Looking at SweetPro’s Bruiser’s Success in Las Vegas

PUEBLO, Colo. – SweetPro’s Bruiser has been a road warrior for the last three seasons, posting 21 or more outs at all levels of competition.

The reigning two-time PBR World Champion Bull once again hit the 20-plus threshold this season after accumulating over 20,000 miles on the road by competing at PBR and PRCA events.

The Ardmore, Oklahoma, bovine athlete has bucked on both coasts of the United States, as well as in the north and the south, but there is one city that should likely be viewed as a second home to the D&H Cattle Company superstar.

Las Vegas.

Bruiser is back on The Strip this week for the first time since winning a second consecutive PBR World Championship last month at the World Finals.

The 2017 PRCA champion bull is set to buck potentially two times at this year’s Wrangler National Finals Rodeo, presented by POLARIS Ranger, inside the Thomas & Mack Center.

Bruiser has been known for creating fireworks in Las Vegas and has a 9-3 record, including 3-1 at the NFR, in 12 trips to Sin City.

Here are some of his memorable performances.

2017 PBR World Finals

Bruiser essentially demolished Emilio Resende last month at the 2017 PBR World Finals when he bucked off the six-year veteran in 1.91 seconds for a 47-point bull score. Bruiser then followed that up by dislodging Ryan Dirteater at the 7.19-second mark for a 46-point bull score and a second consecutive PBR World Championship.

 
The championship made Bruiser only the fourth back-to-back PBR World Champion and second bull to win the PBR World Championship and PRCA Bull of the Year titles.

Bruiser has also yet to be ridden inside T-Mobile Arena (4-0).

Bruiser and Eldred team-up for monumental 94.5 points at 2016 NFR

Brennon Eldred caught the attention of some PBR fans last year when he rode the 2016 PBR World Champion Bull for 94.5 points during Round 9 of the NFR.

The ride was one of the highest-scored bull rides at the NFR in 20 years. J.W. Harris also hit the 94.5-point mark back in 2010 aboard Smoke Screen.

Bruiser had entered the matchup with a career-high streak of 11 consecutive buckoffs at all levels of competition.

It is the only time that Bruiser has been ridden at the NFR in four trips to the PRCA’s season-culminating event.

Bruiser rallies for first PBR World Championship with 46.25 points at 2016 PBR Finals

Bruiser began his 2016 PBR World Finals with a career-low Finals bull score of 44.5 points (5.66-second buckoff of Mason Lowe), but he then rallied on Championship Sunday with a 46.25-point score by launching Dener Barbosa at the 7.15-second mark.

 
Bruiser had actually finished in a three-way tie with fellow World Champion Bull contenders SweetPro’s Long John, the previous reigning World Champion, and Pearl Harbor. According to the PBR’s World Finals ground rules for that season, the first tiebreaker was the sum of a bull’s best eight outs.

Therefore, the fact that Bruiser arrived at the World Finals as the No. 1 regular-season bull ended up becoming a huge benefit.

Mauney wins second world title; gets injured vs. Bruiser

J.B. Mauney won a historic second World Championship in 2015 when he rode Bruiser for 92.75 points during Round 4 of the PBR World Finals.

 
The ride not only clinched Mauney the 2015 gold buckle, but it also propelled him into the lead for the World Finals event title. However, Mauney was jerked down right after the 8-second mark and sprained his left sternoclavicular joint in his riding arm. The next day, Mauney could barely move his riding arm and had to doctor out of the final day of competition.

Bruiser wins 2014 ABBI Classic; breaks Mauney’s jaw during 93.25-point ride

J.B. Mauney and Bruiser’s up-and-down relationship began at the 2014 World Finals when the two met for the first time.

The initial meeting was both good and bad for the two.

Mauney went on to ride Bruiser for 93.25 points, but the North Carolina cowboy wound up breaking his jaw at the end of the Round 4-winning ride.

 
Meanwhile, Bruiser was marked 46 points and clinched the 2014 ABBI Classic championship as a 3-year-old rising star.

The two have met a total of three times, and Mauney is 3-0 against Bruiser when you include his 94.25-point ride from 2017 in Billings, Montana.