THACKERVILLE, Okla. – Here are three things we learned from this weekend’s WinStar World Casino & Resort Invitational.
Aparecido wins second career event
Eduardo Aparecido was the only rider to go 3-for-3 in Thackerville and the 25-year-old earned it the hard way by working every second of the way to cover No Regrets for 87.75 points in the championship round.
The ride helped Aparecido (460 points) edge J.B. Mauney (440 points) by 20 points for his second career-event victory.
The difference maker was Aparecido winning the event average and it’s accompanying 400 points compared to Mauney, who went 2-for-3 with two round victories.
“I am really happy to win this event,” Aparecido said with the help of Robson Palermo translating. “Sometimes I have been down this year because I was in a slump. To win an event, I can show everyone what I can do.”
Aparecido hadn’t posted three qualified rides at a regular-season event since the BFTS event in Allentown, Pennsylvania, last October.
His last event victory was last season in Nampa, Idaho. He did win the 15/15 Bucking Battle at the Monster Energy Buck Off at the Garden in January with a 90-point ride on KISS Animalize.
In Thackerville, Aparecido didn’t earn any points for his consecutive sixth-place finishes in Round 1 (87.25 points on Johnny’s Boy) and Round 2 (85.25 points on Deja Voodoo), but he still moved from 23rd to 15th in the world standings.
Finishing behind Aparecido and Mauney was Cody Nance, Mason Lowe and Fabiano Vieira.
Nance (2-for-3) was bucked off by Shaft (6.01 seconds) in the championship round, while Lowe was tossed by Recovery Time at the 6.9-second mark.
Nance earned 270 points toward the world standings to move up one spot to 13th. He picked up 180 for finishing third in the event average after earning 30 points in Round 2 for placing fifth in the round with an 85.5-point ride on Rusty.
Lowe (2-for-3) finished fourth with 190 points. The rookie tied for second in Round 2 with his 86.25-point ride on Tracker to earn 50 points. Lowe placed fourth in the event average for 105 points.
Mauney gains No. 1 world ranking
J.B. Mauney used a sensational season-high 92.25-point ride on SweetPro’s Long John on Saturday night to win the Built Ford Tough Championship Round and take over the world lead from Joao Ricardo Vieira.
“That is why I come here, to get on rank bulls like that,” Mauney said. “It ain’t for the show. It ain’t for the money. It is to prove to myself I can do it. It ain’t got nothing to do with trying to show off or being the dragon slayer. In a sport like this, you need to prove every time you can do it to yourself and the day you think you can’t do it is the day you need to retire.”
Mauney, who leads the BFTS with 11 round wins, finished the event 2-for-3 and second overall with 440 points.
The 2013 World Champion will head to Springfield, Missouri, next weekend with a 252.5-point lead on Vieira.
“Yup, this is where I want to be,” Mauney said.
Long John was marked 45.25 points and tied with Stone Sober for the highest-marked bull of the night. Stone Sober bucked off Renato Nunes in 5.21 seconds.
Vieira nearly finished the weekend a perfect 3-for-3 before DaNutso shed him at the 7.02-second mark moments after Mauney brought the sellout crowd to its feet.
Vieira only earned 20 points toward the standings.
He earned no round points with his 86.5-point ride on Wicked Stick in Round 1 Friday or his 65.25-point ride on Superstition in Round 2 Saturday. The 31-year-old elected to turn down his re-ride option in the second round.
Mauney leads No. 3 Kaique Pacheco by 900 points, No. 4 Matt Triplett by 1,165 points and No. 5 Fabiano Vieira by 1,340 points.
According to Pacheco, the 20-year-old rookie opted out of the championship round, which featured only 14 riders because of injuries and opt outs, and a chance to try and earn points after having his left calf stomped on by Mr. Clark, as well as taking a shot to the chin.
Fabiano Vieira (2-for-3) was the only rider in the Top 5 outside of Mauney to earn a solid amount of points (115) toward the world standings. He rode Legal Tender for 86.25 points to tie for second-place in Round 2 and pick up 50 points. The 33-year-old earned the other 65 for placing fifth in the event average.
“This week I have really concentrated,” Vieira said following Round 2. “I just am very focused on riding.”
Vieira failed to capitalize on his opportunity to win the event when he was downed by Red Rover in the championship round in 1.91 seconds.
PROCTOR WINS FIRST BFTS ROUND IN 2 YEARS
Shane Proctor missed all but one event last season because of two reconstructive shoulder surgeries.
Proctor returned this season at full strength and has competed in all 22 BFTS event this year and he finally came through with his first round victory in two years by riding Sambo for 86.75 points.
“Luckily it didn’t take as much as yesterday and I am happy to just get one covered,” Proctor said before the championship round. “Man, it was a good bull and kind of like a lot of the bulls I grew up on in the Northwest. He was a bigger one and those kind of fit my style. I felt like I rode him good and luckily it worked out.”
Proctor’s last BFTS round win actually came in Thackerville in 2013 when he rode Redneck for 88.5 points in the second round.
The Grand Coulee, Washington, bull rider finished sixth in this weekend’s event and has now posted three consecutive Top-10 finishes since Tulsa, Oklahoma, three weeks ago.
However, despite the round win, Proctor dropped one spot to 16th in the world standings because of Aparecido’s victory.
INJURY UPDATES
According to Dr. Tandy Freeman, 2008 World Champion Guilherme Marchi tore his left MCL and aggravated a previous PCL tear when he was thrown by Cut The Cord in Round 1.
Stetson Lawrence sprained his left ankle dismounting Handsom Jeff in the first round Friday night.
Ryan Dirteater was unable to compete in the championship round after sustaining a concussion in Round 2 when his head collided with Palm Springs’ head during his ride attempt.
Ben Jones did not compete in the championship round because of a neck strain sustained when he was kicked by Gnarly Head after being thrown off in the second round.
Luis Blanco sustained a bruised throat when he was struck by Fifty Shades’ horn following his 84.25-point ride in Round 2. He was unable to compete in the championship round.
Follow Justin Felisko on Twitter @jfelisko.
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