World No. 3, Texan Cooper Davis Holds Fifth Place Heading Into Championship Sunday
SAN ANTONIO – As the world’s toughest athletes visited San Antonio for the first time in nine years, PBR’s (Professional Bull Riders) biggest stars shined inside AT&T Center during Round 1 of the 2021 U.S. Border Patrol Invitational presented by Ariat, which was won by Texan Dalton Kasel (Muleshoe, Texas).
Kasel – who entered the event No. 14 in the world – took advantage of the high-energy Texas crowd on the back of Bar Fly (CG Bucking Bulls/Big Rafter Rodeo) midway through the opening round. Blowing out of the chutes to raucous applause, Kasel matched his mount jump for jump on the way to an 89-point ride, his highest-marked ride since August.
Kasel earned 28 world points for the round win, moving him up one spot to No. 13 in the world standings. The 2019 PBR Rookie of the year matches up with Off Campus (Dakota Rodeo/Brian & Ashley Pintar/Clay Struve/Chad Berger) in Round 2 to start championship Sunday.
Brazilian Junior Patrik Souza (Sonora, Brazil) tied for second in the round with his countrymen Joao Henrique Lucas (Bastos, Brazil) and Manoelito de Souza Junior (Itamira, Brazil) as the trio was just 0.5-points behind Kasel.
The 28-year-old Souza was tasked with Cliff Hanger (CG Bucking Bulls/Big Rafter Rodeo) while Lucas rode Lil Loco (Paradigm Bull Co/Flying High Rodeo Co.) and Manoelito bested Crossover (Shuler Bucking Bulls), as each man in the trio earned an 88.5-point score.
All three riders picked up 17 world points each, which propelled Lucas to No. 23 in the world standings, Souza to No. 12 and Manoelito to No. 37.
Texan and 2016 World Champion Cooper Davis (Jasper, Texas) continued his charge for the 2021 PBR World Championship with a fifth-place finish in Round 1.
Capitalizing on an absent world No. 1 Jose Vitor Leme (Ribas do Rio Pardo, Brazil) and a buckoff from world No. 2 Kaique Pacheco (Itatiba, Brazil) – 2.53 seconds on Guess Eyes Right (Rocking F Bucking Bulls/Chase Foutch) – Davis went to work on Facetious (Paradigm Bull Company).
Bringing the crowd to its feet with the next to last out of the night, Davis gritted out the requisite 8-seconds for an 87.75-point score.
The No. 3 rider in the world entering the event, Davis closed Pacheco’s lead to just 117.5 points with the 15 points earned in Round 1.
The world’s top bull riders return to competition from AT&T Center for Round 2 and the championship round on Sunday, October 3 at 12:45 p.m. CBS Sports Network will broadcast all the action at 8 p.m. ET.
Professional Bull Riders
PBR U.S. BORDER PATROL INVITATIONAL PRESENTED BY ARIAT
San Antonio, Texas
AT&T Center
Event Leaders (Round 1-Round 2-Round 3-Event Aggregate-Event Points)
1. Dalton Kasel, 89-0-0-89.00-28 Points.
2. Junior Patrik Souza, 88.5-0-0-88.50-17 Points.
(tie). João Henrique Lucas, 88.5-0-0-88.50-17 Points.
(tie). Manoelito de Souza Junior, 88.5-0-0-88.50-17 Points.
5. Cooper Davis, 87.75-0-0-87.75-15 Points.
6. Mason Taylor, 87-0-0-87.00-13.5 Points.
(tie). Ramon de Lima, 87-0-0-87.00-13.5 Points.
8. Daylon Swearingen, 86.25-0-0-86.25-12 Points.
9. Silvano Alves, 83.25-0-0-83.25-11 Points.
10. Marco Eguchi, 80.25-0-0-80.25-2 Points.
Kaique Pacheco, 0-0-0-0.00
João Ricardo Vieira, 0-0-0-0.00
Boudreaux Campbell, 0-0-0-0.00
Mauricio Gulla Moreira, 0-0-0-0.00
Derek Kolbaba, 0-0-0-0.00
Keyshawn Whitehorse, 0-0-0-0.00
Chase Dougherty, 0-0-0-0.00
Rafael Henrique dos Santos, 0-0-0-0.00
Jesse Petri, 0-0-0-0.00
Cody Jesus, 0-0-0-0.00
Marcelo Procopio Pereira, 0-0-0-0.00
Eduardo Aparecido, 0-0-0-0.00
Austin Richardson, 0-0-0-0.00
Cole Melancon, 0-0-0-0.00
Claudio Montanha Jr., 0-0-0-0.00
Ezekiel Mitchell, 0-0-0-0.00
Thiago Salgado, 0-0-0-0.00
Conner Halverson, 0-0-0-0.00
Lucas Divino, 0-0-0-0.00
Fernando Henrique Novais, 0-0-0-0.00
Adriano Salgado, 0-0-0-0.00
J.T. Moore, 0-0-0-0.00
Cody Casper, 0-0-0-0.00
Leonardo Lima, 0-0-0-0.00
Kyle Jones, 0-0-0-0.00
Lane Nobles, 0-0-0-0.00
Dalton Krantz, 0-0-0-0.00
Alvaro Aguilar Alvarez, 0-0-0-0.00
Lucas Fideles Souza, 0-0-0-0.00
Wallace Vieira de Oliveira, 0-0-0-0.00
By PBR Press Release
