Air Force Reserve Flight to the Lexington: Cowboys Excited for ‘rare opportunity’ to Ride Bulls on Historic Aircraft Carrier
By: Justin Felisko
CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas – It only took seconds for Cody Teel to respond to the question of if he wanted to ride at the second PBR Air Force Reserve Cowboys for a Cause.
“Absolutely.”
Teel is from nearby College Station, Texas, and the USS Lexington is only 250 miles away. There is always something special for Teel to be riding in his home state, let alone on the 910-foot-long flight deck of the gamed “Blue Ghost” battleship.
“Corpus isn’t too far from the house for me, and it was really special to be a part of last year,” Teel said. “Once you get there and read about the history of the battleship, that just makes it that much cooler. Not many guys ever have that opportunity. Even if we do it ever y year, it will only be a select few guys who can say they ever did it.”
Teel, who’s grandfather was a marine, is one of only four riders competing this weekend who also rode at last November’s inaugural Cowboys for a Cause event.
Outside of Teel, Ezekiel Mitchell, Eduardo Aparecido and Mauricio Moreira, the other 20 riders competing in this weekend’s team bull riding competition will be riding on a battleship for the first time in their lifetimes.
Teel is riding for Team Lucas Oil and takes on Moonlight Party (1-0, all levels) in Round 1. He is joining forces with Marcelo Procopio Pereira and Andrew Alvidrez.
2020 World Champion, and current world No. 1 Jose Vitor Leme, said in Fort Worth last weekend he was extremely excited when he learned that there would be a second Cowboys for a Cause event this year.
Leme elected to not compete at the inaugural event in November as he had returned home to Brazil for the first time in two years to celebrate his World Championship with his family and friends.
“Unfortunately, last year I was not here, and I was in Brazil,” Leme said. “This year it is a good date and now I can go. This will be fun. I saw all my friends riding there on the ship last year, and I told myself, ‘I need to ride there.’”
There are a limited number of world points available this weekend. One rider can earn a maximum of 69 world points if he wins Round 1 and posts two 90-point rides.
Leme, who is riding for Team South Point, has a 519.5-point lead in the world standings on No. 2 Kaique Pacheco. He takes on Steel Wishes (5-0 PRCA) in Round 1.
At the first Cowboys for a Cause event last November, PBR and its partners raised $250,000 for military charities, and league partners Wrangler and Bad Boy Mowers each donated $25,000 to Operation Homefront.
This year, the beneficiary of Cowboys for a Cause will be Farmer Veteran Coalition, whose goal is to cultivate a new generation of farmers and food leaders, and develop viable employment and meaningful careers through the collaboration of the farming and military communities.
“This is really important because this can help a lot of people, this is amazing,” Leme said last Saturday in Fort Worth.
2016 World Champion Cooper Davis, Leme and all 24 riders competing this weekend also decided Tuesday night that they would donate their $100,000 prize purse to the family of Amadeu Campos Silva.
The young Brazilian passed away last Sunday at the Pendleton Whisky Velocity Tour event in Fresno, California. He was 22 years old.
COWBOYS FOR A CAUSE TEAM ASSIGNMENTS
Team Bad Boy Mowers: Claudio Montanha Jr., Mauricio Moreira and Eli Vastbinder
Team Boot Barn: Alex Cerqueira, Joao Henrique Lucas and Kaique Pacheco
Team Pendleton Whisky: Cooper Davis, Jesse Petri and Mason Taylor
Team South Point: Cole Melancon, Eduardo Aparecido and Jose Vitor Leme
Team Wrangler: Cody Jesus, Silvano Alves and Thiago Salgado
Team Kubota: Ezekiel Mitchell, Junior Patrik Souza and Taylor Toves
Team Zip Recruiter: Austin Richardson, Dalton Kasel and Joao Ricardo Vieira
Team Lucas Oil: Cody Teel, Marcelo Procopio Pereira, Andrew Alvidrez
COWBOYS FOR A CAUSE EVENT FORMAT
• All three riders on each team will attempt to ride one bull in the first round of competition.
• The three teams with the highest aggregate score in Round 1 will advance to the Championship Round.
• In the Championship Round, each rider for every remaining team in the competition will get on one bull apiece.
• The team with the highest aggregate score in the Championship Round will be the winning team. (Essentially, the slate is wiped clean for the three teams and it will be winner-take-all).
• The Rider/ Bull matchups will be by random draw via computer by PBR personnel.
Follow Justin Felisko on Twitter @jfelisko
Photo courtesy of Andy Watson/Bull Stock Media
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