What to Watch For: Dougherty Returning in Anaheim With Newborn Son in His Corner at Home
By: Justin Felisko
PUEBLO, Colo. – Rookie of the Year leader Chase Dougherty may have missed the last two events, but he was actually excited about the opportunity to spend a few weeks home.
Dougherty took his injured left elbow as somewhat of a blessing as his wife, Kara, was expecting the couple’s first child very, very soon. Sure enough, that day came last week when Kara gave birth to their son, Calgary, on Sept. 2.
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Calgary weighs 7 pounds and 13 ounces and is named after the Calgary Stampede, where Chase and Kara met in 2019.
“It’s so surreal and exceeds everything I imagined,” Chase said. “I’ve never been more excited about something in my entire life, and I know my wife feels the same. All we want to do is spend time with Calgary from now on.”
However, work is calling.
Dougherty is set to return to the arena this weekend at the PBR Monster Energy Invitational, presented by Cooper Tires, on Friday night.
The 23-year-old has drawn Little Voodoo Jacket (5-0, UTB) for Round 1, which airs exclusively on RidePass on PlutoTV.
The 23-year-old was diagnosed with a torn left MCL in his riding arm following the PBR Ariat Music City Knockout, presented by Cooper Tires, in Nashville. Dougherty needs to get his elbow surgically repaired at some point, but he wants to try and finish the season first.
“I mean to get it fixed, but Tandy said I can probably make it work for now,” Dougherty told PBR.com this week.
Dougherty believes his injury first occurred in Big Sky, Montana, on July 22 when he rode Fist City for 85.5 points. He got hung up following his qualified ride, and Fist City yanked on his elbow.
“Then getting thrown into the chutes (in Nashville) the other week really did it,” Dougherty added.
Dougherty has ordered a custom elbow brace to ride with, but if it does not arrive in time for this weekend, he will have the PBR Sports Medicine Team tape his elbow inside the Honda Center.
Dougherty leads No. 2 rookie Rafael Henrique dos Santos, who is out with broken ribs, by 25 points.
TOP 30 RIDERS OUT OF COMPETITION BECAUSE OF INJURY
No. 9 Rafael Henrique dos Santos (broken ribs)
No. 19 Colten Fritzlan (left shoulder)
Alternates for this weekend (Need a qualified ride to advance to Round 2)
No. 35 Andrew Alvidrez
No. 36 Conner Halverson
No. 38 Lucas Divino
No. 44 Dakota Louis
No. 45 Manoelito de Souza Jr.
No. 48 Leonardo Lima
No. 55 Ramon de Lima
No. 57 Cole Skender
Anaheim will feature 40 contestants on Friday 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.
RED-HOT SALGADO IS VELOCITY TOUR INVITE
Adriano Salgado is set to appear in his second premier series event after winning the Fresno Invitational Pendleton Whisky Velocity Tour event on Aug. 28. Salgado won the event with a 3-for-3 performance, highlighted by his event-winning 89 points on Spirit Guide in the championship round.
Salgado has drawn Hot Spots (5-3, UTB/METC) for Round 1.
The 23-year-old is the older brother of world No. 33 Thiago Salgado and has been one of the hottest riders on the VT tour at the last two events. Before his Fresno win, Adriano finished in second at the Grand Rapids Classic with an 87-point ride on Night Shift.
Adriano is No. 3 in the Velocity Tour standings and trails No. 1 Michael Lane by 33.5 points. Lane turned down his UTB invite this weekend and instead will continue his pursuit of the $50,000 Velocity Tour championship with the PBR’s expansion tour stops in Kennewick, Washington, for the PBR Tri-Cities Classic.
SWEARINGEN WILL HAVE ONE MORE EXEMPTION; MAY NOT NEED IT
Daylon Swearingen will still have one more UTB injury exemption following this weekend, but he is riding like a man who does not intend to need it.
As of Wednesday morning, Swearingen has ridden six of his last nine bulls for an event win, a second-place finish and a fourth-place showing. Three of those six qualified rides have gone for 90 or more points.
Swearingen has risen to No. 37 in the world rankings, and he will compete at two more PBR Canada events on Wednesday and Thursday in Calgary before heading to Anaheim. He will take on Wicked Ways (0-0, UTB) inside the Honda Center on Friday night.
LEME TAKES SEASON-HIGH 586.5-POINT LEAD INTO ANAHEIM
Reigning World Champion Jose Vitor Leme continues to increase his lead in the 2021 race for a gold buckle. He will look to continue that trend in a venue that has historically treated champions very well.
Ten of the previous 22 event winners in Anaheim are PBR World Champions, including Leme.
Leme won the last event in Anaheim two years ago. The PBR did not hold an event in Anaheim in 2020 because of the COVID-19 pandemic.
The 25-year-old takes on Gangster of Love (6-9, UTB/METC) in Round 1. He is a season-high 586.5 points ahead of No. 2 Kaique Pacheco.
Round 1 Rematches
Ramon de Lima is the only rider with a qualified ride among the five previous matchups.
Eli Vastbinder vs. Facetious (2.64 seconds in Billings, Montana)
Ezekiel Mitchell vs. Landslide (5.71 seconds at the METC last year)
Keyshawn Whitehorse vs. Kent’s Wildside (6.27 seconds in Glendale, Arizona)
Ramon de Lima vs. Jaynette’s Pet 2 (88.5 points in Sterling, Colorado, in 2017)
Silvano Alves vs. Cali’s Chrome (2.75 seconds in Sacramento)
Lima is competing in Anaheim after earning an alternate draw spot because of his Touring Pro Division victory last weekend at the 3rd annual Dakota Community Bank & Trust Dickinson PBR.
The 30-year-old went a combined 4-for-7 on three entries, picking up 15 world points to move to No. 55 in the world standings. Coincidentally, the victory was Lima’s first in the Touring Pro Division since he rode Jaynette’s Pet 2 for the victory in Sterling, Colorado, four years ago.
No. 5 Mezcal and No. 6 Marquis Metal Works Coriolis Effect look to gain ground in YETI World Champion Bull Race
Mezcal (45.44 World Champion Bull average) and Marquis Metal Works Coriolis Effect (45.38) are the two highest-ranked World Champion bull contenders competing in Anaheim.
Both bulls will be in the championship round on Saturday night.
Fans can watch the finale of the Anaheim event Sunday at 8 p.m. ET on CBS Sports Network.
Follow Justin Felisko on Twitter @jfelisko
Photo courtesy of Andy Watson/Bull Stock Media
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