Dougherty Wins Texarkana TPD Event, Turns Focus to Pendleton Whisky Velocity Tour
By: Justin Felisko
PUEBLO, Colo. – Chase Dougherty’s 950-mile journey in frigid temperatures and snow/ice may have brought with it a mixed bag of results, but he is still one step closer to achieving his goal of getting onto the PBR’s Unleash The Beast.
Dougherty began his weekend by winning the George Orr Classic presents The Four States PBR Shootout in Texarkana, Arkansas, with a 90-point ride on Pendleton in the championship round.
The 22-year-old began the event with an 88-point ride on Last Chance. His 2-for-2 performance netted him 15 world points, pushing him up to No. 36 in the world standings.
“Super important to get the win due to the slow start I had to the year,” Dougherty, who is 4-for-8 in four non-premier series events in 2021, said.
View this post on Instagram
Clayton Sellars placed second in Texarkana. The 22-year-old narrowly advanced to the championship round after tying for 13th in Round 1, riding Home Wrecker for 84.5 points. Seizing the opportunity, Sellars climbed the leaderboard when he completed his perfect outing at the Four States Fairground, making the 8 on Slim Jim for 85 points. He earned 8 world points and is now ranked No. 48 in the world. Sellars trails the Top 30 by 18 points.
As the final rider to be flawless at the Arkansas event, veteran contender Wallace Vieira de Oliveira was third, earning seven world points. Oliveira’s qualified rides were earned aboard Makin’ Moves for 85.5 points in Round 1 and Heartless for 83.5 points in the championship round.
Keith Hall won Round 1 with an 88.5-point effort on Rabbit Trick and finished fourth overall, collecting four world points. Gold Rush bested Hall in the championship round in 1.57 seconds.
Rounding out the Top 5 was Luis Blanco (Iacanga, Brazil) in fifth. Blanco’s first Top-5 finish of the 2021 season, which netted him three world points, was highlighted by an 88-point score on Tiger in Round 1.
The Four States PBR Shootout also featured the much-anticipated return of eight-time PBR World Finals qualifier Chase Outlaw (Hamburg, Arkansas), who made his 2021 season debut following a sixth-month recovery for his fifth reconstructive shoulder surgery in six seasons.
Going 1-for-2, Outlaw tied for 11th alongside Jesse Petri (Palestine, Texas) and Marcus Mast (Middlebury, Indiana). Outlaw will take a week off before possibly making his 2021 Unleash The Beast debut in Longview, Texas, on Feb. 27-28.
Meanwhile, Dougherty did not have much time to enjoy his Arkansas victory as he then had to make a nine-hour journey to San Antonio for Sunday’s San Antonio Stock Show and Rodeo Xtreme Bulls event. By the time he made it to Freeman Coliseum, his bull was already loaded in the bucking chute, and he wound up bucking off.
“Wish I could say I stated him,” Dougherty said with a laugh. “We didn’t get there until my bull was already loaded, and then we drove a snowstorm after that to get home.”
Dougherty and his wife, Kara, made it safely home to Stephenville, Texas, in about five hours, and now Chase will turn his focus to the Pendleton Whisky Velocity Tour.
He is entered in this coming weekend’s Lexington Invitational in Lexington, Kentucky, and a good performance there could push him onto the Unleash The Beast. He is only 11 points outside of the Top 30.
The 2018 Wrangler National Finals bull riding event winner is looking forward to a full season this year after missing a good chunk of 2020 recovering from reconstructive right shoulder surgery in 2019. Dougherty, who made his premier series debut at last year’s season-finale in Nampa, Idaho, later flashed his potential with a 90.75-point ride on Lil 2 Train at Cowboys for a Cause.
Fans can watch the Velocity Tour exclusively on RidePass. Round 1 from Lexington begins at 8 p.m. ET on Friday night.
Also tentatively expected to compete in the 45-rider field in Lexington is last weekend’s Round 1 winner on the Unleash The Beast, No. 25 Rafael Henrique dos Santos, as well as No. 33 Cody Casper, 2002 World Champion Ednei Caminhas, 11-time World Finals qualifier Valdiron de Oliveira, 2009 Rookie of the Year Cody Nance and Wallace de Oliveira.
Professional Bull Riders – Greg Orr Classic Presents The Four States PBR Shootout
Texarkana, AR, 2021 – Event Leaders (Round 1-Round 2-Event Aggregate-Event Points)
1. Chase Dougherty, 88-90-178.00-15 Points.
2. Clayton Sellars, 84.5-85-169.50-8 Points.
3. Wallace Vieira de Oliveira, 85.5-83.5-169.00-7 Points.
4. Keith Hall, 88.5-0-88.50-4 Points.
5. Luis Blanco, 88-0-88.00-3 Points.
6. Logan Biever, 87-0-87.00-1.5 Points.
(tie). Alex Jenks, 87-0-87.00-1.5 Points.
8. Luciano De Castro, 86.5-0-86.50
9. Cole Skender, 85.5-0-85.50
(tie). Ryan Prophet, 85.5-0-85.50
11. Jesse Petri, 85-0-85.00
(tie). Marcus Mast, 85-0-85.00
(tie). Chase Outlaw, 85-0-85.00
14. Paulo Ferreira Lima, 84.5-0-84.50
15. Juan Alonzo, 84-0-84.00
16. Ednei Caminhas, 83.5-0-83.50
17. Leonardo Lima, 83-0-83.00
18. Justin Houston, 80-0-80.00
Thor Hoefer II, 0-0-0.00
Wyatt Rogers, 0-0-0.00
Lucas Fideles Souza, 0-0-0.00
Eli Byler, 0-0-0.00
Conner Halverson, 0-0-0.00
Hayden Harris, 0-0-0.00
Hunter Ball, 0-0-0.00
Caleb Christian, 0-0-0.00
Thiago Salgado, 0-0-0.00
Francisco Morales, 0-0-0.00
Francisco Garcia Torres, 0-0-0.00
Triston Dean, 0-0-0.00
Rubens Barbosa, 0-0-0.00
Bradley Brittain, 0-0-0.00
Gage Gay, 0-0-0.00
Dylan Smith, 0-0-0.00
Juan Carlos Contreras, 0-0-0.00
Eli Miller, 0-0-0.00
Dylan Madsen, 0-0-0.00
Dirlei Bonani, 0-0-0.00
Paulo Souza Rodriguez, 0-0-0.00
Matt Oliver, 0-0-0.00
Mason Ward, 0-0-0.00
Christian Melgarejo, 0-0-0.00
Robson Aragão, 0-0-0.00
Tyler Taylor, 0-0-0.00
Lane Lasley, 0-0-0.00
Esteban Bustamante Salcido, 0-0-0.00
Follow Justin Felisko on Twitter @jfelisko
Photo courtesy of Andre Silva/Bull Stock Media
© 2021 PBR Inc. All rights reserved.