Vieira Off To Best Start Of Career At 34 Years Old

By: Justin Felisko

PUEBLO, Colo. – There were still nine riders left to ride in Round 3 of Iron Cowboy, presented by Ariat, on Saturday night inside STAPLES Center.

Joao Ricardo Vieira was alone in the backpens of STAPLES Center working on his bull rope and preparing for what he thought would be at least another round of competition.

The 34-year-old was barely sweating following his season-high 90.25-point ride on Cochise.

There was an almost eerie sense of confidence to Vieira as he stood there.

Mr. Iron Cowboy was composed and ready for his next bull.

“Iron Cowboy is someone that is strong. He works hard and in your heart is a true cowboy,” Vieira said. “I feel ready for 5 or 6 more bulls. I have trained for this. I worked for this. I love this competition.”

Vieira, surprisingly, wound up not needing to get on any more bulls in Los Angeles as the final nine riders all bucked off in Round 3.

Mr. Iron Cowboy himself earned a record-setting third Iron Cowboy title by going a smooth 3-for-3 for a $146,600 payday.

To advance to Round 3, Vieira rode Squirrel in Round 1 for 84.5 points and Buckwheat for 80.5 points in Round 2.

“They said (Buckwheat) is hard to the right and kicks high, but I got a score and moved forward,” he said.

Vieira has won three of seven Unleash The Beast events in 2019 and is only 202.5 points behind injured world No. 1 Jess Lockwood.

Lockwood is still five weeks away from returning to competition, but Vieira is all too familiar with an injured rider in the first half of the season roaring back to life during the second portion of the year.

In 2015, he had a massive 1,350-point lead on J.B. Mauney, who missed five events because of a torn ACL in the first half, when he won Last Cowboy Standing in May that season.

 
Vieira is the only rider in the current points system to win two PBR Majors in the same season, yet he did not win the 2015 world title as Mauney came storming back in the second half to win his second World Championship.

Therefore, he knows his great start to the season can quickly go for naught.

“You need to go to Las Vegas and do better (at the World Finals),” Vieira said. “All of the season is good, just for practice. But in Las Vegas you need to keep going and ride better.”

Every World Champion since Mauney, though, has won a PBR Major on their way to the title.

So here is Vieira once again.

A third Iron Cowboy title pushes Vieira further into the world title conversation just as it did in 2014 and 2015.

The difference this year is that he is riding better now than he was in each of those two seasons.

VIEIRA AT TIME OF IRON COWBOY VICTORY

2014	14-for-33 (42.42 percent)	2 wins
2015	13-for-27 (48.15 percent)	1 win
2016	13-for-22 (59.09 percent)	3 wins

 
Vieira is also closer to the world No. 1 ranking (-202.5 points) with his 2018 Iron Cowboy championship than he was in 2014 or 2015.

“I have had good seasons before,” he said. “This is my best start here in America.”

Vieira’s three event wins ties his career-high from his 2013 Rookie of the Year season.

A World Championship would also make him the second-oldest PBR World Champion – three-time World Champion Adriano Moraes won his last title at 36 years old in 2006.

In fact, Vieira is the third oldest rider in the Top 35 behind No. 24 Sean Willingham (37) and Rubens Barbosa (35).

He has been more of a fine wine in 2019 vs. past his prime.

Three-time World Champion Silvano Alves says this is the best he has seen of Vieira, who has not finished in the Top 5 of the world standings since 2016.

“Right now he is on a roll, and he is not feeling pressure,” Alves said. “He is just thinking, ‘Ride my bulls.’

Reigning World Champion Kaique Pacheco agreed that Vieira is having an impressive campaign.

He compared Vieira’s dominance at Iron Cowboy to his own at Last Cowboy Standing.

Last Cowboy Standing is the next PBR Major for 2019, and is scheduled for July 22-23 at Cheyenne Frontier Days.

Pacheco has won three consecutive Last Cowboy Standings, which is the same format as Iron Cowboy.

“It is very impressive,” Pacheco said. “He is like me at Last Cowboy Standing. It is the same format. It is really hard to win. You have to do your best to ride so many rank bulls. He did his job.”

Pacheco’s Last Cowboy Standing title last year pushed him into the next gear on his march for the 2018 title.

Now Vieira is hoping another Iron Cowboy championship does the same.

“You are Iron Cowboy. This makes you powerful,” Vieira said. “It is hard to win.”

Follow Justin Felisko on Twitter @jfelisko

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