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Oliveira Inspiring his Son as he Defies Father Time

By: Justin Felisko
February 24, 2018

Valdiron de Oliveira and his family returned to the United States at the end of 2017. Photo: Valdiron de Oliveira.

ARLINGTON, Texas – Valdiron de Oliveira couldn’t control his emotions any longer.

The 38-year-old had spent the first two weeks of the season talking about his dedication in the gym, his new mental focus and his rekindled love for the sport of professional bull riding that he walked away from following the 2016 PBR World Finals.

Finally, Oliveira couldn’t hold it together any longer.

“My son. I love him,” Oliveira said last month during the Chicago Invitational.

Oliveira then paused. He wiped his eyes, smearing some dirt on his face, and took a deep breath to try and contain the chest convulsions that were accompanying the tears streaming down his face.

“I love him so much,” Oliveira continued. “This week he tell me, ‘Daddy, I want to be like you. I want to make history like you. You are making history.’

Oliveira is ranked 13th in the world standings heading into Saturday night’s WinStar World Casino & Resort Iron Cowboy, powered by Kawasaki, and is 12-for-19 on the 25th PBR: Unleash The Beast.

 
Oliveira has drawn Element 79 for Round 1.

“I am very amazed and proud of him,” Paulo said. “From him being as old as he is, being able to ride. He made me think about how age is just a number. It doesn’t matter how old you are. You just have to believe in yourself and try.”

The 10-time PBR World Finals qualifier is one of the feel good stories of 2018, but Valdiron had already etched his name in history many years ago.

Oliveira won a PBR record $260,000 in 2010 when he won the first Iron Cowboy competition at AT&T Stadium.

His son, Paulo, was only 7 years then. Paulo is now 15 and aspires to one day follow in his father’s footsteps.

“He wants to start riding bulls,” Valdiron said. “He said he looks at me now and my story of retiring and coming back. He wants to be like me.”

Valdiron shakes his head in amazement.

A big reason for his return to the United States this year was because of the heartbreak his son and daughter, Camilla, had when the Oliveiras returned to Brazil.

Paulo explained earlier this year how hard life was for the Brazilian-born, but American-raised kids.

“I was raised here since I was 4,” Paulo said. “I never really learned a lot of Portuguese. When I got there, it was very hard to understand everything. I wanted to stay here since we left. It started with my sister not being happy. I felt like I should have told them I wasn’t happy too. Eventually, I told them I wasn’t happy too.”

Paulo doesn’t believe Valdiron’s decision was strictly family-related.

“Not really,” Paulo said. “This is something he wanted to do and continue. I could tell. He was always watching PBR on TV.”

Paulo said his dad is an inspiration because of how hard he worked to get his family back to the United States.

Not only has Valdiron returned to the United States, but he has returned to the highest level of professional bull riding despite being way beyond his prime.

The father and son began training together in Brazil when Validron decided last March that he was going to unretire for 2018 and make a run at the PBR World Finals.

Paulo was amazed at how quickly his dad regained his physical strength.

“A bunch of CrossFit,” Paulo said. “It is something we did to keep our body in shapes. Those workouts are pretty hard. He was working really hard. When I was doing two sets of everything, he was doing four or five sets.”

Instead of focusing on using any weights, Valdiron instead has used his time in the gym at Fit-N-Wise Rehabilitation and Performance Center in Decatur, Texas, to focus on pushups, ab workouts and stretching routines.

Valdiron was always one of the larger bull riders on tour, therefore he wanted to make sure he focused on ways to stay lean.

Minor injuries have started to take a small toll on him, though.

Oliveira missed last weekend’s St. Louis Invitational, presented by Express Employment Professionals, because of a strained left groin muscle, which has been hindering him most of the season.

He is still off to his best start since 2011 – when he went 18-for-22 through the first six events – and a second career victory at Iron Cowboy could put him right back in the thick of the 2018 world title race.

“In my mind, I said I love this sport and I need to come back,” Valdiron concluded. “But I want to do something different. I didn’t just want to come back. I want to concentrate more and focus.

“I want to be better than before.”

Follow Justin Felisko on Twitter @jfelisko

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