PUEBLO, Colo. – On Saturday night, there was sweat pouring down 12-time PBR World Finals qualifier Cody Nance’s face and drenching his shirt following a gritty 86.5-point ride on Downdraft during Round 2 of the PBR Ariat Invitational.
The ride itself was classic Nance – a street fight between man and beast – and Nance was going to refuse to let go of his bull rope no matter what Downdraft threw at him.
“I got 297,” Nance said. “Now I got three left to hit 300. I guess it was a good matchup, and that bull is dirty and tough like me. He belongs to my buddy, Blake Sharp, and he was 6-0.”
Nance has reached the 8-second mark 297 times on the PBR’s premier series. A perfect showing next weekend at the PBR Express Ranches Invitational, presented by Union Home Mortgage, in Oklahoma City could mean history. Nance is only three qualified rides away from becoming the 20th man to join the prestigious 300-ride club in the PBR’s 29-year history.
“Oh man, that is where they bring the heat,” Nance said. “That is where the best bulls in the world are. If I get my 300th ride and be 90 points in Oklahoma City, that would be pretty sweet.”
Nance finished 1-for-3 in Milwaukee, his first event in more than a month since he injured his back/ribs during the PBR Monster Energy Buck Off at the Garden in New York City in January.
The 34-year-old is sitting 74th in the world standings, and Oklahoma City will be his final guaranteed event before he is subject to the Unleash The Beast cutline. Nance is 59.33 points behind No. 25 Marcos Gloria.
Here are some other noteworthy stats following Milwaukee.
13: World No. 1 Joao Ricardo Vieira won his first event of the 2022 season to open his lead on No. 2 Kyler Oliver to a season-high 133.5 points. The win was the 15th of his career and the 13th victory of his career in the traditional “first half” run (January-May). Vieira has only won two events in the old “second half” structure of the PBR’s premier series (July-November).
49: Vieira recorded the 49th Unleash The Beast round win of his career Saturday night when he took home the top spot in Round 2 with 89.5 points on Sugar Boom Boom. Of his 49 career round wins, 26 (53.06%) have come in the long round, 15 in the championship round and eight in the 15/15 Bucking Battle.
2: Dener Barbosa tied for his second round win of the season with 87.25 points on War Dress in Round 1. Barbosa has never won more than two rounds in a single season, having hit two round wins in 2017 and 2021. He could very well set a new career-high for round wins this year with three months until the 2022 PBR World Finals in Fort Worth, Texas (May 13-22).
9: Eli Vastbinder has ridden a league-high nine bulls in a row. The 2021 Rookie of the Year has not bucked off a premier series bull since Jan. 22, but it has not yet led to an event win. Vastbinder finished fourth in Sacramento, California, and third in Milwaukee. He is second in the league with 11 rides overall. His nine consecutive rides are more than the season totals of everyone in the league except world No. 1 Joao Ricardo Vieira and Dener Barbosa. Vieira began the season with eight rides in a row.
4: Chase Dougherty led all rookies in the 2021 class with four Unleash The Beast round wins. Bob Mitchell became the first rookie this season to notch a round win when he tied with Barbosa for the Round 1 victory with 87.25 points on American Gangster.
47: Moonlight Party is the first bull this season to be scored 47 points or higher after he bucked 2019 Rookie of the Year Dalton Kasel off in 1.67 seconds. In 2021, there were only four bulls who scored 47 points or higher – 2021 YETI World Champion Bull Woopaa (six times), Dennis The Menace, Chiseled and Ridin Solo.
14: Mauricio Moreira rode Big Black for 90 points and a second-place finish in the 15/15 Bucking Battle. It is the 14th time in Big Black’s career he helped carry a rider to a 90-plus score.
1,071: It had almost been three years (2 years, 11 months, three days) – 1,071 days – since Luciano de Castro erupted for 90 points on the premier series. Castro won this past weekend’s 15/15 Bucking Battle with a 91-point ride on Diddy Wa Diddy.
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