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From the Vault: Every Iron Cowboy Champion

By: Justin Felisko

PUEBLO, Colo. – The first Iron Cowboy was held 10 years ago inside AT&T Stadium, and Valdiron de Oliveira took home a massive $260,000 payday in a unique bracket-style format.

While the format and host city may have changed since the first Iron Cowboy, one thing has always remained the same: being crowned a PBR Iron Cowboy is one of the most prestigious titles to win.

The PBR may currently be on hiatus, but you don’t have to miss out on all the action. Tune into CBS Sports Network on Sunday at noon ET to watch the 2020 Iron Cowboy, presented by Ariat.

Today, PBR.com’s From the Vault series gives fans access to articles about every Iron Cowboy winner to read over the weekend.

2020: Cole Melancon ready to push for PBR World Finals and NFR qualifications

 
Cole Melancon was not going to sugarcoat making his Unleash The Beast debut in downtown Los Angeles at STAPLES Center in one of the PBR’s largest events of the year.

For any rider stepping foot on the UTB for the first time, there are naturally some nerves attached. Those nerves only amplify for a rider like Melancon who had to ride his bull in Round 1 at Iron Cowboy, presented by Ariat, if he wanted the opportunity to ride for over $100,000 on Saturday night.

“There are some nerves there, but I’m not near as nervous as I guess I would be,” Melancon said. “Shoot, I’ve been doing this for a long time, and you’ve just got to go at it like it’s just another bull riding. You see all these guys that’s been doing it forever, but hey, they’re all my buddies and stuff, and I rodeoed with half of them, and I’ve known a lot of them before that.

“So there’s no sense of sweating it. You just come over here and just do what you do. Just take it one bull at a time, and we’ll see how it goes. Play it by your cards. Just do your job and the judges do theirs.”

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2019: Joao Ricardo Vieira off to best start of career at 34 years old

 
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.

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2018: Ramon de Lima looking to match mental confidence with his strength

 
Ramon de Lima was physically unfazed as he stood underneath the giant scoreboard at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas, on Saturday night.

Historically, winners of the PBR Iron Cowboy are dripping in sweat or are at a loss of breath. Lima’s physical specimen though was on display in Texas. There was no sweat. No look of exhaustion.

The spitting image of Lima was instead a stoic bull rider ready for the next challenge that may be awaiting him during his ultimate pursuit of a 2018 World Championship.

He was an Iron Cowboy.

“I kind of train every day really hard to prepare myself for situations like this,” Lima said with the help of Paulo Crimber translating. “I really wasn’t tired at all, I could have got on more bulls if I had to. This is the only thing I do. This is what I do for a living.”

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2017: Eduardo Aparecido makes World Championship statement as Iron Cowboy

 
There were two men on the back of the bucking chutes Saturday night in AT&T Stadium about ready to jump onto the dirt and mob 2017 Iron Cowboy Eduardo Aparecido as the 26-year-old was finishing up his event-winning 89-point ride on Catfish John.

Three-time World Champion Silvano Alves had his left leg hanging over the chute in anticipation, while 2008 World Champion Guilherme Marchi was right next to Alves as the duo tossed their cowboy hats into the arena in praise of Aparecido.

Iron Cowboy was a huge statement victory by the fifth-year pro.

Aparecido didn’t just take over the world No. 1 ranking, but winning the second PBR Major of the season in front of a raucous 38,000 fans truly proved that not only does he have the physical talent to win a world title, but now he has the mental poise necessary to make a push at joining Alves and Marchi in the record books.

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2016: Shane Proctor confident and ready to make a title run

 
A black cloud of doubt began to cross Shane Proctor’s mind on July 13, 2014, as he lay helpless with Dr. Tandy Freeman overlooking him in Dallas.

For the second time in six months, Freeman was about to cut open Proctor’s shoulder – this time his right shoulder instead of his previously repaired left – and undergo a procedure to repair torn ligaments, cartilage, a biceps tear, his rotator cuff and a broken shoulder cap.

The surgery would involve Freeman inserting eight anchors into Proctor’s right shoulder to hold it together after Proctor sustained the injuries at a July 1, 2014, rodeo in Ponoka, Alberta.

The eight anchors was the same amount Freeman had put in to Proctor’s left shoulder six months earlier on Jan. 13, 2014, after Proctor underwent reconstructive surgery to repair a torn rotator cuff injury that tore all the ligaments off the bone, tore the labrum all the way around and left him with a broken shoulder cap.

It was simply déjà vu all over again.

Proctor had only competed in eight summer non-PBR events before ripping his right shoulder to pieces.

Maybe this was a sign his days as a top bull rider were over?

“I didn’t have any doubts when I had my first one,” Proctor said. “When I had my second one on July 13 I started to have my doubts. I came back for eight events and I was right back on the operating table. You wonder about all of the hard work that you put in and all the time you spent and all the years learning and trying and doing this if you’re going to be at the top of your game. It is really tough.”

Coincidentally, Proctor celebrated his first Built Ford Tough Series victory one day after the 19-month anniversary of his second reconstructive shoulder injury on that summer day in Dallas.

