Professional Bull Riders (PBR)
2016 PBR World Champion Cooper Davis Wins Round 1 of PBR Unleash The Beast Major in New York City to Surge Inside The Top 15 of The World Standings
Mason Taylor finishes second in the opening round of the PBR Monster Energy Buckoff at the Garden, presented by Ariat, to further stronghold on world No.1 ranking
NEW YORK CITY – As the 15th iteration of the PBR (Professional Bull Riders) Unleash The Beast event inside Madison Square Garden got underway on a snowy Friday evening in New York City, 2016 PBR World Champion Cooper Davis (Jasper, Texas) was unrivaled. Delivering his first 90-point ride of the season, Davis won Round 1 and surged to a commanding lead at the PBR Monster Energy Buckoff at the Garden, presented by Ariat, the first PBR Major of the 2022 season.
When last the Big Apple crowd watched Davis compete in 2020, he sustained a broken neck. While the injury could have been career-ending for many, Davis resounded in commanding fashion, returning five months later and concluding that year ranked inside the world’s Top 10.
Determined to earn his second gold buckle in 2022, Davis was sensational as the PBR returned to New York City following a one-year hiatus due to the ongoing COVID-19 (coronavirus) pandemic. As the last man to leave the chutes, Davis was electric, matching American Gangster (Jane Clark/Gene Owen) jump-for-jump en route to a 90-point score.
Davis’ monstrous score netted him a much-needed 39 world points, catapulting him to No. 12 in the world standings. He is now within 116 points of the No. 1 position.
Mason Taylor (Maypearl, Texas) was second in the opening round of competition inside the World’s Most Famous Arena, earning 28 world points and furthering his stronghold on the No. 1 ranking in the standings.
Still riding with his jaw wired shut after fracturing his mandible in October 2020, Taylor avenged a buckoff from the 2021 season when he covered Catfish (Viducic Bucking Bulls/Stetson Wright) for 89.5 points.
The steely Texan now leads No. 2 Daylon Swearingen (Piffard, New York) by 46.34 points in the world standings.
Courtesy of an 88.25-point score aboard Young Man’s Blues (Paradigm/Parker McCollum/Lockwood), Andrew Alvidrez (Seminole, Texas) finished third in Round 1.
Earning 22 world points, Alvidrez is now ranked No. 23 in the early 2022 PBR World Championship race.
Cole Melancon (Sour Lake, Texas) and Cannon Cravens (Porum, Oklahoma) rounded out the Top 5 in fourth place.
Each delivering an 87.75-point score, they covered Hell On The Red (Jane Clark/Gene Owen) and CopperPoint Swagger (Hart Cattle Co./Hale), respectively, to take home 19.5 world points.
Action for the 2022 PBR Monster Energy Buckoff at The Garden, presented by Ariat, will conclude with Round 2 and the championship round on Saturday, January 8. Action gets underway at 6:45 p.m. EST.
PBR RidePass on PlutoTV will offer re-airs and on-demand replays of every PBR Unleash The Beast event. PBR RidePass is available on desktops, laptops and mobile devices via www.pluto.tv. Tune to channel 720 for the latest programming schedule, and click here for on-demand PBR programming.
PBR Unleash The Beast
PBR Monster Energy Buckoff at The Garden, presented by Ariat
Madison Square Garden – New York City, New York
Event Leaders (Round 1-Round 2-Round 3-Event Aggregate-Event Points)
1. Cooper Davis, 90-0-0-90.00-39 Points.
2. Mason Taylor, 89.5-0-0-89.50-28 Points.
3. Andrew Alvidrez, 88.25-0-0-88.25-22 Points.
4. Cole Melancon, 87.75-0-0-87.75-19.5 Points.
(tie). Cannon Cravens, 87.75-0-0-87.75-19.5 Points.
6. Austin Richardson, 87-0-0-87.00-17 Points.
7. Chase Outlaw, 86.75-0-0-86.75-15 Points.
(tie). Eli Vastbinder, 86.75-0-0-86.75-15 Points.
9. Claudio Montanha Jr., 86.25-0-0-86.25-12 Points.
(tie). Boudreaux Campbell, 86.25-0-0-86.25-12 Points.
11. Silvano Alves, 86-0-0-86.00-9.5 Points.
(tie). Alex Cardozo, 86-0-0-86.00-9.5 Points.
13. Rafael Henrique dos Santos, 85.75-0-0-85.75-8 Points.
14. João Ricardo Vieira, 85.5-0-0-85.50-8 Points.
15. Dalton Kasel, 85-0-0-85.00-8 Points.
(tie). Marcelo Procopio Pereira, 85-0-0-85.00-8 Points.
