Author: Jordan Johnson

ARLINGTON, Texas – Despite the ice storm that brought Dallas to a halt Saturday, nearly 30,000 fans at AT&T Stadium watched Joao Ricardo Vieira earn his second consecutive Iron Cowboy title during the Professional Bull Riders (PBR) Choctaw Casino Resort Iron Cowboy, powered by Kawasaki Strong, part of the elite Built Ford Tough Series (BFTS).

Vieira went 3-for-3 on the night, being the only rider to cover his bull in the third round. His 88.5-point ride on Crack The Whip (J.A.R.S. Bucking Bulls/Gene Owen) sealed his victory and won him more than $194,000.

As the first of four PBR Majors, Iron Cowboy offered increased prize money with a total purse of $250,000 and increased PBR world points at 1 ½ times.

The 2013 PBR Rookie of the Year earned 900 event points with the win, launching him into the Top 10 of the PBR world standings where he sits at No. 5. With his second Iron Cowboy title, Vieira has earned almost $250,000 inside AT&T Stadium.

North Dakota native Stetson Lawrence earned a second-place finish with a total of 168.8 points. He first earned 93.8 event points with a tie for first place in Round 1 and later earned an additional 75 event points for placing third in Round 2. Lawrence lasted just 2.57 seconds atop Lane’s Magic Train (Jared Allen’s Pro Bull Team) during his final out of the night in Round 3.

Jared Allen’s Pro Bull Team rider Tanner Byrne was the only additional rider to make it to the final round of competition, placing sixth overall in the event with 90 event points from his second-place finish in Round 2. Byrne was bucked off of Boot Jack (Dakota Rodeo/Chad Berger/Jerry Brown) in 1.82 seconds in the final round to end his night.

Jared Allen’s Air Time earned the Salem Nationalease High-marked Bull award in Arlington with a bull score of 46.75 points out of 50 by tossing veteran bull rider Kasey Hayes in 4.21 seconds.

Although Air Time surpassed him, Asteroid (Circle T Ranch & Rodeo) posted the second-highest bull score of the event with 46 points in his last out on the BFTS. The 2012 World Champion Bull, who unseeded the three-time PBR World Champion Bull Bushwacker to earn his title, totaled 49 buckoffs in 53 outs he made during his BFTS career.

CBS Television Network will broadcast the final two rounds of competition on Sunday, March 1, at 1 p.m. ET.

For more information and behind-the-scenes details about the Choctaw Casino Resort Iron Cowboy powered by Kawasaki Strong, read Behind the Chutes by Justin Felisko on www.pbr.com.

The Choctaw Casino Resort Iron Cowboy powered by Kawasaki Strong was the ninth of 27 stops on the 2015 PBR Built Ford Tough Series schedule. The 19-state tour will culminate with the PBR Built Ford Tough World Finals in Las Vegas on Oct. 21-25 when the 2015 PBR World Champion, the bull rider who earns the most PBR world points during the 2015 season, will be crowned and receive the coveted $10,000 World Championship belt buckle and $1 million bonus.

Next on the 2015 BFTS is a stop in California at the Save Mart Center in Fresno on March 7-8 for the Fresno Invitational. The event takes place at 7 p.m. PT on Saturday, March 7 and 2 p.m. PT on Sunday, March 8. It will be televised on CBS Sports Network at 8 p.m. ET on Sunday.

Fans can also watch every ride each weekend live online at PBR.com/live.

The BFTS is televised every week on CBS, CBS Sports Network – the home of the PBR – and networks around the world. BFTS telecasts are produced for the PBR under a multi-year agreement with David Neal Productions, a Los Angeles-based production company led by 34-time Emmy® Award winner and Peabody Award winner David Neal, who serves as executive producer.

