Souza Riding Momentum into Cheyenne with Marquee Win in Big Sky
By: Justin Felisko
PUEBLO, Colo. – Junior Patrik Souza remembers two years ago seeing all the videos coming out of Big Sky, Montana, at the showcase summer Touring Pro Division event and telling himself that he would make sure to one day compete in the beautiful, mountainous community.
Souza did more than just enter this year’s Big Sky PBR event, though. He instead used a career-best, 91-point ride on WSM’s Foghorn Leghorn to walk out of a Big Sky Town Center with his second consecutive victory in PBR competition and $22,925.64.
The 28-year-old went 3-for-4 in Big Sky to beat out the man who won the 2019 event that Souza watched on RidePass – Dalton Kasel.
Souza began his weekend Thursday at the Touring Pro Division Major event with 83.5 points on Jungle Can Do and 84 points on Tricky Kid Rock on Friday night. He then saw his streak of five consecutive rides in the PBR come to an end when WSM’s Hammerhead Blu bucked him off in Round 3.
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Following his ride on Foghorn Leghorn, which is also Souza’s first 90-point ride on American soil, Souza looked on as Gage Gay (2.20 seconds vs. Soup in a Group), Stetson Lawrence (2.31 seconds on Lil Bit Hood), Daylon Swearingen (4.95 seconds on Red Bones) and Kasel (2.13 seconds on Not Today) all buck off in the final outs of the championship round.
“I always wanted to come to this event because I watched it on RIdePass in 2019 and though it was a really good event,” Souza told PBR.com on Sunday. “I really like three-day events. I think there is more chance without a doubt. Big Sky is an amazing event, a very beautiful city and the people in the stands pass by a positive energy on every ride.”
Kasel finished tied for second place alongside Swearingen with a 2-for-4 showing in Big Sky. However, the 22-year-old cashed in on Friday night by riding bonus bull Lil Bit Crazy for 78 points to contribute to him leaving Big Sky with a $33,021.65, payday.
The Muleshoe, Texas, bull rider has been arguably the best rider since the summer Unleash The Beast break began. Kasel returned from reconstructive elbow surgery on his right free arm, on June 18 in Bismarck, North Dakota, and he is 11-for-16 (68.75%) after sitting out of competition for three months. Kasel earned 100.5 points toward the world standings this summer to jump from No. 36 to No. 27.
Rounding out the Top 5 in Big Sky was Lawrence (2-for-4, 177, 15 world points) and Mason Taylor (2-for-4, 173, 10.5 world points).
Souza previously won the Koben Puckett Invitational on July 10, and he has now risen to No. 7 in the world standings heading into Last Cowboy Standing at Cheyenne Frontier Days on Monday night. His Big Sky performance also moved him to No. 10 in the Pendleton Whisky Velocity Tour standings (Touring Pro Division Major events also count toward the PWVT standings).
Last Cowboy Standing will be Souza’s first PBR Major of his premier series career, and it could be an opportunity for himself to attempt to become a dark horse contender in the world title race. That, of course, will be a tall task for Souza, who begins the second half 733.5 points behind world No. 1 Jose Vitor Leme.
“Without a doubt, this month has been amazing for me because I got two PBR wins, and I also win another open rodeo, so I think it’s a good time to get to Cheyenne,” Souza said.
One rider could earn potentially 300 points toward the world standings, as well a payday of at least $75,000, at the most grueling event on the PBR schedule.
Forty-two riders will begin in Round 1 with the Top 25 scores advancing to Round 2. In the event fewer riders have recorded a score than required to advance, the remaining positions will be filled based on the world standings as of July 19.
Souza has drawn Strange Cargo (27-6, UTB/METC) for Round 1 on Monday night (10 p.m. ET CBS Sports Network).
The Top 8 riders via aggregate score following the second round will then advance to Round 3. Next, Round 4 will then consist of the Top 4 riders in the aggregate based upon the previous three rounds.
Essentially, the first four rounds will be cut down from 40 riders to 25 to 8 to 4.
Round 5 will feature every rider that posted a qualified ride in Round 4. A minimum of two riders will compete in Round 5. If only one rider covers in Round 4, then the PBR will bring back one rider (based on aggregate scores following the completion of Round 4).
