Whitehorse Wins Unprecedented Weather-Delayed Del Rio, Texas Unleash The Beast Event in Glendale, Arizona

By: Easton Colvin

GLENDALE, Ariz. – In a historic PBR (Professional Bull Riders) event that took 27 days to complete, Keyshawn Whitehorse (McCracken Springs, Utah) earned his first Unleash The Beast (UTB) win. Whitehorse started the journey to his first UTB win that was nearly a month in the making on February 13, 865 miles away from Gila River Arena at Val Verde County Fairgrounds in Del Rio, Texas.

After riding Cherry Bomb (Flinn/D&H Cattle Co) for 87 points on Saturday, February 13 in Del Rio, the 2018 Rookie of the Year was tied for third in the event. PBR then had to postpone Round 2 and the championship round on Sunday, February 14, due to a historic winter storm across the southern U.S.

Rescheduling the conclusion of the weather-postponed event for March 12 in Glendale, Arizona at Gila River Arena, Whitehorse resumed the competition by being bucked off early in Round 2 by American Gangster (Jane Clark/Gene Owen) in 5.2 seconds.

Trailing by 87.75 points entering the championship round, the Navajo man drafted Lil 2 Train (Jane Clark/Gene Owen) as he went for the win. Bursting out of the chutes, Whitehorse matched the bovine leap for leap for an astronomical 90.25-point ride, which propelled him to the career milestone victory.

“It’s been a lot of hard work and dedication,” said Whitehorse after receiving his championship buckle on the Can-Am Cage. “I’ve just been fighting through the trials and tribulations. I thank God for the support of my family and the great fans here. I just keep fighting and living the dream.”

Whitehorse won $25,991.61 with the victory, along with 125.5 world points, moving him to No. 3 in the world standings.

 
Brazilian Rafael Henrique dos Santos (Sebastianopolis, Brazil) rode his way into second place in the event – a career-best finish. Winning Round 1 in Texas with an 89.5-point ride on Mike’s Motive (Blake Sharp/High Voltage Cattle), Santos added to his lead with an 85.25-point conquering of Sosa’s Alley Cat (JD Nix/Sosa Buckers) in Round 2 in Arizona.

Santos, with the first pick of the championship round draft, pitted himself against two-time and reigning YETI World Champion Bull Smooth Operator (Dakota Rodeo/Julie Rosen/Clay Struve/Chad Berger) but was sent to the dirt in 6.67 seconds.

The second-place finish earned Santos 93.5 world points, propelling him to No. 7 in the world rankings. Santos also heads to the pay window with a $15,784.10 check.

 
Young gun and 2020 Pendleton Whisky Velocity Tour Champion Mason Taylor (Maypearl, Texas) finished the event in third. Coming off a win at the Touring Pro Division level in Abilene, Texas, last weekend, Taylor continued his hot streak in the Arizona desert.

Round 2 matched Taylor up with Let’s Play Clay (4B Bucking Bulls) for an 84.75-point ride in Gila River Arena. Adding that score to his 89.25 from Round 1 in Del Rio, Taylor was able to hold the spot despite a 6.83-second buckoff on High Brow Cat (Paradigm Bull Company) in the championship round.

Taylor’s bronze effort earned $11,719.58, along with 68 world points. The 21-year-old now sits in the No. 17 spot in the world standings.

With a strong second day of competition, another Texan, Cole Melancon (Paris, Texas), finished in fourth. Bucking off in Round 1, Melancon went a perfect 2-for-2 Friday night. Round 2 featured Melancon taking care of business on Marquis Metal Works Draggin Up (Paradigm Bull Co/Marquis Metal Works) for 85.25 points.

Strange Cargo (Jane Clark/Gene Owen) was the championship round opponent for Melancon, who put in the work on the way to an 87.25-point score.

Finishing in fourth, Melancon earned 54.5 world points and surged to No. 2 in the world standings. But the 2020 PBR Global Cup USA Champion’s lead on No. 3 Keyshawn Whitehorse is just 8.5 points.

After finishing the 2020 season on a high note, three-time PBR World Champion Silvano Alves (Pilar do Sul, Brazil) added to his recent success with a fifth-place finish in the event.

Bread Basket (TNT Bucking Bulls/Hart Cattle Co.) provided the bull power for an 86-point ride in Round 1. After bucking off of Evil Intentions (Jane Clark/Gene Owen) in Round 2, Short Night (Dakota Rodeo/Chad Berger/Clay Struve/Ken Barnhart) bucked the legendary rider to an 84.25-point score in the championship round.

Alves’s finish gave him 49 world points and moved him up six spots in the world rankings to No. 11.

Taking home the YETI Bull of the Event honors, Marquis Metal Works Coriolis Effect (Paradigm Bull Co/Marquis Metal Works) bucked to a 46-point bull score in his 2.17-second dispatching of two-time World Champion Jess Lockwood (Volborg, Montana) in the championship round.

Fans can relive each out from the 2021 Del Rio Unleash The Beast tour stop on Saturday, March 13 at 8 a.m. ET on RidePass.com or the RidePass mobile app.

The elite Unleash The Beast tour returns to action tomorrow, March 13, in Glendale, Arizona, with Round 1 starting at 6:45 p.m. MT.