Professional Bull Riders – Choctaw Casino Resort Iron Cowboy powered by Kawasaki Strong
Arlington – AT&T Stadium
Event Leaders (Round 1-Round 2-Round 3-Event Aggregate-Event Points)
1. Joao Ricardo Vieira, 85.5-90.5-88.5-264.50-900 Points.
2. Stetson Lawrence, 87.5-85-0-172.50-168.75 Points.
3. L.J. Jenkins, 87.5-87.50-93.75 Points.
(tie). Douglas Duncan, 87.5-87.50-93.75 Points.
(tie). Rubens Barbosa, 87.5-87.50-93.75 Points.
6. Tanner Byrne, 84.25-86.75-0-171-90 Points.
7. J.W. Harris, 86.75-86.75-22.5 Points.
(tie). Nathan Schaper, 86.75-86.75-22.5 Points.
9. Eduardo Aparecido, 86.5-86.50
(tie). Bryan Titman, 86.5-86.50
11. Lachlan Richardson, 86-86
12. Mike Lee, 85.75-85.75
13. Kasey Hayes, 84.75-84.75
14. Silvano Alves, 83.75-83.75
15. Guilherme Marchi, 83-83
16. J.B. Mauney, 81.75-81.75
Matt Triplett, 0-0
Reese Cates, 0-0
Kaique Pacheco, 0-0
Valdiron de Oliveira, 0-0
Shane Proctor, 0-0
Ben Jones, 0-0
Cody Nance, 0-0
Ryan Dirteater, 0-0
Fabiano Vieira, 0-0
Dave Mason, 0-0
Renato Nunes, 0-0
Stormy Wing, 0-0
Bonner Bolton, 0-0
Sean Willingham, 0-0
Brady Sims, 0-0
Cooper Davis, 0-0
Alexandre Cardozo, 0-0
Austin Meier, 0-0
Robson Aragao, 0-0
Tyler Harr, 0-0
Skeeter Kingsolver, 0-0
Jay Miller, 0-0
Neil Holmes, 0-0
Dakota Louis, 0-0

2015 Professional Bull Riders Built Ford Tough Series World Standings         
(Place, Rider, Events, Wins, Top 5’s, PBR World Points, Total Winnings)
1. Matt Triplett, 13, 2, 7, 2,090.000, $130,401.00
2. Silvano Alves, 13, 2, 6, 1,330.000, $100,141.22
3. Reese Cates, 12, 2, 4, 1,297.500, $90,031.72
4. Kaique Pacheco, 17, 7, 7, 1,277.500, $79,866.40
5. Joao Ricardo Vieira, 9, 1, 1, 1,170.000, $212,323.33
6. J.B. Mauney, 9, 0, 2, 930.000, $63,836.67
7. J.W. Harris, 9, 1, 2, 917.500, $58,103.33
8. Nathan Schaper, 11, 0, 3, 887.500, $45,242.86
9. Valdiron de Oliveira, 14, 0, 6, 840.000, $58,268.82
10. Chase Outlaw, 13, 0, 4, 810.000, $50,136.07
11. Stetson Lawrence, 9, 0, 2, 748.750, $44,850.00
12. Guilherme Marchi, 10, 1, 1, 695.000, $47,781.19
13. Shane Proctor, 9, 0, 2, 625.000, $29,061.67
14. Ben Jones, 20, 3, 9, 522.500, $52,084.22
15. Cody Nance, 13, 0, 3, 510.000, $36,153.38
15. Ryan Dirteater, 11, 0, 1, 510.000, $26,658.33
17. Tanner Byrne, 11, 0, 2, 490.000, $33,741.57
18. Fabiano Vieira, 10, 0, 2, 485.000, $34,142.24
19. Kasey Hayes, 10, 0, 1, 447.500, $25,903.33
20. Dave Mason, 14, 4, 7, 360.000, $27,934.35
21. Eduardo Aparecido, 10, 0, 1, 352.500, $21,278.33
22. Renato Nunes, 11, 0, 1, 350.000, $22,487.80
23. L.J. Jenkins, 13, 0, 2, 303.750, $18,886.86
24. Stormy Wing, 10, 0, 1, 285.000, $17,155.00
25. Bonner Bolton, 11, 2, 4, 282.500, $21,902.70
26. Brady Sims, 12, 0, 2, 275.000, $21,763.92
26. Sean Willingham, 13, 0, 1, 275.000, $16,928.33
28. Bryan Titman, 15, 2, 3, 245.000, $21,940.05
29. Douglas Duncan, 7, 0, 1, 228.750, $12,417.86
30. Cooper Davis, 15, 1, 7, 227.500, $34,638.91
31. Rubens Barbosa, 11, 0, 6, 221.250, $14,576.67
32. Alexandre Cardozo, 15, 3, 5, 205.000, $22,081.25
33. Lachlan Richardson, 17, 1, 4, 190.000, $15,065.93
33. Mike Lee, 11, 0, 0, 190.000, $12,780.00
35. Austin Meier, 19, 1, 4, 165.000, $16,886.73
36. Robson Aragao, 18, 0, 6, 162.500, $18,653.53
37. Tyler Harr, 17, 1, 4, 160.000, $19,207.08
38. Jay Miller, 11, 1, 3, 140.000, $16,018.12
38. Skeeter Kingsolver, 15, 1, 1, 140.000, $11,695.00
40. Cody Heffernan, 9, 1, 5, 135.000, $11,207.69
41. Neil Holmes, 10, 1, 3, 120.000, $11,941.75
42. Jordan Hupp, 8, 1, 2, 100.000, $7,841.71
42. Riley Blankenship, 4, 1, 3, 100.000, $7,958.80
42. Clint Johnson, 8, 1, 3, 100.000, $8,587.49
42. Dallee Mason, 4, 0, 2, 100.000, $9,250.00
42. Chris Lowe, 3, 1, 2, 100.000, $8,854.60

