Leme’s Last Cowboy Standing Victory Was Nearly Derailed before he Even Arrived in Cheyenne
By: Justin Felisko
PUEBLO, Colo. – Jose Vitor Leme took a swig of water, wiped his forehead, and sat down on a bench inside the locker room at Frontier Park Arena in Cheyenne.
To the right of Leme was his massive makeshift check for winning Last Cowboy Standing on Tuesday night – the world No. 1 bull rider’s first PBR Major victory of his career.
Leme then let out an exhausted laugh before taking another drink.
“There was a moment yesterday where I thought this wasn’t going to happen,” Leme said.
Leme was set to depart Dallas Fort-Worth International Airport on Monday morning with his wife, Amanda, their little boy, Theodoro, and his mother-in-law. The group’s flight was delayed for about an hour, which wasn’t too big of a problem originally for Leme.
They family would still arrive in Denver with plenty of time for Jose Vitor to get their bags and head to the rental car facility at DIA before making the 2-hour drive to Cheyenne.
No big deal, Leme thought.
In Denver, things became more of a nuisance for the reigning World Champion when Theodoro’s stroller took longer than normal to be brought to him.
Once he received the baby stroller Leme let out a sigh of relief knowing all he had to do was take a shuttle to the off-site rental car facility at Denver International Airport and he would be on his way to begin the second half of the Unleash The Beast.
There was one more challenge awaiting Leme, and one he was not expecting. Leme does not own a credit card, and the company he had decided to rent a car from would not accept his debit card for the transaction.
Leme was stuck.
He could not find any company with cars available that would allow him to rent with his debit card. After exasperating all his options.
“I thought, ‘What am I going to do?’”
Leme ultimately decided to take a $280 Uber from Denver to Cheyenne, and he made it to the Red Lion Hotel & Conference Center around 4 p.m., giving himself about 2.5 hours to unpack, grab a quick bite to eat, and head to the rodeo grounds for one of the most important regular-season events before the 2021 PBR World Finals on Nov. 3-7 in Las Vegas.
“I was really tired once I got to the arena,” Leme said. “My wife told me all things happen for a reason and she said, ‘I think this will be for a good reason.’
“She was right, and I got my first (PBR) Major victory of my life. It is amazing.”
Leme may have had some travel troubles getting to Cheyenne, and he also had to contend with a right ankle injury, same one he broke at the season-opener in Ocala, Florida, on Tuesday night. Otherwise nothing, and no one, was able to stop him once he climbed inside the bucking chutes.
The 24-year-old went a perfect 5-for-5 in Cheyenne with four of those rides coming in the final four rounds on Tuesday night.
Leme also is likely the first rider in PBR history to record three 90-point rides in one, single night of competition – 92.25 points on Drago, 90.75 points on Young Man’s Blues and his event-winning 91.75 points aboard Safety Meeting.
Cheyenne could arguably go down as the greatest PBR Major since the bull riding organization launched the Majors in 2015 with eight 90-point rides on Tuesday night, and Leme’s performance is also likely the best by any individual in a PBR Major.
“I’ve watched every major in PBR, and this is the best one I’ve ever seen,” two-time PBR World Champion Justin McBride told Craig Hummer on CBS Sports Network. “Jose has been nothing short of phenomenal this entire event. He had every kind of bull thrown at him, and he’s handled every one with perfection.”
Leme, though, still tipped his hat to two of his challengers in the 2021 World Championship race – No. 2 Kaique Pacheco and No. 5 Joao Ricardo Vieira.
Pacheco won three consecutive Last Cowboy Standings and is tied with Vieira with the most PBR Major victories (4).
“I want to be like Kaique and Joao,” Leme said. “Kaique won 3 Last Cowboy Standings. I want to be like him. I want to be remembered for that too, winning big events like this, especially Cheyenne. This is one of my favorite events for sure.”
Surely, Cheyenne was one of Leme’s best overall events right up there with when he went an unexpected 6-for-6 to win the 2017 PBR World Finals in his premier series debut event on American soil
Leme has a tremendous appreciation for the history of the PBR, and he has voiced his desire to not just re-write the PBR record books, but to make sure he continues to outdo his own performances.
Now he will head to Tulsa, Oklahoma – an event he can easily drive to from his ranch in Decatur, Texas – with his largest lead in the world standings this season, 361.5 points on No. 2 Kaique Pacheco.
It is the first time a world No. 1 has held a triple-digit lead in the world standings since 2016 World Champion Davis held a 130-point lead on Junior Patrik Souza five events into the season.
RELATED: Leme and Woopaa to tango for third time
Leme has drawn Body Count (3-0, UTB) for Round 1 of the PBR Express Ranches Classic, presented by Pit Boss, (CBS Sports Network Saturday at 8 p.m. ET) before a huge rematch against YETI world No. 1 bull Woopaa in the 15/15 Bucking Battle (CBS national television Sunday at 1 p.m. ET.)
Follow Justin Felisko on Twitter @jfelisko
Photo courtesy of Andy Watson/Bull Stock Media
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