The rider with the highest score in Round 5 will win the title of Last Cowboy Standing. If all riders buck off in Round 5, then the LCS crown will go to the rider with the highest aggregate score among those that attempted a bull in Round 5.
The LCS winner receives 150 world points, and the runner-up takes home 94 points.
Souza said he is excited to also walk around Cheyenne and its historic rodeo grounds. Like so many other cowboys, Souza grew up watching the movie “8 Seconds” and learned about Cheyenne through the movie documenting the life and death of Lane Frost in Cheyenne in 1989.
“I can’t wait to see that arena” Souza concluded. “I used to watch the movie when I was a kid. I hope I can do my job of getting a good results. It doesn’t seem to be true that I saw this place in the movie and now I am going to be at this event. God is really good with me making my dreams come true. I’m very happy about it.”
Professional Bull Riders – Big Sky PBR
Big Sky, MT, 2021 – Event Leaders (Round 1-Round 2-Round 3-Round 4-Round 5-Round 6-Event Aggregate-Event Points)
1. Junior Patrik Souza, 83.5-0-84-0-0-91-258.50-37.5 Points.
2. Dalton Kasel, 88-0-90.5-78-0-0-178.50-25 Points.
(tie). Daylon Swearingen, 89-0-0-0-89.5-0-178.50-27.5 Points.
4. Stetson Lawrence, 89-0-0-0-88-0-177.00-15 Points.
5. Mason Taylor, 0-0-88-0-0-85-173.00-10.5 Points.
6. Gage Gay, 0-0-85-0-87.5-0-172.50-5.5 Points.
7. Keyshawn Whitehorse, 83-0-88-0-0-0-171.00-4.5 Points.
8. Deklan Garland, 85.5-0-74.5-0-0-0-160.00
9. Cody Teel, 75-0-84-0-0-0-159.00-0.5 Points.
10. Conner Halverson, 0-0-90-0-0-0-90.00-4 Points.
11. Cole Melancon, 0-0-0-0-88-0-88.00-3.5 Points.
12. Jesse Petri, 0-0-0-0-87.5-0-87.50-1.5 Points.
(tie). Taylor Toves, 87.5-0-0-0-0-0-87.50-2 Points.
(tie). Eli Vastbinder, 0-0-87.5-0-0-0-87.50-1 Points.
15. Ezekiel Mitchell, 86.5-0-0-0-0-0-86.50-1 Points.
(tie). Austin Richardson, 86.5-0-0-0-0-0-86.50-1 Points.
(tie). D.J. Parker, 86.5-0-0-0-0-0-86.50-1 Points.
18. Chase Dougherty, 85.5-0-0-0-0-0-85.50
(tie). Hunter Ball, 85.5-0-0-0-0-0-85.50
20. Marcelo Procopio Pereira, 85-0-0-0-0-0-85.00
(tie). Matt Triplett, 85-0-0-0-0-0-85.00
22. Ross Freeman, 84.5-0-0-0-0-0-84.50
23. Andrew Alvidrez, 80-0-0-0-0-0-80.00
Luciano De Castro, 0-0-0-0-0-0-0.00
Marcus Mast, 0-0-0-0-0-0-0.00
Thiago Salgado, 0-0-0-0-0-0-0.00
Logan Biever, 0-0-0-0-0-0-0.00
Jake Lockwood, 0-0-0-0-0-0-0.00
Venn Johns, 0-0-0-0-0-0-0.00
River Stephenson, 0-0-0-0-0-0-0.00
Thor Hoefer II, 0-0-0-0-0-0-0.00
Vinell Mariano, 0-0-0-0-0-0-0.00
Jake Davis, 0-0-0-0-0-0-0.00
Beau Nordahl, 0-0-0-0-0-0-0.00
Dylan Madsen, 0-0-0-0-0-0-0.00
Alex Santana, 0-0-0-0-0-0-0.00
Austin Covington, 0-0-0-0-0-0-0.00
Chase Wimer, 0-0-0-0-0-0-0.00
Zach Laney, 0-0-0-0-0-0-0.00
Follow Justin Felisko on Twitter @jfelisko
Photo courtesy of Andy Watson/Bull Stock Media
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