17. Ezekiel Mitchell, 84.25-0-0-84.25-8 Points.
18. Manoelito de Souza Junior, 84-0-0-84.00-8 Points.
(tie). Adriano Salgado, 84-0-0-84.00-8 Points.
20. Kyler Oliver, 83-0-0-83.00-8 Points.
21. Fernando Henrique Novais, 79-0-0-79.00-7 Points.
22. Mauricio Gulla Moreira, 78.75-0-0-78.75
Daylon Swearingen, 0-0-0-0.00
Dener Barbosa, 0-0-0-0.00
Cody Jesus, 0-0-0-0.00
Jesse Petri, 0-0-0-0.00
Keyshawn Whitehorse, 0-0-0-0.00
Stetson Lawrence, 0-0-0-0.00
Paulo Ferreira Lima, 0-0-0-0.00
Derek Kolbaba, 0-0-0-0.00
Marco Eguchi, 0-0-0-0.00
Chase Dougherty, 0-0-0-0.00
Cody Teel, 0-0-0-0.00
João Henrique Lucas, 0-0-0-0.00
Eduardo Aparecido, 0-0-0-0.00
Conner Halverson, 0-0-0-0.00
Cody Nance, 0-0-0-0.00
Taylor Toves, 0-0-0-0.00
Jess Lockwood, 0-0-0-0.00
Tye Chandler, 0-0-0-0.00
Release was provided Courtesy of PBR to Tenn Texas Radio
Photo / Video By: Andy Watson / Bull Stock Media
ABOUT THE PBR
Headquartered in Pueblo, Colo., PBR was created in 1992 by a group of 20 visionary bull riders who broke away from the traditional rodeo scene, seeking mainstream attention, new riches and a livelihood for future generations of cowboys for the most popular discipline in rodeo, bull riding.
“We wanted to create a better product for the fans, so that when they tuned in they were seeing the best of the best every time,” said PBR co-founder and nine-time World Champion Ty Murray. “Those expectations have been exceeded immensely, and the fact that this sport continues to grow is a gratifying notion, one that supports all the hard work and dedication of every member of the PBR.”
The founders believed that bull riding deserved to be in the limelight and could succeed as a standalone sport. Each rider invested a hard-earned $1,000, some borrowing from family and friends, to start the PBR.
“This is the only sport in the world that I can take anyone to see, whether they know anything about it or not, and I guarantee you that they won’t be able to take their eyes off of it,” Murray said.
In 2007, Spire Capital Partners finalized a deal with PBR to acquire the interests of many of the retired founding riders and invest in the growth of the organization. Those first 20 bull riders had turned their $1,000 into millions.
In May 2015, PBR was acquired by Endeavor, a global leader in sports, entertainment and fashion.
More than 500 bull riders from around the world including the United States, Australia, Brazil, Canada and Mexico hold PBR memberships. They compete in more than 200 bull riding events each year on the nationally-televised Unleash The Beast series, Pendleton Whisky Velocity Tour and Touring Pro Division, in addition to those held by international divisions in Australia, Brazil, Canada and Mexico.
For every rider, the ultimate goal is to qualify for the PBR World Finals, the richest bull riding event on the planet, with the season champion receiving the golden World Championship buckle and $1 million bonus.
The 20 original founders took a substantial gamble when pooling their limited resources to fund the grassroots operation. Yet, the risk has certainly paid off. Investors like Spire Capital Partners and Endeavor, and partnerships with Ford, Monster Energy, Wrangler, and the city of Las Vegas have helped the PBR annually award more than $10 million.
The success of PBR has made it one of the most prolific sports on television. The premier series is televised weekly on CBS Sports, CBS Sports Network and networks around the world. Several times in 2020, PBR was the second most-watched sport on television, trailing only the NFL. In 2019 PBR extended its broadcast relationship with the network inking an agreement ensuring CBS will remain PBR’s television home the next 10 years. Additionally, RidePass, the league’s 24/7 over-the-top (OTT) digital network launched in 2018 brings every moment of elite tour action to fans as well as the Velocity Tour, Global Cup and marquee rodeo events.
Collectively, PBR broadcasts reach 250MM households in more than 20 countries, and RidePass brings its growing subscriber base more than 150 rodeo and PBR events live and on-demand.
On social media, from January through November 2020, PBR generated more than 1.7 billion impressions on social media, 606 million video views and 629 million video minutes viewed. PBR’s channels are recognized to have among the most fan engagement of all major sports.
