Stephenson Dedicates Victory to Grandmother
By: Justin Felisko
December 17, 2018
River Stephenson dedicated his win at the Midway Auto Dealerships PBR Challenge to his late grandmother. Photo: Josh Homer/BullStockMedia.com.
PUEBLO, Colo. – It was 6:30 in the morning on Saturday when River Stephenson got word of his grandmother, Jeannie Hanson’s, passing.
Stephenson’s family was hoping the bull rider could come back home to Idaho to be with them, but Stephenson was already 12 hours into his journey to Kearney, Nebraska, for the Midway Auto Dealerships PBR Challenge Touring Pro Division event.
Therefore, as bad as he wished to be with his mourning family, Stephenson, who also was traveling with Ryan Prophet, decided he had to follow through and compete at the final PBR event on the 2018 calendar.
“It was hard for me knowing I wanted to be back there with my family, but circumstances really had things decided for me already,” Stephenson said. “It was tough not feeling like I had much of a choice, but I just trusted I was where I was supposed to be.”
Riding with a heavy heart, Stephenson went 2-for-2 to win the event.
Stephenson dedicated the victory to his grandmother, who passed away peacefully at 76 years old, on his Facebook account Saturday night.
“Tonight’s performance was dedicated to my grandmother Jeannie Hanson, who we lost last night,” Stephenson wrote on his Facebook account. “She has always given me so much love and support in everything, and I felt her spirit right there with me tonight. Thank you grandma. Love you forever.”
Stephenson began the event with an 87-point ride aboard Buck John.
He then pushed himself toward the victory in the championship round with a career-high 89.5 points on Smoke Signals.
The 21-year-old won both rounds of competition.
“When I went to ride, my traveling partner told me be proud of what I leave out there, so I didn’t hold back and it really went my way,” Stephenson said.
Stephenson picked up 60 points toward the world standings to move to 14thin the early 2019 world standings.
Stephenson is 3-for-4 in the two events and has 70 world points.
“I was super grateful the night went like it did because I really dedicated that performance to her and all she’s done for me,” Stephenson said.
Mason Lowe continued his strong start to 2019, finishing second with a 2-for-2 showing. Lowe made 8 seconds on Pick-It Construction’s Find Jesus in Round 1 for 85.5 points and then conquered Invizibull Fire for 89 points in the championship round.
Lowe earned 30 points toward the world standings and has begun the 2019 season 4-for-5 (80 percent).
Cody Tesch was the only other rider to cover each of his bulls in Kearney, placing third overall by covering Tailgate Party (86.5 points) and Poke-n-Grit (85.5 points) for 20 world points.
Ouncie Mitchell (86.5 points on Dream Catcher) and Scottie Knapp (86 points on Shishkabob) rounded out the Top 5.
Stephenson’s victory in Nebraska is the fourth of his career at all levels.
He is next slated to compete at the Velocity Tour event in Oakland, California, on Jan. 5 at 10 p.m. ET.
Fans can watch the Velocity Tour on RidePass.
Stephenson knows his grandmother would be proud of his effort this weekend in Nebraska.
Hanson has always been one of his biggest supporters.
“She was always really interested in my bull riding,” Stephenson said. “I could tell she really believed in my ability to go and do good at it, and I just felt the love and belief she showed me all through life. She was always so happy when I did good, and I could tell she was always really surprised when I didn’t and I always appreciated that about her.
“That is something I’ve never taken for granted.”
Follow Justin Felisko on Twitter @jfelisko
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