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2015: Joao Ricardo Vieira feels like true Iron Cowboy second time around

 
Joao Ricardo Vieira has handled himself in a business-like manner for his three years on the Built Ford Tough Series.

He has very rarely shown much emotion in the arena, always looking toward the bigger picture and the ultimate prize of winning a World Championship and its accompanying $1 million bonus.

It is why when he won the 2013 Rookie of the Year he was more disappointed that he fell short of putting a run together to catch J.B. Mauney for the 2013 world title.

It is why he was even more frustrated the following year when he bucked off his last three bulls (Karaoke, King Tut and Yo Yo) at the 2014 Built Ford Tough World Finals as Silvano Alves jumped past him to win his third world title after he began the week as the No. 1 bull rider in the world.

Most importantly, it is Vieira’s driven personality that should make it no surprise that Vieira rose from the ashes of 26th in the world standings to claim his second consecutive Iron Cowboy title. He also earned 900 points toward the world standings to move all the way to No. 5 in the world in the PBR’s first PBR Major event.

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2014: Joao Ricardo Vieira’s composure pays off at Dr. Pepper Iron Cowboy V

 
It couldn’t have gone any more different in the bucking chutes for the two final riders – Joao Ricardo Vieira and Gage Gay – at the Dr. Pepper Iron Cowboy V on Saturday night.

Vieira was relaxed and it had nothing to do with the fact that Gay lasted only 1.45 seconds on 2012 World Champion Bull Asteroid. Having won a Built Ford Tough Series event two weeks earlier in St. Louis, and sitting third in the world standings, Vieira was as confident as he’s been since coming to the U.S. early last year.

It also didn’t matter that last year’s Rookie of the Year was facing Mick E Mouse.

“For (my) second year,” he said, “I’m feeling a lot better because I know the bulls I’m competing against.”

He made it 2.42 seconds and although it was nearly enough for a qualified ride, it was enough to earn Vieira the title of Iron Cowboy.

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2013: Third time’s a charm for Austin Meier

 
After placing second the past two years in Arlington, Texas, Austin Meier successfully claimed the sought-after Dickies Iron Cowboy IV title in front of 30,000 fans at Cowboys Stadium on Saturday night.

The 2013 season had seen Meier cut from the PBR Built Ford Tough Series, forcing him to battle his way back on the Touring Pro Division. Fortunately, the Oklahoman made his way back to Iron Cowboy for the fourth consecutive year as a result of his Top 8 finish last season.

“It’s kind of like living in a mansion and moving into a shack,” Meier said. “I’m happy to be back in the mansion.”

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2012: J.B. Mauney and Bushwacker face off at Iron Cowboy

 
Bushwacker proved he’s still every bit as good as he was.

The reigning World Champion Bull hadn’t bucked since the World Finals in late October, recovering from surgery in early January to remove bone chips from both hind legs.

Saturday night he was marked 46 points in the final round of the Dickies® Iron Cowboy III after bucking off event-winner J.B. Mauney at 7.22 seconds – the longest he’s been ridden since being covered at the World Finals in 2009.

Bushwacker is in fine form after leg surgery, tossing J.B. Mauney just before the whistle in Arlington, Texas, on Saturday.

“Coming back after surgery, I thought it was real good,” said Julio Moreno, who co-owns Bushwacker with Richard Oliveira. “I was hoping J.B. would ride him. It was good. He really shined, I thought.

“Now I know he still has it. That was my concern. Anybody that has surgery … what’s going to happen next? Well, he did perform.”

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2011: Underdog Colby Yates wins stunning Iron Cowboy title

 
Colby Yates, a late addition to the competition, won the Iron Cowboy Invitational II at Cowboys Stadium in front of a crowd of 38,641 Saturday night.

“No, this hasn’t sunk in yet,” Yates said afterward.

Yates didn’t receive the call to replace the injured Robson Palermo until Wednesday afternoon, and just three days later, the Fort Worth cowboy had a career night, advancing through the right side of the bracket for a shot at Super Duty and a $100,000 bonus.

As this year’s Iron Cowboy, he claimed the $50,000 first-place payout, while Austin Meier took home $25,000 for second place.

Yates, who a year ago considered retiring from the sport, initially covered bad Medicine for 86.5 points to eliminate last year’s runner-up Travis Briscoe. He then knocked out Silvano Alves and J.B. Mauney in one of the most exciting matchups of the night.

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2010: Impact of massive win hits emotional Valdiron de Oliveira

 
Known for drama in the arena, Valdiron de Oliveira was even more emotional outside of it.

Carried off on the shoulders of his fellow Brazilians as the crowd of 46,321 cheered, the 30-year-old won the Iron Cowboy Invitational Saturday night in Arlington, Texas. He was all smiles as the PBR presented him with a check for $260,000—a PBR record for a single-day payout, and the richest paycheck of his career. The money comes just three days shy of the closing date for his new ranch – a ranch he’ll now have the luxury of paying off in full.

But when all the interviews were done and the cameras were turned off, Oliveira could no longer fight back the tears of joy.

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Follow Justin Felisko on Twitter @jfelisko

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