The pressure is on: Alves, Marchi, Lee and Triplett gain ground in PBR world title race
Four-time defending PRCA champion takes Round 1 of PBR World Finals

LAS VEGAS – In front of more than 10,000 fans at UNLV’s Thomas & Mack Center in Las Vegas, four of the Top 6 riders in the Professional Bull Riders world title race gained ground on current world leader Joao Ricardo Vieira during Round 1 of the Built Ford Tough World Finals on Wednesday. Two-time (2011, 2012) PBR World Champion Silvano Alves, 2008 World Champion Guilherme Marchi, 2004 World Champion Mike Lee and Matt Triplett all covered their bulls to cut into Vieria’s lead.

Alves jumped to No. 2 in the world standings with an 86.25-point effort atop Dumber (D&H Cattle Co./Buck Cattle Co.), moving to within 399.94 points of the world lead. Fabiano Vieira, who lasted 7.55 seconds on Savage (D&H Cattle Co. /Bay/Flinn), fell to No. 3 in the world. Marchi, currently sitting No. 4 in the standings, made the 8-second mark on Flyin’ Crazy (D&H Cattle Company) for 86 points. No. 5 Lee covered McIntyre Transports 029 Back Jackin (6C Bucking Bulls/Cody Harden/Tyler McIntyre) for 87.25 points, while No. 6 Triplett rode Pearl Harbor (Boyd/Floyd Bull Company) to tie Lee for fourth in the round.

“I made the 8 seconds,” said Triplett, “and that’s really all that matters. That bull bucked really good. I was excited to get on him and it worked out.”

Regarding his opening-round effort, Marchi said, “I’m feeling great after the first round. I had a great bull. I want to win my second title. That’s my plan.”

Bruiser (D&H Cattle Co./Buck Cattle Co.) made quick work of Joao Ricardo Vieira, tossing him in 3.44 seconds.

Each of the Top 6 riders still has a very good chance of capturing the 2014 World Champion title, with Triplett being the furthest out, 1,714.42 behind the world leader. There are a total of 5,500 points available at the World Finals.

Four-time and defending PRCA champion and first-time PBR World Finals qualifier J.W. Harris took the Round 1 win with an 88.75-point performance on Jo Jo (Owens/Lane). Stormy Wing took second on Slappy (Torres Brothers) with 88.50 points, while reigning PBR World Champion J.B. Mauney landed third, posting 88 points on More Big Bucks (Dakota Rodeo/Chad Berger/Clay Struve).

Round 2 of the PBR Built Ford Tough World Finals takes place Thursday, Oct. 23, beginning at 6 p.m. CBS Sports Network will carry the event live at 9 p.m. ET.

2014 Built Ford Tough World Finals
Round 1, Oct. 22 at Thomas & Mack Center in Las Vegas
1. J.W. Harris, 88.75-88.75 points.
2. Stormy Wing, 88.5-88.50 points.
3. J.B. Mauney, 88-88 points.
4/5. Matt Triplett, 87.25-87.25 points.
4/5. Mike Lee, 87.25-87.25 points.
6/7. L.J. Jenkins, 87-87 points.
6/7. Tanner Byrne, 87-87 points.
8/10. Brady Sims, 86.25-86.25 points.
8/10. Marco Eguchi, 86.25-86.25 points.
8/10. Silvano Alves, 86.25-86.25 points.
11/12. Eduardo Aparecido, 86-86 points.
11/12. Guilherme Marchi, 86-86 points.
13. Lachlan Richardson, 85.5-85.50 points.
14. Jordan Hupp, 84-84 points.
15. Nathan Schaper, 83.5-83.50 points.
Billy Robinson, 0-0 points.
Chase Outlaw, 0-0 points.
Claudio Crisostomo, 0-0 points.
Cody Nance, 0-0 points.
David Kennedy, 0-0 points.
Douglas Duncan, 0-0 points.
Emilio Resende, 0-0 points.
Fabiano Vieira, 0-0 points.
Fernando Henrique, 0-0 points.
Gage Gay, 0-0 points.
Gustavo Pedrero, 0-0 points.
Joao Ricardo Vieira, 0-0 points.
Josh Faircloth, 0-0 points.
Kasey Hayes, 0-0 points.
Kody Lostroh, 0-0 points.
Renato Nunes, 0-0 points.
Robson Palermo, 0-0 points.
Ryan Dirteater, 0-0 points.
Scott Schiffner, 0-0 points.
Sean Willingham, 0-0 points.
Stetson Lawrence, 0-0 points,
Ty Pozzobon, 0-0 points.
Valdiron de Oliveira, 0-0 points.
Zane Lambert, 0-0 points.

