15/15 Bucking Battle Preview: Chiseled Looks Refreshed and Ready to Push for a World Title

By: Justin Felisko

PUEBLO, Colo. – It was only a year ago when 2019 ABBI Classic champion Chiseled was neck-and-neck with Smooth Operator for the 2020 YETI World Championship.

The race came down to the final out of the 2020 PBR World Finals as the 10-year-old veteran Smooth Operator would nudge past the youngster Chiseled, 46.13 to 46.03, to win a second consecutive PBR World Championship.

It was a tough loss for Chiseled, but the now-6-year-old bull was expected to make a push once again for the 2021 YETI World Championship, especially once he opened the season with 46.5 and 47-point bull scores in February.

However, Chiseled lost a step as he was ridden in four consecutive trips during the middle of the first half, and he drifted away from the top World Champion contenders Woopaa, Marquis Metal Works Red Clark, Ridin Solo and Marquis Metal Works Coriolis Effect. Chiseled ended the first half with a 4.13-second buckoff against Ezekiel Mitchell in Jacksonville, Florida, on May 13, but he posted a career-low 40-point bull score.

D&H Cattle Company remained committed to their bovine superstar, and H.D. Page knew his bull would rebound in due time. Following an impressive summer run in the PRCA, Chiseled is now in contention for the PRCA Bull of the Year award and appears to have regained the form that had him fighting for a PBR world title last season.

Chiseled went 5-0 on the rodeo trail this summer with an average bull score of 46.9 points before going 2-0 at the Days of ’47 Cowboy Games & Rodeo with an average score of 45.5 points.

The three-time PBR World Finals qualifier erupted for a 46.25-point bull score at Last Cowboy Standing when Cody Teel rode him for 94.5 points.

 
Chiseled did not look fatigued following that effort either as he kept pushing forward with a 2.97-second buckoff of Dener Barbosa for a 45.75-point bull score in Tulsa, Oklahoma, four days later.

Chiseled has looked leaner, quicker and more explosive than he did in the first half, and Page believes his bull got in better shape during the summer run.

“He’s bucking hard,” Page said. “He has been on the trail, and he’s lost probably 150 pounds, and it has been working good for him. He still looks good. It is not like he is malnourished by any stretch. I think there is something to getting them hard on the road. He is a little lighter, and that is the biggest difference. They got to be almost on the heavy side starting out (the year) because once they get hardened up, they will be too thin. There was a time where Chiseled was probably knocking on 1,700 pounds, and he is probably now 1,550.”

Teel believes Chiseled certainly deserves to be considered among the top tier of bucking bulls in the PBR.

“I watched a lot of his outs during the week at the rodeos, and he was just that. He looked good,” Teel said. “His intensity kept with it, and I would say he is back. He seems to like it the more he goes. If he is going to bucking like that, he is up there with Woopaa, from what I saw in the summer. They both have that wow factor and are showy. They are the first picks for the guys. Right-hand guys take Chiseled; left-hand guys take Woopaa.”

Chiseled is ranked seventh in the 2021 YETI World Champion standings with a 45.06-point average on eight outs. He will attempt to drop his 40-point score this weekend when he takes on Mauricio Moreira in the 15/15 Bucking Battle at the PBR Bad Boy Mowers Mowdown in Little Rock, Arkansas.

Chiseled has looked extremely strong with Moreira in two previous matchups. Earlier this season, in Del Rio, Texas, Chiseled bucked Moreira off in 4.68 seconds for that 46.5-point bull score mentioned above. Chiseled picked up 46.25 points in last year’s regular-season finale with a 3.35-second buckoff of Moreira.

15/15 Bucking Battle Matchups

Rafael Henrique dos Santos vs. Born To Sin (7-3, UTB)
Dalton Kasel vs. I’m Legit Too (29-11, UTB/METC)
Silvano Alves vs. First Down (7-1, UTB)
Mauricio Moreira vs. Chiseled (19-13, UTB/METC)
Junior Patrik Souza vs. Night Hawk (13-0, UTB)
Chase Dougherty vs. Sweatlodge Testified (2-0, UTB)
Keyshawn Whitehorse vs. HomeBru (7-1, UTB)
Derek Kolbaba vs. Wicked Dreams (21-3, UTB)
Cody Teel vs. Diddy Wa Diddy (4-5, UTB)
Boudreaux Campbell vs. Woopaa (5-5, UTB)
Joao Ricardo Vieira vs. Oz (31-6, UTB/METC)
Dener Barbosa vs. Hostage (31-4, UTB)
Cooper Davis vs. Detroit Lean (9-1, UTB)
Kaique Pacheco vs. Oilfield Outlaw’s Yellow Feather (5-1, UTB)
Jose Vitor Leme vs. Blue Crush (28-8)

The 15/15 Bucking Battle airs Sunday on CBS national television at 12:30 p.m. ET.

Woopaa is currently the frontrunner in the 2021 YETI World Champion Bull race with a 46.68 average on seven outs. He will officially qualify for the world title once he takes on Boudreaux Campbell in the 15/15 Bucking Battle. Campbell is 2-for-2 against Woopaa with 95.5-point (Kansas City, Missouri) and 95.25-point (Cheyenne, Wyoming) rides.

 
The 2021 YETI World Champion Bull will be the animal with the highest average bull score from their top eight regular-season outs and two outs at the PBR World Finals (Nov. 3-7 in Las Vegas).

In fact, a 46-point score this weekend could move Chiseled all the way up to No. 2 in the YETI world standings.

Chiseled will need some massive scores in the second half to get closer to Woopaa, but all it takes is one mishap at the Finals, and a bull’s chances at winning the World Championship can be altered significantly.

“Anything can happen,” Page said. “Woopaa is a great bull. I’ve come in there winning the Classic before and have had one fall or trip himself or whatever. That is why we play the game. It is not over until it is over.”

Regarding the PRCA Bull of the Year title, that accolade is determined by a rider vote, and Page believes Chiseled should have a case for that award.

“I would think he has a shot (at the PRCA title),” Page said. “You would think the bull riders would like him. He gives them a shot to win it, and he bucks hard every single time. He is a good, honest bull.”

4 ADDITIONAL REMATCHES

Derek Kolbaba vs. Wicked Dreams (1.79 seconds in Cheyenne, Wyoming)
Joao Ricardo Vieira vs. Oz (87.75 points in Springfield, Missouri)
Jose Vitor Leme vs. Blue Crush (2-1; 89.25 points in Omaha, Nebraska)
Keyshawn Whitehorse vs. HomeBru (2.81 seconds in Tulsa, Oklahoma)

Follow Justin Felisko on Twitter @jfelisko

Photo courtesy of Andy Watson/Bull Stock Media

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