Louis Ready to Compete with the Heavy Hitters at WCRA Major in Kansas City
By: Justin Felisko
PUEBLO, Colo. – Dakota Louis knows he will have a group of supporters in his corner this weekend when he nods his head inside the Sprint Center on Friday night at the WCRA Royal City Roundup, but he will have one special fan on his mind the most.
Louis has a 2-year-old son, Hayes, and the opportunity to win $50,000 – let alone the possibility of chasing $1 million – is something he does not take lightly.
“We do this for a living, and to be able to win this kind of money is definitely life-changing,” Louis said. “For me having a son, to be able to try and provide everything I can for him is a huge motivation for me. For them to put up that kind of money for us, plus (PBR world points), for me, is doubling down. I get to work toward my goals through the WCRA just as well, and to not have to ride against 30 other guys just makes a big difference as well.
“$50,000 for first, and you only have to win three events to make a $1 million, is a game-changer.”
Louis is one of nine bull riders set to compete at the $1 million WCRA rodeo Friday night, which fans can watch on RidePass at 7:30 p.m. ET Friday night and on CBS national television Saturday at 12:30 p.m. ET.
Royal City Roundup Bull Riding Contestants
Two-time World Champion Jess Lockwood
World No. 1 Jose Vitor Leme
No. 3 Joao Ricardo Vieira
No. 39 Dakota Louis
No. 64 Stetson Lawrence
No. 86 Colten Fritzlan
Justin McCall
Ray Mayo
Nic Lica
Louis has an extremely tough task for Round 1, though, against Canadian Mist (35-4, UTB). Canadian Mist is the rankest bull bucking Friday night, and has bucked off 35 of his 39 opponents at all levels of competition since debuting in 2017.
The 27-year-old bull rider is an example that a rodeo athlete does not have to be one of the sport’s superstars to earn the opportunity to compete for the WCRA’s Triple Crown of Rodeo (TCR) bonus – a $1 million check awarded to any rodeo athlete who wins three consecutive WCRA Major rodeo events.
Louis earned his way to Kansas City through the WCRA’s Virtual Rodeo Qualifier (VRQ) system. Rodeo athletes can become eligible for WCRA events through the VRQ, a system in which athletes can nominate rodeo/bull riding events at all levels of competition to earn points.
Louis only had to nominate two events – the 2019 Indian National Finals Rodeo and the PBR Canada Touring Pro Division event in Yorktown, Saskatchewan – to earn enough points during the Segment 4 WCRA run (July 8, 2019 – December 1, 2019) to earn a spot in the WCRA’s Semi-Final Days of ’47 Lewis Feild Bulls and Broncs event in West Valley City, Utah, on Feb. 1.
In Utah, Louis made sure to make the most of his opportunity, using an 83.5-point ride on Bailey’s Rozet Swag to finish in third place and advance to Kansas City.
“There was actually a couple of events where I forgot to nominate and I ended up doing better,” Louis said. “I thought, ‘Dang.’ Luckily I slipped in there and get to go to Kansas City.”
19-year-old Colten Fritzlan earned his chance to compete against the likes of two-time World Champion Jess Lockwood, Jose Vitor Leme and Joao Ricardo Vieira on Friday night by winning the Days of ’47 Lewis Feild Bulls and Broncs event.
The Express Ranches Invitational in Oklahoma City served as the other WCRA Semi-Final event for eligible riders that had been nominating/earning points. Also advancing to Kansas City from the PBR side along with Leme, Vieira and Lockwood was Cody Teel, who is not competing in KC because of a right knee injury, and Stetson Lawrence.
The Royal City Roundup is the first WCRA major event eligible for the TCR. It will be followed by the May 17 Stampede at The E in Guthrie, Oklahoma, and then the Days of ’47 Cowboy Games and Rodeo on July 21-25 in Salt Lake City. The 2020 WCRA schedule wraps up in Tacoma, Washington, on Aug. 28 with the Puget Sound Showdown.
Louis is ranked 39th in the PBR world standings, and like he mentioned above, there is an opportunity Friday night for him to pick up crucial world points. One rider can leave the WCRA event with a maximum of 44 points toward the world standings.
The Browning, Montana, bull rider is only 5.66 points behind No. 35 Jake Lockwood, who is replacing Teel at the Caterpillar Classic on Saturday and Sunday in Kansas City.
Louis will fly from Kansas City on Saturday morning to North Charleston, South Carolina, for the Pendleton Whisky Velocity Tour event set for the North Charleston Coliseum (RidePass at 7 p.m. ET). Louis is ranked No. 16 in the Velocity Tour standings.
Also competing in South Carolina is No. 38 Cody Casper, No. 41 Amadeu Campos Silva, No. 44 Joseph McConnel, No. 45 Wallace de Oliveira and No. 47 Boudreaux Campbell.
Louis heads into Kansas City following a 1-for-2 showing at the U.S. Border Patrol Invitational in St. Louis. He rode Dr. Feel Good for 81.5 points.
Prior to Round 1, Louis made sure to give his son a phone call.
“I called him an hour ago before the event, and he told me he was chasing cows with grandpa,” Louis said with a fatherly grin. “I told him, ‘Well, are you going to watch dad ride bulls tonight?’ And he said, ‘Yeah! Ride dad! Ride!’
“Alright, I will.”
Follow Justin Felisko on Twitter @jfelisko
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