Pendleton Whisky Velocity Tour Welcomes Talented Veterans and Rising Young Guns to Cedar Park

By: Justin Felisko

PUEBLO, Colo. – The 2021 Pendleton Whisky Velocity Tour season begins on Friday night in Cedar Park, Texas, and there will be various riders, including well-known veterans and rising stars, looking to start their seasons off on the right foot.

All of the action airs exclusively on RidePass beginning at 9 p.m. ET Friday. Fans can then see the conclusion of the Cedar Park event starting at 8 p.m. ET on Saturday.

The Velocity Tour is every bull rider’s best opportunity to ride their way onto the PBR’s premier Unleash The Beast series, and this weekend’s field features a slew of riders, both foreign and domestic, with the talent to qualify for the UTB. In fact, there are six different countries expected to be represented in this weekend’s draw – Australia, Brazil, Canada, Guatemala, Mexico and the United States.

Let’s look at a few riders to keep an eye on this weekend in Cedar Park.

11-time World Finals qualifier Valdiron de Oliveira is back for a full season

 
Valdiron de Oliveira’s comeback bid from a severe gastrointestinal infection that caused him to retire following the 2018 PBR World Finals was partially put on ice last year because of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Oliveira had returned to the United States and was looking to make his return to action at the 2020 PWVT event in Dayton, Ohio, before the event was subsequently canceled. The pandemic-altered scheduled limited Oliveira to only five PBR events, but he did show some spark, going 6-for-10. He also won the PWVT event in Casper, Wyoming, for his first win at any level of PBR competition in more than four years, but he was unable to lock down a World Finals qualification at the Velocity Tour Finals.

The 41-year-old is currently 12th in the very early world standings following a second-place finish at the Fort Worth, Texas, Touring Pro Division event in November.

Oliveira turns 42 on June 13, and he could potentially break his good friend Wallace Oliveira’s record for the oldest PBR World Finals qualifier later this year. Wallace is also slated to compete in Cedar Park.

What is next for Chase Dougherty following impressive showing on USS Lexington?

 
Chase Dougherty, the 2018 Wrangler National Finals Rodeo bull riding winner, made quite the lasting impression on PBR fans with his 90.75-point ride on Lil 2 Train at Cowboys for a Cause.

Dougherty will be a name to keep an eye on this year after his 2020 season began on the sidelines following reconstructive right shoulder surgery in September 2019. He struggled to get into a consistent roll once he returned to competition.

The 22-year-old caught two-time World Champion and CBS Sports analyst Justin McBride’s attention at the USS Lexington, and McBride is looking forward to seeing what Dougherty can do this season.

“The way he rode at that aircraft carrier, there is no reason that he shouldn’t be on tour, or that he couldn’t be a Top 7-8 guy,” McBride said. “The way he rode there, hell yeah. If he does that week in and week out, he is going to win a lot. He made a legitimate PBR 90-point ride. He just dominated him.”

2011 PRCA champion Shane Proctor looking at potential PBR run

 
Following a three-year hiatus in which he focused on his rodeo career, Shane Proctor is returning to PBR competition in 2021. Proctor, who is still going to be rodeoing this year, will be competing at his first event with world points on the line since announcing he was stepping away from PBR competition in New York City in 2018.

Proctor is a nine-time PBR World Finals qualifier.

2011 Rookie of the Year Rubens Barbosa looking for more electric rides

 
Rubens Barbosa failed to qualify for the 2020 PBR World Finals, finishing 88th in the world standings, but the 37-year-old is not far removed from electrifying the crowd in Las Vegas with a 95.75-point ride on Chiseled in 2019.

The ride is the fourth-highest score in PBR World Finals history and the highest since Chris Shivers rode Dillinger for 96.5 points in 2001. Only 10 rides in PBR history have ever been scored higher on the premier series.

Australia’s Hamilton looking to build off impressive 2020

 
Ky Hamilton almost became the first Australian to win the PRCA bull riding championship during last year’s Wrangler National Finals Rodeo. The 20-year-old went 5-for-10 at the NFR, ultimately finishing fourth overall in the PRCA standings.

Hamilton competed at the PRCA’s Texas Circuit Finals at the end of December in Waco, Texas. He won Round 2 with an 89-point ride on He Reigns and wound up placing fourth overall. (Cole Melancon went 2-for-3 for the victory).

The two-time Team Australia Global Cup rider competed sparingly on the Velocity Tour in 2020, going 4-for-10, but the Mackay, Queensland, bull rider’s potential is legit.

Rodrigo Melgar brings Guatemala flair to Cedar Park

Rodrigo Melgar is a 23-year-old bull rider from Santa Rosa, Guatemala, and he is currently seventh in the early world standings following his victory in Fort Worth, Texas, in November.

This weekend is only Melgar’s seventh PBR event on American soil, and he is 4-for-10 since debuting in 2019 in Belton, Texas.

Is this the year Jake Lockwood qualifies for the World Finals?

 
Jake Lockwood was in the hunt for a spot at the 2020 PBR World Finals until he injured his left ankle in Lincoln, Nebraska, in October. The 20-year-old was 44th in the world standings and was amidst his best PBR season, competing in a career-high 17 events and going 7-for-39. Lockwood would not compete for the remainder of the season. Cedar Park is his 2021 season debut.

Could J.T. Moore work his way onto the Unleash The Beast?

In 2018, now two-time World Champion Jess Lockwood made a bull rider by the name of J.T. Moore his No. 1 pick for Chad Berger’s $125,000 team challenge. It was a surprising pick, and Lockwood spoke highly of Moore’s potential. Moore, however, broke his jaw and wound up not being able to compete in Bismarck. The rider who replaced Moore? Coincidentally, eventual 2020 PRCA bull riding champion Stetson Wright.

Moore was No. 6 in the PRCA standings last year before breaking his femur in March in a swimming accident. He missed five months and was unable to regain his mojo once he returned in August.

The 24-year-old from Alvin, Texas, had only competed at three PBR events before this season in the past two years. However, Moore has begun the 2021 PBR year with back-to-back Top-5 Touring Pro Division finishes and is 2-for-4. Moore is entered in the first two Velocity Tour events of the season and could work his way up to the Unleash The Beast with a victory in Cedar Park or Greenville, South Carolina.

Follow Justin Felisko on Twitter @jfelisko

Photo courtesy of Andre Silva/Bull Stock Media

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