Professional Bull Riders
PBR BUILT FORD TOUGH INVITATIONAL PRESENTED BY COOPER TIRES
Del Rio, TX/Glendale, AZ 2021 – Event Leaders (Round 1-Round 2-Round 3-Event Aggregate-Event Points)

1. Keyshawn Whitehorse, 87-0-90.25-177.25-125.5 Points.
2. Rafael Henrique dos Santos, 89.5-85.25-0-174.75-93.5 Points.
3. Mason Taylor, 89.25-84.75-0-174.00-68 Points.
4. Cole Melancon, 0-85.25-87.25-172.50-54.5 Points.
5. Silvano Alves, 86-0-84.25-170.25-49 Points.
6. Kyler Oliver, 0-87-0-87.00-37 Points.
(tie). Jess Lockwood, 87-0-0-87.00-25.5 Points.
8. Derek Kolbaba, 0-86.5-0-86.50-23 Points.
9. Rodrigo Melgar, 0-85.75-0-85.75-21 Points.
10. Dener Barbosa, 84.75-0-0-84.75-16 Points.
11. João Henrique Lucas, 0-83-0-83.00-14 Points.
12. Alex Cerqueira, 82-0-0-82.00-13 Points.
Cooper Davis, 0-0-0-0.00
Junior Patrik Souza, 0-0-0-0.00
Kaique Pacheco, 0-0-0-0.00
Mauricio Gulla Moreira, 0-0-0-0.00
Colten Fritzlan, 0-0-0-0.00
Cody Teel, 0-0-0-0.00
João Ricardo Vieira, 0-0-0-0.00
Brennon Eldred, 0-0-0-0.00
Dalton Kasel, 0-0-0-0.00
Taylor Toves, 0-0-0-0.00
J.T. Moore, 0-0-0-0.00
Marcelo Procopio Pereira, 0-0-0-0.00
Claudio Montanha Jr., 0-0-0-0.00
Ezekiel Mitchell, 0-0-0-0.00
Dakota Louis, 0-0-0-0.00
Cody Casper, 0-0-0-0.00
Aaron Pass, 0-0-0-0.00
Alex Cardozo, 0-0-0-0.00
Cody Jesus, 0-0-0-0.00

2021 Professional Bull Riders World Standings
(Place, Rider, Events, Wins, Top 5’s, Points, Total Winnings)

1. Cooper Davis, 7, 1, 4, 326.50, $40,516.50
2. Cole Melancon, 7, 0, 3, 247.00, $34,677.78
3. Keyshawn Whitehorse, 8, 1, 4, 238.50, $40,391.61
4. Junior Patrik Souza, 11, 0, 4, 196.50, $21,499.81
5. Kaique Pacheco, 7, 1, 2, 193.50, $34,600.72
6. Mauricio Gulla Moreira, 13, 1, 3, 164.00, $30,818.93
7. Rafael Henrique dos Santos, 7, 0, 2, 159.00, $25,937.88
8. Colten Fritzlan, 5, 1, 2, 153.50, $28,829.35
9. Dener Barbosa, 10, 0, 2, 151.83, $18,434.85
10. Taylor Toves, 6, 0, 2, 142.00, $25,310.26
11. Silvano Alves, 7, 0, 2, 140.50, $16,472.65
12. Jose Vitor Leme, 2, 1, 1, 138.00, $27,511.78
13. João Ricardo Vieira, 10, 0, 3, 136.50, $17,610.62
14. Marco Eguchi, 5, 1, 2, 134.50, $16,797.23
15. Derek Kolbaba, 8, 0, 1, 120.00, $22,190.32
16. Alex Cerqueira, 7, 0, 1, 119.50, $17,721.85
17. Mason Taylor, 7, 2, 3, 98.00, $22,046.54
18. Dalton Kasel, 9, 0, 1, 90.00, $13,651.39
19. Cody Teel, 8, 0, 2, 83.50, $16,076.79
20. Lucas Divino, 7, 0, 2, 81.00, $23,474.00
21. Kyler Oliver, 4, 0, 0, 72.00, $8,895.10
22. Brennon Eldred, 8, 0, 1, 70.50, $11,058.93
23. Eduardo Aparecido, 5, 0, 0, 69.50, $8,584.15
24. Brady Fielder, 3, 1, 2, 69.00, $6,529.40
25. J.T. Moore, 8, 1, 3, 59.00, $8,789.02
26. Kyle Jones, 4, 0, 1, 50.50, $7,492.39
27. Jesse Petri, 8, 1, 1, 48.83, $7,216.06
28. Rodrigo Melgar, 7, 1, 2, 47.33, $7,988.09
29. Marcelo Procopio Pereira, 10, 1, 2, 47.00, $7,657.05
30. Kurt Shephard, 3, 0, 2, 44.33, $4,028.40
31. Ezekiel Mitchell, 7, 1, 1, 44.00, $5,634.96
32. Aaron Kleier, 3, 1, 2, 42.00, $14,105.40
33. Eli Vastbinder, 3, 1, 1, 34.00, $5,227.13
34. Claudio Montanha Jr., 8, 0, 0, 33.50, $4,734.94
35. Thiago Salgado, 7, 0, 1, 32.00, $5,152.71
36. Cody Nance, 5, 0, 2, 31.00, $6,809.23
37. João Henrique Lucas, 7, 0, 0, 29.00, $4,449.95
38. Chase Dougherty, 9, 2, 3, 26.00, $8,852.91
38. Bailey Woodard, 3, 1, 1, 26.00, $2,285.40
40. Jess Lockwood, 3, 0, 0, 25.50, $4,175.18
41. Dakota Louis, 9, 0, 1, 24.50, $3,617.07
42. Lachlan Richardson, 3, 0, 1, 20.00, $1,775.00
42. Marcus Mast, 8, 0, 1, 20.00, $3,254.63
44. Luciano De Castro, 6, 0, 2, 19.83, $12,130.01
45. Cody Casper, 8, 0, 1, 18.00, $2,860.13

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