Souza Leading the Buckin’ at the Ranch
By: Justin Felisko
PUEBLO, Colo. – Junio Patrik Souza highlighted a trio of riders that helped themselves in their pursuit of their first PBR World Finals qualifications Friday night with strong performances at the Buckin’ at the Ranch Touring Pro Division event in Prairie Grove, Arkansas.
Souza is leading the two-night TPD event after he capped his perfect evening outdoors on the ranch of stock contractor Nathan Ogden by riding Bad Liar for 87.5 points in the championship round. It was his second 87.5-point effort of the night after previously riding Burning Sky for 87.5 points and tying Brennon Eldred (87.5 points on Kern River) for the Round 1 victory.
The 27-year-old is ranked 61st in the world standings and is 51 points outside of the Top 35. Souza could cut 15 points into that deficit if his 175 aggregate score holds up on Saturday night during the conclusion of the Buckin’ on the Ranch. This weekend is Souza’s first 2-for-2 showing since finishing the Pendleton Whisky Velocity Tour event in Lexington, Kentucky on Jan. 25 in third place.
Fans can watch the event live on RidePass beginning at 9 p.m. ET.
Souza is double-entered in the event, and he will be competing once again on Saturday night in northwest Arkansas.
Fellow Brazilian natives Joao Henrique Lucas (2-for-2, 173 points) and Rafael Henrique dos Santos (1-for-2, 90 points) are also looking to qualify for their first PBR World Finals this season.
Lucas – the No. 27 ranked bull rider in the world — is sitting in third place in Prairie Grove after he capped his 2-for-2 showing with 86.5 points on Life as a Gangster. Lucas rode Big Man for 86.5 points in Round 1.
Meanwhile, Santos made up for his 7.75-second buckoff against Silver Back in Round 1 by riding Uncle Gangster for 90 points in the championship round, which is the first 90-point ride of his career on American soil. The No. 41 ranked bull rider in the world is only nine points outside of the Top 35.
Six-time PBR World Finals qualifier Matt Triplett is in second place after he went 2-for-2. Triplett began his night with 85 points on Gator before riding Times Up for 88.5 points in the championship round.
There were 12 qualified rides on Friday night.
Souza, Triplett, Lucas, Santos and Eldred are all back in the draw on Saturday night. Also tentatively set to compete again are No. 13 Mauricio Moreira, No. No. 30 Andrew Alvidrez, No. 31 Silvano Alves, No. 33 Amadeu Campos and No. 35 Cody Casper.
Professional Bull Riders – Buckin’ at the Ranch
Prairie Grove, AR, 2020 – Event Leaders (Round 1-Round 2-Round 1-Round 2-Event Aggregate-Event Points)
1. Junio Patrik Souza [1], 0-0-87.5-87.5-175.00
2. Matt Triplett [1], 0-0-85-88.5-173.50
3. Joao Henrique Lucas [1], 0-0-86.5-86.5-173.00
4. Rafael Henrique dos Santos [1], 0-0-0-90-90.00
5. Brennon Eldred, 0-0-87.5-0-87.50
6. Michael Lane [1], 0-0-84.5-0-84.50
7. Mauricio Gulla Moreira [1], 0-0-84-0-84.00
8. Andrew Alvidrez [1], 0-0-80.5-0-80.50
9. Leonardo Lima [1], 0-0-80-0-80.00
Colten Jesse [1], 0-0-0-0-0.00
Silvano Alves [1], 0-0-0-0-0.00
Amadeu Campos Silva [1], 0-0-0-0-0.00
Cody Casper [1], 0-0-0-0-0.00
Marcus Mast [1], 0-0-0-0-0.00
Dakota Louis [1], 0-0-0-0-0.00
Brady Sims [1], 0-0-0-0-0.00
Keith Hall [1], 0-0-0-0-0.00
Paulo Ferreira Lima [1], 0-0-0-0-0.00
Kyle Jones [1], 0-0-0-0-0.00
Gage Gay [1], 0-0-0-0-0.00
Ouncie Mitchell [1], 0-0-0-0-0.00
Luciano De Castro [1], 0-0-0-0-0.00
Hunter Ball [1], 0-0-0-0-0.00
Carlos Garcia [1], 0-0-0-0-0.00
Allen Burkholder [1], 0-0-0-0-0.00
Andre da Cruz de Souza [1], 0-0-0-0-0.00
Tyler Harr [1], 0-0-0-0-0.00
James Harper [1], 0-0-0-0-0.00
Lamar Lehman [2], 0-0-0-0-0.00
Ty Wainwright [1], 0-0-0-0-0.00
Austin Richardson [1], 0-0-0-0-0.00
Manoelito de Souza Junior, 0-0-0-0-0.00
Koal Livingston [1], 0-0-0-0-0.00
Elijah Lankford, 0-0-0-0-0.00
Matt Hennelly, 0-0-0-0-0.00
Kade Alberty, 0-0-0-0-0.00
Perry Schrock, 0-0-0-0-0.00
Matt Oliver, 0-0-0-0-0.00
Mason Ward, 0-0-0-0-0.00
Ryan Kornegay, 0-0-0-0-0.00
Follow Justin Felisko on Twitter @jfelisko
© 2020 PBR Inc. All rights reserved.