-place result.
The Texas Rattler punched his ticket to the championship round compliments of an 87-point ride on Jail Bird (McCoy Rodeo/Rockin’ Rafter P Ranches) from Round 1 and an 86.75-point effort aboard Rafter P Construction’s Smooth Over It (McCoy Rodeo/Rockin’ Rafter P Ranches) in Round 2.
The affable Australian’s World Championship-contending form was then on full display as he conquered Big Chili (Blake Sharp/Bull Mamas/UB Bucking Co.) for a monstrous 90 points.
Fielder left Florida with 73.5 Unleash The Beast points. He now leads the new world No. 2 John Crimber (Decatur, Texas) by 127.5 points.
The Florida Freedom’s Crimber had the full support of the home state crowd in Jacksonville, finishing fifth to earn 58.5 Unleash The Beast points.
Crimber’s flawless outing inside VyStar Veterans Memorial Arena included an 88-point ride on Feeds Red River (Blake Sharp/Huff Bulls) in Round 1, 87.5-point score atop Velvet Revolver (Blake Sharp/Henry Wilson) in Round 2 and 86-point trip atop Gene’s Best (D&H Cattle Co./Buck Cattle Co.) in the championship round.
The 2024 PBR Teams MVP rose from No. 3 to No. 2 in the standings as he chases his first World Championship this May in Texas.
Returning to the top of the event leaderboard, 2018 PBR World Champion and Austin Gamblers standout Kaique Pacheco (Itatiba, Brazil) was second.
Pacheco began the Michelob ULTRA PBR Jacksonville with a bang, winning Round 1 with a commanding 90.5-point ride on Mike’s Motive (Blake Sharp/High Voltage/Wetzel/Knott). He then remained atop the leaderboard entering the championship round after going the distance on Dark Thoughts (Blake Sharp/Henry Wilson) for 88 points in Round 2.
While Pacheco converted in the final round, making the requisite 8 on Ricky Vaughn (WinRock/D&H Cattle/Buck Cattle), his 86-point score on a day that was not the bull’s best was not enough to overtake Richardson.
Pacheco garnered 108 Unleash The Beast points, climbing from No. 20 to No. 8 in the standings. He’s now within 304 points of No. 1 Fielder.
Rounding out the Top 5 in fourth was the Florida Freedom’s Thiago Salgado (Navirai, Brazil).
Salgado earned 56.5 Unleash The Beast points for his 86-point ride on Bam Bam (McCoy Rodeo/Phil Dahl) in Round 1, 87.25-point score on Designated Survivor (Universal Pro Rodeo/Rachel & Dustin Powell/Delmas/Williams) in Round 2 and 88.5-point ride on Pegasus (McCoy Rodeo/Spencer Neil) in the championship round.
He rose from No. 41 to No. 38 in the standings.
In the bull pen, Coal Train (Universal Pro Rodeo/Rachel & Dustin Powell/Delmas/Williams) bucked supreme, crowned the YETI “Built for the Wild” Bull of the Event. Bucking in Round 2, the powerful animal athlete delivered an unrivaled 45.75-point score as he launched Lucas Divino (Nova Crixas, Brazil) in 1.99 seconds.
PBR Unleash The Beast
Michelob ULTRA PBR Jacksonville
VyStar Veterans Memorial Arena – Jacksonville, Florida
Event Leaders (Round 1-Round 2-Round 3-Event Aggregate-Event Points)
1. Austin Richardson, 86.25-87.5-91.5-265.25-132 Points.
2. Kaique Pacheco, 90.5-88-86-264.50-108 Points.
3. Brady Fielder, 87-86.75-90-263.75-73.5 Points.
4. Thiago Salgado, 86-87.25-88.5-261.75-56.5 Points.
5. John Crimber, 88-87.5-86-261.50-58.5 Points.
6. Sage Steele Kimzey, 84.25-84.75-91-260.00-47 Points.
7. Anderson de Oliveira, 82.5-87.25-87.5-257.25-40.5 Points.
8. Sandro Batista, 87.25-82.5-87-256.75-38 Points.
9. Luciano De Castro, 85.75-85.75-0-171.50-20 Points.
10. Paulo Eduardo Rossetto, 83.25-87.5-0-170.75-24 Points.
11. Ethan Winckler, 87.5-82.25-0-169.75-13.5 Points.
12. Dener Barbosa, 84-85.5-0-169.50-16 Points.
13. Alan de Souza, 83.75-82.25-0-166.00-16 Points.
14. Elizmar Jeremias, 90.25-0-0-90.25-19 Points.
15. Dalton Kasel, 89.5-0-0-89.50-17 Points.
16. Keyshawn Whitehorse, 0-89.25-0-89.25-28 Points.
17. Manoelito de Souza Junior, 0-88.5-0-88.50-18 Points.
18. João Ricardo Vieira, 88.25-0-0-88.25-16 Points.
19. Felipe Furlan, 0-88-0-88.00-16.5 Points.
20. Dawson Branton, 87.75-0-0-87.75-14 Points.
21. Mauricio Gulla Moreira, 87.5-0-0-87.50-12.5 Points.
22. Kaiden Loud, 0-86.75-0-86.75-9.5 Points.
23. Adriano Salgado, 0-86-0-86.00-8 Points.
24. Cort McFadden, 85.75-0-0-85.75-8 Points.
(tie). Leonardo Castro, 0-85.75-0-85.75-8 Points.
26. Eduardo Aparecido, 0-85.5-0-85.50-8 Points.
27. Lucas Divino, 84.75-0-0-84.75-8 Points.
28. Julio Cesar Marques, 0-84-0-84.00-8 Points.
(tie). Claudio Montanha Jr., 84-0-0-84.00-8 Points.
(tie). Alex Cerqueira, 84-0-0-84.00-8 Points.
31. Grayson Cole, 83-0-0-83.00
32. Leandro Zampollo, 82.25-0-0-82.25-8 Points.
33. Yan Victor Cunha, 75.75-0-0-75.75