Interim 2014 Professional Bull Riders Built Ford Tough Series World Finals Standings
(Place, Rider, Events, Wins, Top 5’s, Points, Total Winnings)
1. Joao Ricardo Vieira, 28, 2, 10, 9,520.250, $254,870.96
2. Silvano Alves, 28, 0, 7, 9,120.310, $151,477.65
3. Fabiano Vieira, 26, 3, 8, 9,008.620, $249,092.67
4. Guilherme Marchi, 28, 1, 6, 8,587.060, $266,030.73
5. Mike Lee, 26, 2, 7, 8,399.060, $232,182.06
6. Matt Triplett, 28, 0, 4, 7,805.830, $146,525.80
7. Eduardo Aparecido Silva, 27, 1, 5, 6,584.680, $127,682.03
8. Cody Nance, 28, 3, 5, 6,551.620, $179,943.82
9. Gage Gay, 24, 1, 4, 6,551.370, $176,250.10
10. L.J. Jenkins, 27, 1, 2, 6,398.230, $134,787.18
11. Marco Eguchi, 27, 2, 3, 5,913.060, $158,329.78
12. Chase Outlaw, 23, 1, 2, 5,778.290, $177,538.43
13. Valdiron de Oliveira, 28, 2, 5, 5,733.060, $137,392.53
14. J. B.  Mauney, 22, 2, 5, 5,361.500, $253,222.99
15. Stormy Wing, 25, 1, 2, 5,293.870, $166,460.34
16. Emilio Rezende, 26, 1, 3, 5,073.250, $99,674.92
17. Markus Mariluch, 21, 0, 5, 5,036.370, $74,265.42
18. Kasey Hayes, 22, 0, 2, 5,002.750, $82,629.21
19. Tanner Byrne, 15, 0, 4, 4,854.040, $106,164.79
20. Renato Nunes, 26, 2, 4, 4,708.430, $111,341.67
21. Ryan Dirteater, 25, 0, 5, 4,541.120, $77,673.82
22. Sean Willingham, 21, 1, 1, 4,1870, $81,555.40
23. Brady Sims, 20, 0, 3, 4,127.370, $56,976.30
24. Cláudio Crisóstomo, 22, 0, 3, 3,727.250, $80,244.55
25. Zane Lambert, 19, 0, 2, 3,701.910, $108,511.86
26. J.W. Harris, 14, 0, 2, 3,6120, $88,080.02
27. Stetson Lawrence, 12, 0, 1, 3,530.540, $87,627.68
28. Ty Pozzobon, 22, 0, 2, 3,333.370, $94,646.81
29. Nathan Schapper, 15, 1, 1, 3,323.750, $72,926.30
30. Douglas Duncan, 26, 0, 4, 3,217.870, $49,454
31. Lachlan Richardson, 24, 0, 0, 3,213.620, $64,924.93
32. Jordan Hupp, 20, 0, 1, 3,187.370, $60,362.25
33. Josh Faircloth, 9, 0, 1, 3,111.180, $47,932.68
34. Kody Lostroh, 16, 0, 2, 2,940.500, $44,796.90
35. Robson Palermo, 14, 0, 1, 2,909.370, $35,751.67
36. Billy Robinson, 24, 0, 1, 2,864.250, $44,117.58
37. Jason Malone, 10, 0, 1, 2,851.870, $68,210.39
38. Harve Stewart, 18, 0, 0, 2,422.660, $42,822.01
39. Guytin Tsosie, 10, 0, 1, 2,409.620, $39,306.34
40. Luis Blanco, 3, 0, 0, 2,326.060, $48,110.36
41. Ben Jones, 10, 0, 0, 2,262.080, $56,310.78
42. Tyler Harr, 4, 0, 0, 2,192.680, $55,061.98
43. Jory Markiss, 13, 0, 0, 2,021.620, $44,887.01
44. Budd Williamson, 2, 0, 0, 1,874.660, $46,707
45. Scottie Knapp, 3, 0, 0, 1,815.950, $53,842.98