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Kolbaba Says Team Will be Ready for Physical Grind of Monster Energy Team Challenge

By: Justin Felisko

PUEBLO, Colo. – Riders on a normal Unleash The Beast competition weekend will attempt to ride anywhere between two to four bulls, and on extremely rare occasions five bulls when there is a three-day event with a 15/15 Bucking Battle.

This season, though, has been somewhat lighter for the PBR’s top bull riders with the first half of the season featuring 10 two-day events, two three-day events, a PBR Major and four 15/15 Bucking Battles.

Daylon Swearingen, who has attempted the most bulls on the premier series in 2020 at 38, is averaging 2.92 bulls per weekend.

Therefore, heading into the Monster Energy Team Challenge, presented by U.S. Border Patrol, it will be interesting to see which riders thrive in the physical test that will be awaiting them in Las Vegas. There is a good possibility that many riders will end up getting on six bulls, including two in a 50-minute span per game, by weekend’s end.

“The fact with this team deal is we are going to be getting on a lot of bulls in a short amount of time,” Team Captain Derek Kolbaba said.

 
The physical grind of the Monster Energy Team Challenge could be a benefit to his team, Kolbaba explained after revealing he selected leading PBR Rookie of the Year contender Cole Melancon, four-time NFR qualifier Jordan Spears and 2018 NFR qualifier Eli Vastbinder to his team. The PBR randomly assigned 1999 Ring of Honor member Jerome Robinson to be the team’s General Manager.

Melancon, who qualified for three NFRs before making a full-time move to the PBR this season, Spears and Vastbinder are no stranger to getting on multiple bulls throughout the week and going up and down the rodeo trail.

Kolbaba likes the grittiness that kind of travel schedule can bring to the arena.

“These guys know what it is like to get on five, six, eight head of bulls within four days,” the Walla Walla, Washington, native said.

Melancon had to attempt four bulls in one night of competition when he won the PBR’s Iron Cowboy in downtown Los Angeles in February to become only the second rookie to win a PBR Major.

“I am pretty dang happy with my team,” Kolbaba said. “We got Cole, a multiple time NFR qualifier and now making himself a mainstay with the PBR. My other two picks, Jordan and Eli, are both NFR qualifiers. Kind of going for them rodeo guys, apparently, which is what it ended up being, which I think is going to bring a lot to the table. I feel both those guys, Jordan and Eli, are pretty gritty bull riders.”

The Monster Energy Team Challenge is going to feature 12 teams and 48 bull riders in Las Vegas at the non-public event. Each team will consist of four riders, and there will be two divisions of six teams. The Top 3 teams in each division will then qualify for Championship Weekend and a single-elimination tournament in Sioux Falls, South Dakota, on July 10-12 in front of fans.

Every game will be comprised of 12 collective outs, with each team attempting six bulls. Three riders per team, as selected by the General Manager, will attempt two bulls per game. The winner of each game will be the team with the top combined aggregate score from their six outs.

 
The likelihood is that most teams will have at least one or two riders attempting six bulls per weekend depending on any substitutions made by its General Manager.

Team Kolbaba is squaring off against Team Leme Sunday at 12:30 p.m. ET during the PBR’s Game of the Week on CBS national television.

Before then, though, his team will be looking to get ready for the big matchup with games against Team Wright on Friday night (9:50 p.m. ET on CBS Sports Network/RidePass) and Saturday vs. Team Alves (9 p.m. ET on CBS Sports Network/RidePass).

Outside of Kolbaba (No. 20 in the world) and Melancon (No. 9), the other six riders competing in the Kolbaba vs. Wright game are primarily rodeo bull riders who do not compete on the Unleash The Beast.

It will a good showcase of some strong talent that PBR fans may not see on a regular basis.

“It is really exciting any time you talk about having a bull riding with everybody,” Kolbaba said. “All the associations are pushed aside and you just get to see guys that are going to show up and ride bulls. My team, and there is quite a few other guys on the other teams, you are going to see a lot of guys that made the NFR and are rodeoing right now that fans and some have not even heard of.

“It opens the door for maybe seeing some guys that might want to turn that leaf and start riding in the PBR a little bit, get a feel for it, and it will be interesting to see how the team format all plays out.”

Follow Justin Felisko on Twitter @jfelisko

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