What to Watch For: Campbell and Woopaa Back in Action in San Antonio

By: Justin Felisko

PUEBLO, Colo. – 2020 PBR World Finals event winner Boudreaux Campbell admitted his body likely needed a break after a rigorous rodeo/PBR run that had him getting on at least one bull for 12 consecutive days from Sept. 8-19.

Campbell was looking to add every dollar possible to his PRCA world ranking last week when Rick James took off on him at the Comal County Fair & Rodeo in New Braunfels, Texas. Campbell was able to hang on for 53 points and a $1,974 check, but the No. 13-ranked bull rider in the PRCA also felt a slight tug on his right groin.

The 23-year-old did not want to risk further injury and decided to doctor out of last weekend’s PBR Monster Energy Invitational, presented by Cooper Tires, in Deadwood, South Dakota, and says that mini-break was good enough.

Campbell confirmed to PBR.com he is competing this weekend at the PBR U.S. Border Patrol Invitational, presented by Ariat, on Saturday and Sunday in San Antonio.

“It’s sore, but I’m going to be in San Antonio,” said Campbell, who was bucked off by Shooter Monday night at the Pasadena Livestock Show & Rodeo.

Campbell did not get an MRI this week and instead was instructed by his doctor to use lots of ice and do some light workouts.

“I didn’t pull it or anything and didn’t feel a pop,” Campbell said. “My whole body got to recover. That’s the longest break I’ve had in months.”

 
Campbell has drawn Indigenous (0-0, UTB) for Round 1 at the AT&T Center. Indigenous has primarily bucked on the rodeo trail and is 15-0 at all levels of competition.

Round 1 from San Antonio airs exclusively on RidePass on Pluto TV, beginning at 8:30 p.m. ET.

Campbell is sitting No. 6 in the PBR world standings and is 18-for-52 in his first full season on the Unleash The Beast while also going 40-for-94 in the PRCA.

Three of his qualified rides in the PBR have come aboard No. 1 YETI World Champion Bull contender Woopaa – 95.5 points in Kansas City, Missouri; 95.25 points at Last Cowboy Standing; and 93.75 points in Little Rock, Arkansas.

Woopaa is set to buck this Sunday in the championship round (8 p.m. ET on CBS Sports Network). The 5-year-old bull needs a 46.25-point score or higher to increase his World Champion Bull average of 46.78 points.

According to Laramie Wilson, San Antonio will be Woopaa’s last event before the World Finals.

“He is feeling pretty good,” Wilson said. “He was running and playing like a young calf today.”

Also returning to competition in San Antonio is No. 11 Rafael Henrique dos Santos (four broken ribs) and No. 28 Cole Melancon (lower back).

Santos missed one week after going 2-for-3 in Newark, New Jersey, while Melancon has been out for two weeks. Melancon has drawn Silver Bullet (0-0, UTB) as he attempts to end his streak of 25 consecutive buckoffs on the Unleash The Beast. Silver Bullet is making his PBR debut and is 11-0 on the rodeo trail, per ProBullStats.

Santos is 44.5 points behind Rookie of the Year leader Chase Dougherty heading into his matchup against Fly Over (6-0, UTB).

 

TOP 30 RIDERS OUT OF COMPETITION

No. 1 Jose Vitor Leme (partially torn right groin)
No. 5 Dener Barbosa (right shoulder)
No. 17 Paulo Lima (right groin)
No. 19 Alex Cerqueira (In Brazil)
No. 21 Colten Fritzlan (left shoulder surgery)
No. 27 Andrew Alvidrez (concussion / left arm laceration)

ALTERNATES (NEED A QUALIFIED RIDE TO ADVANCE TO ROUND 2)

No. 41 Adriano Salgado
No. 45 J.T. Moore
No. 48 Dakota Louis
No. 51 Leonardo Lima
No. 49 Cody Casper
No. 53 Ramon de Lima
No. 54 Kyle Jones
No. 57 Lane Nobles
No. 58 Dalton Krantz

San Antonio will feature 40 contestants on Saturday night. As part of the 2021 UTB event structure, any rider who is not seeded based on Unleash The Beast tour event standards (Top 30 available plus any Pendleton Whisky Velocity Tour invites or injury exempt riders) will need to earn a qualified ride in Round 1 to advance to compete in Round 2.

SOUZA IS PENDLETON WHISKY VELOCITY TOUR INVITE

Manoelito de Souza Jr. will try to continue to move his way up the world standings following a 10th-place finish last week in Deadwood (1-for-3) that earned him 16 world points, moving him up to No. 38 in the world standings.

Souza, the No. 2-ranked rider in the Pendleton Whisky Velocity Tour, takes on Crossover (11-6, UTB/METC) in Round 1. He is only 17.5 points behind No. 36 Conner Halverson.

Alex Cardozo was also supposed to be a VT invite in San Antonio courtesy of his victory in Church Rock, New Mexico, but he strained his right groin in Fairfax, Virginia, last weekend.

LEME REMAINS OUT OF COMPETITION WITH PARTIALLY TORN RIGHT GROIN

World No. 1 Jose Vitor Leme is set to miss a second consecutive event as he continues to rehab his partially torn right groin that he sustained on Sept. 19 during his event-winning ride in Newark, New Jersey.

Leme has been attending physical therapy daily at Fit-N-Wise Rehabilitation & Performance Center in Decatur, Texas, under the watchful eye of Jim Bui.

“It’s a bad spot to have an injury, and it is hard to recover,” Leme said. “It’s different when you break a bone compared to a muscle injury like this. If you push it too soon, you can aggravate it very serious.”

Meanwhile, No. 2 Kaique Pacheco will attempt to cut into Leme’s lead once again.

Pacheco trails Leme by 726.5 points after winning his fifth event of the season, and 19th of his career, last week in Deadwood.

The 27-year-old has never won back-to-back premier series events in his career. He will look to change that in San Antonio when he first faces Guess Eyes Right (0-0, UTB) in Round 1 at the AT&T Center.

 

ROUND 1 REMATCHES

There are five rematches on Saturday night, including Mason Taylor vs. Marquis Metal Works Draggin Up. Last year, Taylor rode Draggin Up for 90.5 points to win the 2020 Pendleton Whisky Velocity Tour Finals and Velocity Tour championship.

Mason Taylor vs. Marquis Metal Works Dragging Up (90.5 points last year at VT Finals)
Daylon Swearingen vs. Nervous Wreck (6.09 seconds at Iron Cowboy)
Derek Kolbaba vs. Marquis Metal Works Bill The Butcher (4.59 seconds two years ago in Tulsa, Oklahoma)
Keyshawn Whitehorse vs. Total Feeds Bushwacked (3.35 seconds two years ago at Last Cowboy Standing)
Ramon de Lima vs. Danny Boy (87.25 points last year in Sioux Falls, South Dakota)

Follow Justin Felisko on Twitter @jfelisko

Photo courtesy of Andy Watson/Bull Stock Media

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