PBR Power 8: Ranking Lockwood’s Dominance Inside Madison Square Garden
PUEBLO, Colo. – There is one distinctive common denominator between Jess Lockwood’s two world titles. In both of his World Championship seasons, Lockwood began the year by winning the season-opening PBR Major inside Madison Square Garden.
Lockwood is 10-for-13 in New York, winning $244,933.33 in three trips to the Big Apple.
This week, the Power 8 rankings look back at Lockwood’s dominance inside Madison Square Garden and his other memorable moments in the Big Apple.
The 2020 season is set to begin once again in New York City on Jan. 4-6.
1. ERASING PAST DEMONS – LOCKWOOD’S 2017 VICTORY
Jess Lockwood made his debut inside Madison Square Garden two months after he ended his 2016 Rookie of the Year season with a massive thud. Lockwood had gone 0-for-5 at the 2016 PBR World Finals, backing into the Rookie of the Year award and finishing his first season with a sour taste in his mouth.
Were the bright lights of Las Vegas too bright for the 19-year-old?
Nah.
Lockwood showed in New York he could handle the biggest stages in professional bull riding, going 4-for-4 to win the Monster Energy Buck Off at the Garden and take over the world No. 1 ranking for the first time in his career.
2. GOODBYE CHAMPIONSHIP HANGOVER – LOCKWOOD’S 2019 NY VICTORY
Similarly, Lockwood’s 2018 world title defense did not go as he would have liked. A torn groin during the second half of the season torpedoed his aspirations to win back-to-back world titles.
Lockwood would once again use New York to erase any bitterness he may have had. The Volborg, Montana, bull rider once again went 4-for-4, and he even tacked on another ride in the 15/15 Bucking Battle – 89 points on Udder Lover.
It was the beginning of Lockwood’s 2019 championship surge. He would open the season with 10 consecutive rides, win the first two Unleash The Beast events of the season and ultimately never really looked back, outside of a crushing broken collarbone at the 2019 WinStar World Casino and Resort Global Cup USA, presented by Monster Energy.
3. A NEW CAREER HIGH
Lockwood won the Monster Energy Buck Off this past January with a 91.75-point ride on Prayer Warrior. At the time, it was the highest-scored ride of his career.
The ride was a premonition of the evolution Lockwood was going to make in 2019: he was becoming a 90-point hero.
He would go on to post six more rides that were 91.75 points or more in 2019:
94 points on Heartbreak Kid (Nampa, Idaho)
93.75 points on Heartbreak Kid (Greensboro, North Carolina)
93 points on Chiseled (Springfield, Missouri)
92 points on Biker Bob (World Finals)
92 points on Bezerk (Tulsa, Oklahoma)
91.75 points on The Right Stuff (World Finals)
4. AN 82.25-POINT RIDE WORTH OVER $100,000
Lockwood was barely hanging onto Naughty List as the clock hit 6 seconds in 2017, but he kept his focus and used some grit to somehow not hit the ground, lose his bull rope or touch Naughty List to earn his first victory in New York.
The ride was nothing pretty, and it is the lowest-scored winning ride of his four-year career, which features 11 event victories.
The showing did show Lockwood’s no-quit attitude, the kind of determination a World Champion needs to show on his journey toward winning a gold buckle.
Ugly or not, Lockwood got the job done – and earned the biggest payday of his young career at the time ($117,183.33).
5. LOCKWOOD RECEIVES CONGRATS FROM SHANIA TWAIN
Lockwood’s 2018 season did not begin as he would have liked. The defending champion went 1-for-3 and finished 14th overall.
The one positive?
How about meeting the legendary country music singer, Shania Twain?
6. BEGINNING HIS 15/15 DOMINANCE
Lockwood may not have won the 15/15 Bucking Battle in New York last season with his 89-point ride on Udder Lover, but it was a sign of things to come.
Lockwood earned 707.5 points toward the world standings through the 15/15 Bucking Battles. He went 7-for-8 in 2019 with a PBR-record four 15/15 Bucking Battle victories.
7. A CHAMPIONSHIP REMINDER: STRECHING IS IMPORTANT
Whether it was finding a spot inside the mint Madison Square Garden locker room or receiving some help from the PBR Sports Medicine Team, Lockwood knew one area outside of the arena that he wanted to focus on in 2019.
Lockwood felt that part of the reason he became so injury prone when it came to his torn groin muscles in 2018 was the fact that he got lazy outside of the arena. He failed to consistently stretch his groins during his title defense season, and he was not as committed to hot yoga and other rehabilitation processes he embraced in 2017.
He rededicated himself heading into New York and remained devoted to keeping his body in pristine shape all season long.
8. LOCKWOOD RINGS OPENING BELL AT THE NYSE
Long before Lockwood had over $3.9 million in career earnings, he was a wide-eyed 19-year-old trying to navigate his way around New York City for the first time.
Lockwood received the honor of ringing the opening bell for the New York Stock Exchange alongside PBR CEO Sean Gleason in 2017.
Speaking of money, Lockwood is only $81,526.34 away from becoming the fifth rider all time to surpass $4 million in their career earnings.
Follow Justin Felisko on Twitter @jfelisko
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