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Mr. Iron Cowboy Vieira Gearing Up for California Run

By: Justin Felisko

MANCHESTER, N.H. – The Unleash The Beast is heading west, and not only will the PBR’s premier series be heating up with the California sunshine, but so too is the man who won the first two California events last season.

Joao Ricardo Vieira finished the Manchester Invitational 3-for-3 and in third place overall on Sunday afternoon by riding Sugar Boom Boom for 88.5 points in the championship round.

“He surprised me,” Vieira said. “He changed directions. I feel good to ride all kinds of bulls. I’m fast. It was no problem.”

Vieira began the PBR’s first premier series event inside SNHU Arena with 84.25 points on Sumo in Round 1 and 90.25 points on Apper’s Mind Freak in Round 2.

2003 World Finals event winner J.W. Hart credited Vieira’s ability to handle Sugar Boom Boom away from his hand during Sunday night’s CBS Sports Network broadcast.

“Watch at how he takes this bull back in the other direction,” Hart said. “That has been his Achilles heel all his career, but he picked him up perfectly.”

 
Vieira picked up 58 points toward the world standings this weekend to remain at No. 2 in the world standings. He will head into next weekend’s Wrangler Long Live Cowboys Classic in Sacramento, California, a mere 14.5 points behind Manchester event winner and new world No. 1 Jess Lockwood.

Fans can watch Round 1 in Sacramento on RidePass beginning at 10:45 p.m. ET.

The 35-year-old won Sacramento – the first three-day Unleash The Beast event of the season – last year with a flawless 4-for-4 performance.

Until this weekend, Vieira had not surpassed the 90-point threshold since he won the 2019 Iron Cowboy in downtown Los Angeles with a 90.25-point ride on Cochise.

“It was good,” Vieira said about Mind Freak. “This bull bucked me off last time (in 3.52 seconds), but my work was good today and I can keep the score. It’s so cool. I think the judges liked me. I work hard, and the bulls make a good score.”

The 2013 PBR Rookie of the Year now has 16 90-point rides in his premier series career.

Vieira is 8-for-12 through the first three Unleash The Beast events of 2020, and he is looking to rekindle his California magic next weekend at the Golden 1 Center before the UTB heads to Oklahoma City and Los Angeles for Iron Cowboy.

“I don’t know. I think I have a lot of luck in California,” Vieira said.

Vieira did not buck off a single bull in California in 2020. The eight-year veteran went 10-for-10 and concluded the California run with a third-place finish in Anaheim last September.

The Itatinga, Brazil, native has won Iron Cowboy three times in his career, including twice since the PBR instituted the PBR Majors in 2015.

Vieira is tied with 2018 World Champion Kaique Pacheco for the most PBR Major wins (4) in PBR history after winning the 2020 season-opener in New York City three weeks ago.

The Iron Cowboy format has changed over the years, and is nowadays a single-elimination progressive-style event. Iron Cowboy was a head-to-head, bracket event in 2014 when Vieira won his first Iron Cowboy title.

Regardless, one thing has remained the same, and that is Vieira’s love for and dominance at the Iron Cowboy.

“Arlington was my favorite,” Vieira said. “Yeah, Iron Cowboy has moved, but it’s okay. It’s good. It’s just I have the Iron Cowboy inside me.”

Should we start calling him Mr. Iron Cowboy?

“I like it. I work hard for this,” Vieira concluded with a smile.

Follow Justin Felisko on Twitter @jfelisko

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