New York City – At the PBR Unleash The Beast event at Madison Square Garden, Austin Richardson (Dallas, Texas) delivered a 3-for-4 performance to secure the Monster Energy Buck Off at the Garden, presented by Ariat, and got the No. 1 rank after the event.
Richardson didn’t have an easy road to the top by any stretch. In round one, Austin who competes for the Austin Gamblers in the PBR Teams league delivered an early shock to the competition by handling Moonlight Party, owned by Jane Clark and Gene Owen, for 88 points. That was good enough for a fourth-place finish in a very competitive round.
Round two brought a draw of Bangarang from Shuler Bucking Bulls, and while Richardson may be lay back in life, his bullriding skills were outright dazzling at the Garden. The Texan-based bull rider continued his dominance by scoring 86.75 points.
Richardson’s first career Major victory was his second consecutive event win after he also claimed a victory last weekend in Albany.
“This is the best win in my career,” Richardson said moments after lifting the event’s iconic Charging Bull trophy. “Madison Square Garden is the most exciting event leading to World Finals. It’s wonderful being here in New York with this great crowd behind us. We wouldn’t be able to do what we love without the fans.”
Richardson traveled to the World’s Most Famous Arena trailing then-No. 1 Cassio Dias (Sao F. de Sales, Brazil) by 73 points.
As Championship Sunday got underway, Richardson stumbled in Round 3, bucked off by The Undertaker (Cornwell/Riley/PCP Bucking Bulls) in a quick 2.33 seconds. But his first two scores proved enough to get him into the championship round which found himself fourth on the event leaderboard.
He initially selected Mike’s Motive (Blake Sharp/High Voltage/Wetzel/Knott), the out resulted in a re-ride, reacquainting Richardson’s rivalry with Canadian-born bull Moonlight Party.
Waiting confidently in the chute, Richardson matched the bull jump-for-jump, reaching the whistle as the crowd erupted in a loud cheer for the cowboy. Scoring 83.5 points, Richardson, who took to the event lead with that ride, was awarded yet another re-ride as the bull stopped mid-out.
Richardson decided to keep the score in a business decision, and it worked out well for him. The remaining two riders were both bucked off, sealing the second straight win for the young Texan cowboy.
Along with a check for $118,650, Richardson also earned a crucial 210 Unleash The Beast points. He overtook Dias for the No. 1 rank in the Unleash The Beast standings, now leading the World Championship race by a mere 20 points.
Coming off the victory at an event in Albany last week, Austin Richardson from Dallas, Texas, rode three of four bulls to conquer the beasts and become the major event champion. The win awarded Richardson 210 points and boosted him to the top of the Unleash The Beast standings.
The Kansas City Outlaws’ Dias went 2-for-4 to finish fourth and earn 117 Unleash The Beast points.
Despite suffering a quick 7.33-second buckoff from Red Mosquito (Zach Muegge/McCoy Rodeo) in Round 1, the Brazilian quickly regained his composure, winning Round 2 with an 87.75-point score aboard Tijuana Two-Step (Blake Sharp/Michael Floyd).
The Austin Gamblers’ Dalton Kasel (Muleshoe, Texas) was second, collecting 155.5 Unleash The Beast points.
Kasel led the event entering the championship round as he rode The Undertaker for 85.5 points in Round 1, Wooderson (Blake Sharp/UB Buckin’ Company) for 87.25 points in Round 2, and Black Squirrel (Dave Martin/Mike Miller Bucking Bulls) for 82.5 points in Round 3.
Koltin Hevalow (Smithville, Missouri) ended the PBR Monster Energy Buck Off at The Garden, presented by Ariat, third, taking home 104.5 Unleash The Beast points.
Hevalow was something to see through the first three rounds of contest. After riding Buffalo Chip (Blake Sharp/Robbie Ray/Doug Wilson) for 83.25 points in Round 1, then Hevalow rode Hoka Hey (Blake Sharp/Chris Utz/Carey Brothers) for an 83.75-point score in Round 2.
Hevalow also earned a re-ride in the final round, with only Red Scorpion (Lari Crane/Gene Owen) standing between him and victory. But he wouldn’t get the story book ending that he was hoping. He came up a little short, thrown to the dirt at the 7.39-second mark.
