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What to Watch for: Lockwood to Return From Broken Jaw in Del Rio

By: Justin Felisko

PUEBLO, Colo. – Two-time World Champion Jess Lockwood is ready to resume his 2021 season after having to miss two events following a broken jaw he sustained at the season-opener in Ocala, Florida.

The 23-year-old was injured on his first bull of the 2021 season when he took a horn to the face from Detroit Lean during Round 1 of the PBR Monster Energy Invitational on Jan. 16 after he was bucked off in 2.75 seconds. Lockwood underwent surgery on Jan. 22, and he received a custom mouthguard this week in a follow-up appointment.

Lockwood will be taking on Skull Crusher in Round 1 of the PBR Built Ford Tough Invitational in Del Rio, Texas, on Saturday afternoon.

 
Skull Crusher is making his Unleash The Beast debut, but he has been ridden in four of his six outs at all levels of competition. One of his best showings was at the Coleman, Texas, PRCA event last season when Daylon Swearingen rode him for 90.5 points.

Round 1 from the Val Verde County Fairgrounds airs on CBS Sports Network at 10 p.m. ET and live on RidePass at 3 p.m. ET.

WHO’S IN & OUT THIS WEEKEND

Daysheet for Round 1

Riders from last year’s Top 30 that are not competing

2020 World Champion Jose Vitor Leme (broken ankle)
No. 3 Boudreaux Campbell (right hand/wrist surgery)
No. 4 Marco Eguchi (elbow)
No. 9 Daylon Swearingen (right shoulder surgery)
No. 11 Lucas Divino (knee)
No. 12 Eduardo Aparecido (head cold)
No. 14 Colten Jesse (hip)
No. 22 Fabiano Vieira (head injury)
No. 23 Ramon de Lima (travel issues)
No. 24 Matt Triplett (hip surgery)
No. 26 Andrew Alvidrez (broken neck)
No. 27 Aaron Kleier (remaining in Australia)
No. 29 Stetson Lawrence (left shoulder surgery)
No. 30 Tye Chandler (elbow)

Alternates this weekend

Junior Patrik Souza
Claudio Montanha Jr.
Colten Fritzlan
Joao Henrique Lucas
Dalton Kasel
Taylor Toves
J.T. Moore
Kyler Oliver
Marcelo Procopio Pereira
Dakota Louis
Cody Casper
Rafael Henrique dos Santos
Rodrigo Melgar

Jesus back for the first time in nearly a year

Cody Jesus is using one of his four injury exemptions this weekend in Del Rio as he is set to make his season debut after shutting down his 2020 campaign because of a torn left groin, as well as an injury to his right groin.

Jesus takes on Manaba (4-0, all levels) in Round 1.

World leader Davis takes 71-point lead into Del Rio

2016 World Champion and world No. 1 bull rider Cooper Davis takes a 71-point lead atop the world standings over No. 2 Junior Patrik Souza into Del Rio.

Davis is off to the best start of his career (8-for-11). He has drawn House Mouse (2-0, TPD level) for Round 1, the first ABBI Classic round at a UTB event in 2021.

 
Souza takes on Ferrari (2-0, TPD level).

World No. 7 Marco Eguchi is the only Top 10 rider not competing in Del Rio after informing the PBR’s competition department Thursday he would be unable to ride because of an elbow injury.

Make sure to bundle up this weekend

It won’t be as cold as it is currently in Lockwood’s hometown of Volborg, Montana, where the Friday temperature was a bone-chilling -6 degrees, but Del Rio certainly will not be featuring any balmy Texas heat this weekend.

Temperatures are expected to be in the upper 30s on Saturday afternoon when 2012 PRCA champion Cody Teel leaves the bucking chutes against Combustion as the first man out in the 31-rider field.

The Del Rio area will also be under a Winter Storm Warning beginning at 6 a.m. Saturday morning until noon Monday, per the U.S. Weather Service, with the possibility of icy conditions in the region.

Riders will be wearing a few extra layers this weekend and making sure they have proper rosin for their bull ropes for the unpredictable outdoor and chilly conditions. Unlike the first three UTB events in Florida, where the weather did not play that big a factor, Del Rio is not a covered outdoor venue and rain, or maybe even snow if the temperatures drop further, could be something to keep an eye on this weekend.

History in Del Rio

The PBR’s premier series last held an event at the Val Verde County Fairgrounds when Jerome Davis won the 1996 George Paul Memorial Bull Riding, which was then a premier series tour stop. The PBR also held three sanctioned Touring Pro Division events in conjunction with the George Paul Memorial from 2005-07.

Del Rio has hosted the George Paul Memorial Bull Riding since 1978. It has long been one of the most iconic bull riding events in the country, with countless bull riding legends having competed in the small Texas town six miles away from the Rio Grande.

George Paul, a Del Rio native, was the 1968 PRCA World Champion bull rider, and he owns the world record with 79 consecutive bull rides. Paul was a pilot, and he tragically died in 1970 while flying between rodeos in Colorado and Wyoming. He was only 23 years old.

Paul’s family eventually organized a memorial bull riding in his memory. Eight years later, Denny Flynn won the first George Paul Memorial Bull Riding, beginning a long history in Del Rio of some of the sport’s greatest bull riders descending upon the southern Texas town on Mexico’s border to compete at the memorial event. The 43rd annual George Paul Memorial PRCA event is set for May 21-22 after it was canceled last year because of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Follow Justin Felisko on Twitter @jfelisko

Photo courtesy of Andy Watson/Bull Stock Media

© 2021 PBR Inc. All rights reserved.

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