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New Pendleton Whisky Velocity Tour Leader Richardson Making Long-Desired Return to Unleash The Beast

By: Justin Felisko

PUEBLO, Colo. – Austin Richardson did not even try to hide the relief on his face last weekend in Grand Forks, North Dakota.

The 21-year-old had finally won his first Pendleton Whisky Velocity Tour event in three years by going a perfect 3-for-3 at the Grand Forks Chute Out. Not only was the victory his first on the PWVT, but it was also the first on American soil for the Stephenville, Texas, native.

Richardson could not stop grinning as he held a microphone in his hand and chatted with Velocity Tour arena announcer Scott Grover on the dirt.

“I have been putting in the work to get a win, for sure, and this is the one I have been wanting,” Richardson said. “I couldn’t be more happy to do it right here.”

 
This moment was a long time coming for Richardson, and he made sure to wave his hands up and down in celebration as he walked off the dirt.

The win propelled Richardson into the No. 1 ranking in the Pendleton Whisky Velocity Tour Standings. It has also solidified him a spot in the draw for this coming weekend’s PBR Nampa Invitational.

Friday night will be the second regular-season Unleash The Beast event of Richardson’s career and first since 2019. He has drawn Bell 407 (0-0, UTB).

Current 2021 Velocity Tour Standings

1. Austin Richardson (57.5 points)
2. Cody Nance (-6.84 points)
3. Jesse Petri (-8.67 points)
4. Paulo Lima (-9.67 points)
5. J.T. Moore (-17 points)

Richardson has not slowed down either. The up-and-comer finished in second place at the Clovis Rodeo PBR Touring Pro on Wednesday night by winning Round 1 with 89 points on Monkey Punch. Mr. Moody then bucked him off in 2.27 seconds in the championship round.

Richardson heads into Nampa ranked 29th in the world standings. He has jumped 30 positions in the world rankings in one week (two events).

Richardson made quite the impression at the 2019 Pendleton Whisky Velocity Tour Finals when he went 2-for-3 to finish in second place behind Jose Vitor Leme and earn a surprising Wild Card berth to the 2019 PBR World Finals.

Richardson went 0-for-5 at the World Finals, and he had not returned to the PBR premier series since then.

The Texan struggled in 2020, going a mere 4-for-29, but 2021 has been a resurgence. Richardson has surpassed his 2020 ride totals and is 7-for-17 in eight non-premier series events, with four Top-10 finishes and two 90-point rides.

Richardson grew up 20 minutes south of Dallas on his grandparents’ farm – the BuckBranch Equestrian Center – but it was his childhood friend, Zach Laney, who convinced him to get on a mini bull when he was 12 years old.

Richardson and Laney have been friends since they were 5 or 6 years old, and they would often mess around and ride some sheep as kids.

2008 World Champion and Ring of Honor inductee Guilherme Marchi lived right behind Laney in Ferris, Texas, and he would often let the boys come over to train and get on practice bulls.

“I’ve been around him my whole life,” Richardson said at the 2019 Finals. “He helped me out. He would show me things not to do and what to do.”

Richardson now will try to become a mainstay on the Unleash The Beast like his idol and finally get his first qualified ride on the PBR’s highest level of competition.

“Just have to stay consistent and keep putting in the work,” Richardson concluded. “Ride my bulls one at a time and have fun while I am doing it.”

VELOCITY TOUR HEADING TO WICHITA THIS WEEKEND

The Pendleton Whisky Velocity Tour is off to Wichita, Kansas, on Friday and Saturday for the Wichita Invitational. Fans can watch the event exclusively on RidePass at 9 p.m. ET and 8 p.m. ET.

Paulo Lima will be the top-ranked Velocity rider competing in Wichita as he passed on an alternate position for Nampa. Lima is ranked fourth in the PWVT standings.

The No. 41-ranked rider in the world standings will be joined by No. 43 Marcus Mast, No. 45 Thiago Salgado, No. 50 Logan Biever, No. 51 Michael Lane, No. 53 Luis Blanco and more.

Click here for full Wichita daysheet

Follow Justin Felisko on Twitter @jfelisko

Photo courtesy of Andre Silva/Bull Stock Media

© 2021 PBR Inc. All rights reserved.

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