In the standings, Hevalow rose from No. 13 to No. 5, inching within 296.5 points of No. 1 Richardson.
Rounding out the Top 5 in fifth was Conner Halverson (Gordon, Nebraska).
Halverson was the event leader through the first two rounds. He set the tone for the event early, winning Round 1 with a monster 90-point ride atop UTZ BesTex Smokestack, followed by an 85.5-point score on Wilson (CCL Bucking Bulls/McCoy Rodeo) in Round 2.
On Sunday, Halverson was shut out by Kodiac (Blake Sharp/UB Buckin’ Company) in a close 7.86 seconds in Round 3 and two-time reigning YETI World Champion Bull Ridin’ Solo (Bill McCarty/McCoy Rodeo) in 5.73 seconds in the championship round.
Netting 89.5 Unleash The Beast points, Halverson climbed from No. 33 to No. 12 in the standings.
Dana White’s Twisted Steel (Dana White/DD Bucking Bulls) returned to the draw in the championship round picked by Vitor Losnake (Bauru, Brazil). He stormed out of the chutes with a huge first jump to buck Losnake of his back in 3.58 seconds, marked 43.75 points.
In the bull pen, No. 1 Man Hater (Jane Clark/Gene Owen) continued to show his dominance, awarded the YETI “Built for the Wild” Bull of the Event title for his 47.75-point score earned when he tossed Boudreaux Campbell (Crockett, Texas) in 3.2 seconds in the championship round on Sunday.
This past weekend was the 17th time the Professional Bull Riders have traveled to the “World Famous Arena” to perform. One and one half million pounds of dirt later, along with 40 of the best in the world of bull riding and the nation’s nastiest bulls, fans were presented with action packed, snorting bovines, danger-filled action eight seconds at a time.
PBR Unleash The Beast: PBR Monster Energy Buck Off at The Garden, presented by Ariat Event Leaders
(Round 1-Round 2-Round 3-Round 4-Event Aggregate-Event Points)
1. Austin Richardson, 88-86.75-0-83.5-258.25-210 points
2. Dalton Kasel, 85.5-87.25-84.25-0-257.00-155.5 points
3. Koltin Hevalow, 83.25-83.75-82.5-0-249.50-104.5 points
4. Cassio Dias, 0-87.75-0-90.5-178.25-117 points
5. Conner Halverson, 90-85.5-0-0-175.50-89.5 points
6. Mauricio Gulla Moreira, 88.75-86-0-0-174.75-70 points
7. Julio Cesar Marques, 0-83.5-86.5-0-170.00-63.5 points
8. Vitor Losnake, 0-87-81-0-168.00-43 points
9. Boudreaux Campbell, 0-82.75-85-0-167.75-34 points
10. Felipe Furlan, 72.75-0-85.75-0-158.50-37 points
11. Eduardo Aparecido, 88.75-0-0-0-88.75-30 points
12. Jesse Petri, 87.25-0-0-0-87.25-23 points
13/14/15. Kaiden Loud, 0-0-85.5-0-85.50-24 points
13/14/15. Daylon Swearingen, 0-85.5-0-0-85.50-18.5 points
13/14/15. John Crimber, 85.5-0-0-0-85.50-18.5 points
16. Brady Fielder, 0-0-85.25-0-85.25-20 points
17. Mason Taylor, 0-85-0-0-85.00-14 points
18/19. Eli Vastbinder, 84-0-0-0-84.00-14 points
18/19. Alex Cerqueira, 0-84-0-0-84.00-13 points
20. João Lucas Campos, 0-83.75-0-0-83.75-10.5 points
21. Wyatt Rogers, 0-83.5-0-0-83.50-8.5 points
22. João Ricardo Vieira, 0-83.25-0-0-83.25-8 points
23. Alan de Souza, 0-0-82.75-0-82.75-16 points
The PBR Unleash The Beast next travels to Allstate Arena in Rosemont, Illinois, for Tractor Supply Co. PBR Chicago. The event is on Friday, January 12, at 7:45 p.m. CT and Saturday, January 13, at 6:45 p.m. CT.
