High Scores, Low Ages Dominate as Next Wave of UTB Talent Arrives
By: James Youness
HOUSTON, Texas — The only thing scary about this Sunday is how competitive this year’s Unleash The Beast pack is from top to bottom!
Sure, sports fans around the world may have spent the resting day tuned into the NFL’s respective AFC and NFC Championship games as the Baltimore Ravens, Kansas City Chiefs, San Francisco 49ers and Detroit Lions battle it out to see which two teams receive the honors of representing their conferences at Super Bowl LVIII.
But after watching rookie standout Clay Guiton come .56 seconds from potentially earning his career-first UTB event win (while still securing his first podium appearance courtesy of his third-place finish) en route to advancing to the No. 26 rank despite participating in just three events this season, there’s never been a better time to be an up-and-coming competitor, as the premier series has welcomed several new stars who haven’t hesitated on shining one bit.
Seeing Marco Rizzo secure a 86.75-point score during his UTB debut Friday night on his way to tying for a ninth-place tie, the youngster nearly received another shot to impress during what would’ve been his first short round of the season. But after enduring a set of blows from his second-round opponent while attempting to dismount, the 19-year-old was ruled out for the remainder of the competition after the sports medicine team helped him off the dirt and into the locker room.
Competing in his first UTB event of the 2024 campaign, Brazilian cowboy Wingson Henrique da Silva (24) ended up exiting Houston with the event win as the only rider to stay perfect throughout. Now in his second year of UTB rankness, the talented competitor is already looking to build on his No. 4 finish from year one en route to finishing as the 2023 PBR Rookie of the Year runner-up. Another example of a rider benefitting from 5-on-5 action while keeping himself accountable and hungry, the Kansas City Outlaws’ standout hasn’t looked back since being traded from the Carolina Cowboys last May during a PBR Teams Draft-week trade.
Warmed up and ready to go after besting Bison on Friday night for 78.25 points, Silva retuned to Toyota Center Saturday with one goal. An evening of greatness.
Eventually parlaying his second-round conversion (Mighty Mike, 85.25 points) en route to jumping atop the event leaderboard in Round 3, courtesy of his outstanding dance with I’m Legit Too … He jumped to the No. 9 rank, a direct follow-up to his third-place showing in Tulsa, Oklahoma, the weekend prior.
A new weekend showcase, a new set of riders pronouncing themselves as the sport’s next big thing.
And yet, it seems like just a year or so ago, as UTB’s prized bovines dominated throughout the 2023 circuit, that the industry wondered how many, where and when the next wave of bull riding talent would reveal itself.
While it would be easy to claim experiencing a season of competitive 5-on-5 action as part of a PBR Camping World Team Series campaign is surely paying off for the likes of Kaiden Loud, Cort McFadden and company …
… some of the tour’s hottest young riders in John Crimber, Guiton, Rizzo and beyond brought zero PBR Teams experience into their inaugural UTB seasons.
Quite the different way to experience one’s first trip around the premier series slate compared to Loud and folks, who have benefited by learning from the coaching likes of Justin McBride while sharing a locker room with living legends in Kaique Pacheco, Silvano Alves and friends.
While Crimber, Sage Steele Kimzey, Cassio Dias and several other skilled first-year talents didn’t represent this year’s rookie class with their usual epic efforts, as the trio combined to produce an 0-for-6 record on the weekend, there’s no disputing the tour has very much filled the potential “talent gap” rumors of last season.
Quite the 180, really, as bull riding fans can expect to hear from most of this year’s rookies for several seasons to come!
Between Silva, Cody Jesus, who turned in another second-place result (now his second on the year as he continues to chase down what’s become an elusive career-first UTB win) and Guiton, the median age upon the podium was 22.3 years of age.
Whether that’s a few years ahead for guys like Crimber, Guiton and company or it was 17-some years ago for a veteran like Joao Ricardo Vieira, it sure seems to pay to be young lately!
Photo courtesy of Todd Brewer/Bull Stock Media
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