Richardson Wins the 15/15 Bucking Battle in Convincing Fashion

THACKERVILLE, Okla. – For one night, Australia was the center of the PBR (Professional Bull Riders) universe as Aussie Lachlan Richardson made a statement with his 92.25-point ride on Seven Dust (J.A.R.S. Bucking Bulls/Gene Owen) that won the 15/15 Bucking Battle at the WinStar World Casino and Resort Invitational outside at the Coliseum at WinStar World Casino Saturday night.

It was Richardson’s first career 90-point ride on the Built Ford Tough Series and arguably the biggest of the Gresford, Australia, bull rider’s career. Richardson picked up 150 world points for winning the special round, enough to move him up to 15^th in the world standings.

Seven Dust was previously unridden in 13 Built Ford Tough Series outs before Richardson’s ride. Richardson’s 92.25-point effort was also the second-highest score of the 2016 season, behind only J.B. Mauney’s 94.25-point trip aboard Pearl Harbor in Sioux Falls, South Dakota.

Jess Lockwood and Eduardo Aparecido split second place in the 15/15 Bucking Battle, each earning 82.5 points toward the world standings for their effort. Lockwood earned the points with an 88-point ride on Margy Time (D&H Cattle Co.), while Aparecido turned in his own 88-point effort aboard Jump Street (Hebert Bucking Bulls/Georgia Akers).

Earlier in the evening, Cooper Davis took the lead in the world standings for the first time in his career after tying for fifth place in Round 1. Davis’ 86.5-point ride on Cool Hand Luke (Lukas Banning Bucking Bulls) made him the eighth different rider to claim the top spot in the world standings this season. He now leads former world No. 1 Kaique Pacheco by 2.17 points.

2008 PBR World Champion Guilherme Marchi won Round 1 with an 88.75-point ride on Losing My Religion (Owens/Wyatt). Marchi, who suffered a massive knee injury last year in Thackerville, relished the round win and the 100 points toward the world standings.

Saturday was also a resurgence for three-time PBR World Champion Silvano Alves. The 28-year-old used an 88.5-point ride on Locked & Loaded (High View Cattle Co.) for a second-place finish and 60 points toward the world standings.

2004 World Champion Mike Lee finished in third courtesy of an 87-point ride on Sketchy Bob (D&H Cattle Co./Flinn), earning him 50 world points.

Stetson Lawrence placed fourth, earning 40 points toward the world standings, after his 86.75-point ride on The Lunatic (4K Bucking Bulls).

Lockwood tied with Davis to round out the Top 5 after an 86.5-point ride on Shake it Up (D&H Cattle Co.). The points were important for Lockwood, who has been one of the hottest riders in the second half.

Lockwood’s total points from the second-place finish in the 15/15 Bucking Battle and his fifth place finish in Round 1 moved him to ninth in the world standings and into the lead of the Rookie of the Year race.

The Top 35 bull riders in the world will return Sunday night for the conclusion of the WinStar World Casino and Resort Invitational. Each rider will face one more bull in Round 2 in hopes of qualifying for the Built Ford Tough Championship Round where the winner will be crowned.

CBS Sports Network will broadcast Round 2 and the Built Ford Tough Championship Round on Sunday night at 8 p.m. ET.

PBR LIVE is available at no charge to all fans and media. Visit www.PBR.com/live to view. Fans can also watch all of the action via the PBR LIVE app, available for download now on Google Play and iTunes.

Thackerville is the 19^th stop on the 2016 BFTS schedule. The season will conclude at the PBR Built Ford Tough World Finals in Las Vegas on Nov. 2-6 at Las Vegas’ new T-Mobile Arena where the 2016 PBR World Champion, the bull rider who earns the most points during the 2016 season, will be crowned and receive the coveted World Championship belt buckle and a $1 million bonus.

The BFTS is televised every week on CBS, CBS Sports Network and networks around the world. Television ratings for PBR on CBS are up more than 33 percent this season compared to last year at this time, according to Nielsen. BFTS telecasts are produced for the PBR under a multi-year agreement with David Neal Productions, a Los Angeles-based production company led by 34-time Emmy® Award winner and Peabody Award winner David Neal, who serves as executive producer.

PBR Digital Editor Kristian Limas contributed to this report. 

Professional Bull Riders Built Ford Tough Series
WinStar World Casino and Resort Invitational 15/15 Bucking Battle
Thackerville, Oklahoma
Event Leaders (Round 1-Event Aggregate-Event Points)

1. Lachlan Richardson, 92.25-92.25-150 Points.
2. Eduardo Aparecido, 88-88.00-82.5 Points.
(tie). Jess Lockwood, 88-88.00-82.5 Points.
Cooper Davis, 0-0.00
Kaique Pacheco, 0-0.00
Fabiano Vieira, 0-0.00
Joao Ricardo Vieira, 0-0.00
Paulo Ferreira Lima, 0-0.00
Shane Proctor, 0-0.00
Wallace Vieira de Oliveira, 0-0.00
Mike Lee, 0-0.00
Derek Kolbaba, 0-0.00
Ryan Dirteater, 0-0.00
Tanner Byrne, 0-0.00
Robson Palermo, 0-0.00

Professional Bull Riders Built Ford Tough Series
WinStar World Casino and Resort Invitational
Thackerville, Oklahoma
Event Leaders (Round 1-Round 2-Round 3-Event Aggregate-Event Points)

1. Guilherme Marchi, 88.75-0-0-88.75-100 Points.
2. Silvano Alves, 88.5-0-0-88.50-60 Points.
3. Mike Lee, 87-0-0-87.00-50 Points.
4. Stetson Lawrence, 86.75-0-0-86.75-40 Points.
5. Cooper Davis, 86.5-0-0-86.50-22.5 Points.
(tie). Jess Lockwood, 86.5-0-0-86.50-22.5 Points.
7. Joao Ricardo Vieira, 86-0-0-86.00-5 Points.
8. Paulo Ferreira Lima, 85-0-0-85.00
(tie). Tanner Byrne, 85-0-0-85.00
10. Shane Proctor, 83.75-0-0-83.75
Kaique Pacheco, 0-0-0-0.00
Fabiano Vieira, 0-0-0-0.00
Eduardo Aparecido, 0-0-0-0.00
Wallace Vieira de Oliveira, 0-0-0-0.00
Derek Kolbaba, 0-0-0-0.00
Ryan Dirteater, 0-0-0-0.00
Robson Palermo, 0-0-0-0.00
Lachlan Richardson, 0-0-0-0.00
Mason Lowe, 0-0-0-0.00
Gage Gay, 0-0-0-0.00
Rubens Barbosa, 0-0-0-0.00
Stormy Wing, 0-0-0-0.00
Valdiron de Oliveira, 0-0-0-0.00
Cody Nance, 0-0-0-0.00
Tyler Harr, 0-0-0-0.00
Nevada Newman, 0-0-0-0.00
Kasey Hayes, 0-0-0-0.00
Nathan Schaper, 0-0-0-0.00
Cody Heffernan, 0-0-0-0.00
Marco Antonio Eguchi, 0-0-0-0.00
Jorge Valdiviezo, 0-0-0-0.00
Aaron Roy, 0-0-0-0.00
Fraser Babbington, 0-0-0-0.00
Luis Blanco, 0-0-0-0.00
Kurt Shephard, 0-0-0-0.00
Quentin Vaught, 0-0-0-0.00