Campbell Stays Red-Hot and Wins 2021 Pendleton Whisky Velocity Tour Finals
By: Justin Felisko
LAS VEGAS – Sunday night may be Halloween, but don’t count on Boudreaux Campbell to celebrate his victory at the 2021 Pendleton Whisky Velocity Tour Finals with candy or anything too sweet.
Three weeks ago, in preparation for the stretch run to the 2021 PBR World Finals, Campbell decided to embark on a slight diet and increased workout regiment to help him become a leaner bull riding machine once he arrived in Las Vegas for the PBR’s season-culminating week of events.
Campbell began to focus on eating healthy proteins and limiting his sugar intake. That small change in his diet has helped him lose seven pounds, and, more importantly, the 150-pounder has won two consecutive events ahead of the World Finals, beginning on Wednesday at T-Mobile Arena.
“I think that’s helping,” Campbell said. “It’s making me not feel lazy when I show up and stuff like that. It’s not literally like an (intense) losing-weight diet, but just (eating) proteins, no sugars, nothing like that. Having carbs on days I’m riding. Like I ate some pancakes and pasta today.”
The 2020 PBR World Finals event winner’s latest victory came Sunday. He bounced back from a 2.56-second buckoff in Round 2 at the South Point Arena & Equestrian Center to ride King Brute for 89 points in the championship round to jump back into the lead.
Campbell, who won Round 1 on Saturday night with 90 points on Chief, then looked on as Mauricio Moreira, 2018 World Champion Kaique Pacheco and Daylon Swearingen all bucked off to clinch Campbell the Velocity Tour Finals event title.
“I was a little surprised, yeah, because after I got off, they said I was winning it, and then Kaique and Daylon were the last two to go, and I was like, ‘Well, these are two guys that are hard to buck off,’” Campbell said. “But yeah, it all just worked out in my favor. Stay on your bulls; everything else will take care of itself.”
Campbell’s composure to bounce back from his Round 2 buckoff was another example of the growth he continues to work on this season. Campbell knows he can’t let an event get away from him if he is to buck off in the long rounds. He knows he has to clear his mind and get right back after it on the next bull, and, as Sunday showed, good things can still happen.
The Crockett, Texas, bull rider has ridden five of his past six bulls.
“I bucked off that first bull, and I stubbed my toe,” Campbell said. “I made little bitty mistakes, but I tried, and that bull really bucked. You make little mistakes on bulls that buck that hard, and you’re going to fall off. So you’ve just got to fix that mistake, and next time around, don’t let it happen, and if it does, just keep coming back. Bounce back. Winners always bounce back.”
Campbell said he learned after winning the World Finals last year that he has to remind himself to never be complacent and expect victories to just happen.
“Any time you go through a big win like that, even this, it kind of humbles you a little bit,” Campbell said. “Don’t forget where you come from. Always stay laser-focused. And just remember everyone else is better than you, even if you don’t think so. My goal is to be better than that bull. I don’t care what everybody else thinks. I don’t care what they do. My goal is to ride that bull, and at the end of the day, that’s all I care about.”
Campbell is fifth in the world standings, but he is mathematically eliminated from the world title race.
However, he can still make history this week in Las Vegas. His goal is to become just the second rider in PBR history to win back-to-back PBR World Finals event titles.
“My confidence feels good. It’s up,” Campbell said. “I’m ready to fire on all cylinders. I’m really excited. I won it all last weekend (in Lincoln, Nebraska). I won this one this weekend, and I’m going to T-Mobile and (ready to) win that one there. That’s three in a row. That’s saying a lot. So yeah, just staying on my bulls. It’s not hard. Not hard at all. Just stay on your bulls.”
Campbell did have a noticeable limp in the arena on Sunday. He was diagnosed after the event by the PBR Sports Medicine Team with a strained abdominal muscle (quadratus lumborum strain) and had a big bag of ice wrapped to his hip, but Campbell said it is nothing to worry about.
The 23-year-old says it will not be an issue for him come Wednesday, and he will take the next two days to rest and recover.
“Just ice, go to the gym, get on a bike. It’ll be fine,” he said. “It’s not bothering me too much. That last bull bucked, and it was a UTB bull, and I handled him fine.”
Follow Justin Felisko on Twitter @jfelisko
Photo courtesy of Andre Silva/Bull Stock Media
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