Keyshawn Whitehorse takes Early Lead in Billings

By: Heather Croze
April 20, 2018

BILLINGS, Mont. – Rookie Keyshawn Whitehorse (The Woodlands, Texas) took the early lead on Friday night during the 25^th PBR: Unleash The Beast, Stanley Performance In Action Invitational, presented by Cooper Tires, in Billings, Montana.

Thanks to 87.75 points on his re-ride bull, Blue Stone (D&H Cattle Co./Flying High Rodeo Co.), Whitehorse will now take a night off on Saturday night as the final 25 riders competing in Round 1 attempt their bulls inside Rimrock Auto Arena.

During this weekend’s event in the great state of Montana, a special format was debuted for the elite tour’s 23rd annual stop in Billings. To help protect the cowboys in a season-marked by an unusual number of injuries, riders competing in the league’s 15/15 Bucking Battle will no longer also attempt a long-round bull in the same evening. Instead, the event’s Round 1 was split into two groups and two nights of competition, fielding a total draw of 60 riders for the weekend.

The Top 30 scores from both groups will be combined to determine the field to compete in Round 2 on Sunday before the championship round.

A total of eight qualified rides were seen by the rambunctious crowd on Friday.

Claudio Montanha Jr. (Pacaembu, Brazil) is currently in second place after 87 points on Hammer Down (PK Triplett Bucking Bulls). Dakota Buttar (Kindersley, Saskatchewan) had the early lead in the round after scoring 86 points on Grey Ghost (Ty Rinaldo TZ Bucking Bulls) and is in third place.

Fourth and fifth place are being held by Lonnie West (Cadogan, Alberta) and the reigning PBR World Champion, Jess Lockwood (Volburg, Montana), respectively. West tallied 85.5 points aboard Big Slick (D&H Cattle Co./Whitehead), while Lockwood rocked the house with a qualified ride for 85 points on Blackberry Smoke (Wentz Bucking Bulls/New West Rodeos).

Kaique Pacheco (Itatiba, Brazil) and World No. 1 Ramon de Lima (Sao Paulo, Brazil) both rode their bulls on Friday. Pacheco covered Devour (Vold Rodeo) for 84.25, while de Lima went 8 aboard Money Talks (D&H Cattle Co./Buck Cattle/Tommy Julian) for 83.25.

The final ride of the night went to newcomer Alisson Souza (Taubate, Brazil), who recorded 76 points on Rooster Tail (Wentz Bucking Bulls/New West Rodeos).

No world points or money was awarded on Friday night. Round 1 points and payout will be awarded following the conclusion of the round on Saturday night.

The second half of Round 1 will take place on Saturday at 7:45 p.m. MT with the 15/15 Bucking Battle taking place immediately after. Fans can catch all the action from the 15/15 Bucking Battle on CBS at 2 p.m. ET on Sunday, April 22. Round 1 Pool B will be live on CBS Sports Network at 10 p.m. ET.

Action from Friday night will also be viewable Saturday starting at 8 a.m. ET on RidePass.com or via the RidePass mobile app.

25^th PBR: Unleash The Beast
Stanley Performance In Action Invitational presented by Cooper Tires
Rimrock Auto Arena – Billings, Montana
Event Leaders (Round 1-Round 1-Round 2-Round 3-Event Aggregate-Event Points)

1. Keyshawn Whitehorse, 0-87.75-0-0-87.75
2. Claudio Montanha Jr., 0-87-0-0-87.00
3. Dakota Buttar, 0-86-0-0-86.00
4. Lonnie West, 0-85.5-0-0-85.50
5. Jess Lockwood, 0-85-0-0-85.00
6. Kaique Pacheco, 0-84.25-0-0-84.25
7. Ramon de Lima, 0-83.25-0-0-83.25
8. Alisson Souza, 0-76-0-0-76.00
Cody Nance, 0-0-0-0-0.00
Luciano De Castro, 0-0-0-0-0.00
Eduardo Aparecido, 0-0-0-0-0.00
Cooper Davis, 0-0-0-0-0.00
Brennon Eldred, 0-0-0-0-0.00
Ryan Dirteater, 0-0-0-0-0.00
Derek Kolbaba, 0-0-0-0-0.00
Valdiron de Oliveira, 0-0-0-0-0.00
Stetson Lawrence, 0-0-0-0-0.00
Tanner Byrne, 0-0-0-0-0.00
Fabiano Vieira, 0-0-0-0-0.00
Marco Antonio Eguchi, 0-0-0-0-0.00
Alex Marcilio, 0-0-0-0-0.00
Joao Ricardo Vieira, 0-0-0-0-0.00
Sean Willingham, 0-0-0-0-0.00
Tye Chandler, 0-0-0-0-0.00
Lucas Divino, 0-0-0-0-0.00
Cody Heffernan, 0-0-0-0-0.00
Cody Campbell, 0-0-0-0-0.00
Brock Radford, 0-0-0-0-0.00
Colten Jesse, 0-0-0-0-0.00
Michael Lane, 0-0-0-0-0.00
Paulo Ferreira Lima, 0-0-0-0-0.00
Justin Granger, 0-0-0-0-0.00
Lindomar Lino, 0-0-0-0-0.00
Wallace Vieira de Oliveira, 0-0-0-0-0.00
Fernando Henrique Novais, 0-0-0-0-0.00
Ueberson Duarte, 0-0-0-0-0.00
Rubens Barbosa, 0-0-0-0-0.00
Junio Quaresima, 0-0-0-0-0.00
Jorge Valdiviezo, 0-0-0-0-0.00
Troy Wilkinson, 0-0-0-0-0.00
Ezekiel Mitchell, 0-0-0-0-0.00
Ryan Miller, 0-0-0-0-0.00
Bryan Titman, 0-0-0-0-0.00
Ricky Aguiar, 0-0-0-0-0.00
Jesse Tillman, 0-0-0-0-0.00
Cristiano Figueredo, 0-0-0-0-0.00
Cody Jesus, 0-0-0-0-0.00
Cody Casper, 0-0-0-0-0.00
Lawson Nobbs, 0-0-0-0-0.00
Lachlan Richardson, 0-0-0-0-0.00
Taylor Toves, 0-0-0-0-0.00
Danilo Carlos Sobrinho, 0-0-0-0-0.00
Garret Lange, 0-0-0-0-0.00
Austin Richardson, 0-0-0-0-0.00
Dakota Eagleburger, 0-0-0-0-0.00
Daniel Tinsman, 0-0-0-0-0.00
Kache Moosman, 0-0-0-0-0.00
Luke Bradley, 0-0-0-0-0.00
Cody Clint Brewer, 0-0-0-0-0.00
Zane Lambert, 0-0-0-0-0.00

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