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Willingham Earns the Victory in Jackson Hole

By: Justin Felisko
July 18, 2018

Sean Willingham won his first Touring Pro Division event since 2013 with a 90-point ride on Midnight Rain in Jackson Hole, Wyoming. Photo: Outlaw Partners Jackson Hole PBR.

PUEBLO, Colo. – If 2018 does indeed end up being Sean Willingham’s final swan song, well, the 37-year-old is sure doing his part to make sure the tune is a memorable one.

Willingham used his first 90-point ride at any level of PBR competition in four years on Tuesday night to win the Jackson Hole PBR, presented by Million Dollar Cowboy Bar, Touring Pro Division event.

The Summerville, Georgia, native capped his 2-for-2 performance by riding Midnight Rain for 90 points on the second-to-last ride of the evening.

“He is a bucker, for sure,” Willingham said while sitting at Denver International Airport Wednesday morning. “It has been a while since I was 90. I am not for sure how long, but it has been too long.”

Willingham last hit the 90-point threshold back on April 12, 2014 when he rode Pound The Alarm for 90 points at the 15/15 Bucking Battle in Billings, Montana.

Tuesday was also Willingham’s first Touring Pro Division victory in almost five years. Willingham was last victorious at a TPD event on Nov. 2, 2013, in Clovis, New Mexico.

“It is always good to win no matter where you are at,” Willingham said. “No matter if you are 85 or 95, it is still good to win.”

Reigning Stock Contractor of the Year Chad Berger hauled bulls to Jackson Hole this week, which gave the TPD event a similar bull caliber to that of a 25th PBR: Unleash The Beast.

Midnight Rain had yet to be ridden at any level of competition and was 8-0 after bucking off two-time World Champion J.B. Mauney at Berger’s $100,000 Match of Champions in Bismarck, North Dakota, last month.

Get Shorty had previously only surrendered two rides in 20 outs at all levels.

Both rides went into Willingham’s right riding hand.

“Shoot, that short round last night is as good as one at the Unleash The Beast,” Willingham said. “They have been the same bulls in there every weekend. To ride one of those bulls, you know you have rode a great bull. It is the same as the big tour. It definitely builds your confidence for the second half of the season when you ride a caliber bull like that. That is what you are going to be getting on for the rest of the year and the season. That is definitely a confidence builder.”

Willingham picked up 60 points toward the world standings with the victory and moves up to No. 23.

Rounding out the Top 5 was Cody Casper (30 world points), Koal Livingston (20 world points), Matt Triplett (15 world points) and Daylon Swearingen (10 world points).

Livingston has moved up to 32nd in the world standings after only returning to competition from offseason shoulder surgery in April.

Willingham is slated to compete on Wednesday night at the California Rodeo PBR in Salinas, California, at 10 p.m. ET.

Also riding in Salinas is No. 20 Derek Kolbaba, No. 28 Brock Radford, No. 30 Silvano Alves, No. 31 Marco Eguchi, Livingston, No. 33 Lonnie West, No. 34 Cody Campbell and No. 35 Lachlan Richardson.

The 16-year veteran announced before the start of the 2018 season that he would be retiring at the end of the year.

However, a career resurgence and return to the PBR’s premier series for the first time in three years has made the retirement question a little bit more complicated for Willingham.

 
Willingham becomes hesitant when asked if he is having any second thoughts.

“I don’t know,” he responded. “There is definitely no second thou—I don’t know. It is just a tough question. I hate to decide. I do want to ride in New York City. I can’t retire in Las Vegas if I go ride in New York City in January. I guess this could be my last trip to Las Vegas, but I definitely want to ride in New York City one more time. I may have to call it quits in January.”

The New York City event is one of Willingham’s favorites on the PBR calendar, and he has not competed inside Madison Square Garden since 2015.

Willingham is thinking maybe he would push back his retirement a few months to nod his head one final time inside MSG now that his first trip to the PBR World Finals in four years is on the horizon.

“I love that event,” Willingham said. “I have loved it since they started having it there. It is such a prestigious venue there. Madison Square Garden. You have the opportunity to go ride there again for that prize money? Why not? If I am still healthy and feeling good, I don’t see a reason not to go.”

And if he were to win the 2019 season-opening PBR Major in New York, then what?

“You keep riding,” Willingham said. “In my eyes, you keep riding. You can look at the standings as of today. Gage Gay won it and he is still in the Top 30. That pretty much qualified him for the World Finals again.  If you do win, you keep riding.”

Willingham says it is still a “slim chance” of him riding full time in 2019, let alone in New York, but he is now willing to keep his options open.

It is a decision he would like to put on hold for now, and Willingham wants to focus on enjoying the process of making a return to Las Vegas and riding inside the prestigious T-Mobile Arena for the first time.

Retirement is a subject that he rather not think about too much these days.

“This is something that is going to be very hard for me to do. To step away,” he concluded. “I definitely enjoy being home with my family more now too. But if everything plays out good and I have a good year and finish in the top, if there are sponsors that want to pay me some money to keep going, and I am still able and capable, and my mind still wants to go and get on bulls there is no reason not to I don’t think.”

Follow Justin Felisko on Twitter @jfelisko

© 2018 PBR Inc. All rights reserved.

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