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Moreira Considers Vieira Part of the Family as Duo Prepares for Monster Energy Team Challenge

By: Justin Felisko

PUEBLO, Colo. – Long before Fabiano Vieira was mentoring Mauricio Moreira, he was riding alongside Mauricio’s father, Redner, in Brazil.

Redner was an extremely talented bull rider who won the prestigious bull riding title at the Barretos Rodeo, but he never decided to move to the United States.

Vieira would make his PBR premier series debut two years later in Tampa, while Redner stayed home to raise his family, including his 10-year-old son, Mauricio.

A decade later and Vieira has become a mentor to Mauricio here in the United States as the 20-year-old looks to fulfill a dream that his father passed on during his riding career.

Vieira and Mauricio will now be joining forces at the Monster Energy Team Challenge, presented by U.S. Border Patrol, when Division A competition begins.

“He needs to work a little bit more for the bulls in the short go, but he is a good bull rider,” Vieira said earlier this year. “His dad ride real good, too. I think Mauricio can be better and he will make a lot of money. He is smart.”

Vieira also selected No. 43 Rafael Dos Santos, Moreira’s roommate in Decatur, Texas, and No. 23 Ezekiel Mitchell to his team. The PBR randomly assigned Chase Outlaw to be the team’s General Manager.

“I think that we have a good team that can stand out in the competition,” Moreira said with the help of a translation app.

Moreira – the No. 18-ranked bull rider in the world – is the third youngest Brazilian to debut on the premier series in PBR history. Paulo Crimber was the youngest after competing at 18 years old at the 1998 event in Calgary, and 2018 World Champion Kaique Pacheco is the second-youngest at 20 years old (2014 Last Cowboy Standing).

So far, Moreira has cooled off some since his impressive second-place finish at the Gwinnett Invitational in March. He has bucked off four consecutive bulls heading into the METC series.

Vieira still had no qualms about selecting the Rookie of the Year contender, though, and the 37-year-old is extremely familiar with Moreira’s potential.

Moreira had already been spending most of his days alongside Vieira in Decatur long before Vieira named Moreira to his team for the Monster Energy Team Challenge last week.

 
Vieira has become a father figure to Moreira since the 20-year-old Brazilian moved to the United States this past January.

There is a 17-year age gap between the two riders

“Fabiano wants to pass on his wisdom,” Moreira said. “I think this is right, not only for my riding, but also in life. I consider him a part of the family. I really didn’t know that my connection with him was going to be this much.”

Vieira has opened his ranch to Moreira, as well as others, as a place to hang out during the week in between bull ridings.

Moreira said he is thankful to have a rider such as Vieira be in his corner.

“He talks about his career and to help me focus,” Moreira said. “He passes on to me what he has learned in the past. Past challenges, bruises. He also teaches me how to team rope on his ranch, working with horses.”

Moreira added, “I’m still learning, for sure, in the riding part. He shows me some things that can help me to ride the bulls better, like right movements and how to try to correct at the maximum. He also helps psychologically. Having a good head is the great base for the ride. And the more that he rides with me on the ranch every day helps.”

 
The Monster Energy Team Challenge is going to feature 12 teams and 48 bull riders at the Pendleton Whisky Let ‘Er Buck Saloon at South Point Arena. 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.

Team Vieira begins the competition with a matchup against Team Leme on Friday night.

All games of the Monster Energy Team Challenge can be watched on CBS Sports Network and RidePass. A Game of the Week will air on CBS national television every Sunday.

The competition will be another growth opportunity for Moreira, as he rides alongside his mentor.

“I will take what Fabiano passes on to me to reach the top one day, hopefully,” Moreira concluded.

Follow Justin Felisko on Twitter @jfelisko

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