Dakota Buttar 16th at Final Regular-Season PBR Unleash The Beast Event of 2019 in Nampa, Idaho

NAMPA, Idaho – On the hunt for his fourth consecutive qualification to the PBR (Professional Bull Riders) World Finals, Dakota Buttar (Kindersley, Saskatchewan) finished 16^th at the final regular-season Unleash The Beast event of 2019 in Nampa, Idaho, maintaining his world No. 26 ranking.

While the 26-year-old was the lone Canuck bull rider in the draw, he was joined by two bovine athletes from the nation in Cool Bricks and Blue Blood, both from X6 Ranch Bucking Cattle.

In an all-Canadian showdown, Buttar attempted Blue Blood in Round 1 of the Cooper Tires Take the Money and Ride, bested by the bovine athlete in a close 7.54 seconds. The out, which marked his Unleash The Beast debut, earned Blue Blood a bull score of 40 points. He remains unridden in five outs on record.

Round 1 of the event inside the Ford Idaho Center also featured the Unleash The Beast debut of Cool Bricks. Ridden by Marco Eguchi (Poa, Brazil) for 88 points, tying for second best score of the round, the bull was marked a career-high 43 points.

On Saturday night in Round 2, Buttar rebounded, reaching the 8 aboard Humberto (Dakota Rodeo/Chad Berger/Clay Struve/Heald Pro Bulls) for 84.25 points.

His event, however, ended short of the 8-second whistle with the Kindersley man bested by his championship round draft, Scooby (Nunes Livestock), in 5.17 seconds.

2019 Rookie of the Year contender Dalton Kasel (Muleshoe, Texas) rode his way to his first PBR Unleash The Beast win after going a perfect 3-for-3 over the two days in Nampa.

The 20-year-old Texan had the crowd on its feet with a deafening roar as he made the 8 seconds aboard Fearless (D&H Cattle/ Buck Cattle/ Tommy Julian) for an eventual, 92-point winning ride in the championship round. This is the second time this year that Kasel has recorded this score on the bull. Earlier in the evening, the young gun rode Saint Joe (Dakota Rodeo/ Chad Berger/ Clay Struve/ Heald Pro Bulls) in Round 2 for 87.75 points.  

For his efforts, Kasel earned $37,600 and 550 world points, to move up to No. 7 in the world standings and furthering his No.1 lead in the PBR Rookie of the Year race.

Current world leader Jose Vitor Leme (Ribas Do Rio Pardo, Brazil) took home second place for the weekend and would have won the event if Kasel had not made a qualified ride on his final bull. In Round 2, the tough Brazilian athlete scored 84 points aboard Justify (Wentz Bucking Bulls/New West Rodeos) and then selected Whiskey Bent (Wentz Bucking Bulls/New West Rodeos) in the final round.

Leme’s electric 88.25-point ride in the championship round completed his perfect 3-for-3 weekend at Ford Idaho Center and maintained his hold on the No.1 spot in the world standings. Leme leaves Idaho with a check for $17,680 and 380 world points to maintain his lead over No. 2 Jess Lockwood (Volborg. Montana).

Third place in Nampa went to Jess Lockwood (Volborg, Montana). Just one week after breaking the notorious 38-out buckoff streak of Heartbreak Kid (D&H Cattle/ Buck Cattle/ Erwin Cattle) in Greensboro, North Carolina, the 2017 PBR World Champion surpassed his previous week’s high-marked ride of the year with an impressive 94-point ride aboard the bovine in the championship round. The 46-point bull score earned Heartbreak Kid the title of YETI “Built for the Wild” Bull of the event.

“I’ve never felt so good,” exclaimed an out-of-breath Lockwood as he exited the arena. “I’m 10-foot-tall and bulletproof right now and going into the Finals, last event, I don’t know if I could feel any better. I think everyone is gonna start calling me crazy because I’m gonna start going in the championship rounds and choosing that bull - he’s my bull.”

Earlier in the night, Lockwood conquered Roadkill (Wentz Bucking Bulls/ New West Rodeos) in the second round for 85.75 points to move on to the final round. For his 2-for-3 weekend, the Montana man took home $13,550 and 285 world points. The remarkable ride held strong to his No. 2 world rank and leaves him just a mere 416.66 points behind Leme.

2016 World Champion Cooper Davis (Jasper, Texas) came in fourth place for the weekend and brought the arena to its feet after riding Speed Demon (Dakota Rodeo/ Chad Berger/ Clay Struve/ Heald Pro Bulls) for 90 points in the championship round. Despite his earlier upset aboard Pitch Black (Dakota Rodeo/ Chad Berger/ Clay Struve), which ended after just 3.98 seconds, the Texan took home $8,170 and 155 world points. His 2-for-3 weekend kept him at No. 5 in the world standings.  

Rounding out the Top 5 for the event was Chase Outlaw (Hamburg, Arkansas), despite not having a perfect weekend and going 2-for-3. The gritty rider bucked off Smooth Wreck (Dakota Rodeo/ Chad Berger/ Clay Struve/ Diamond Willow) in the championship round after 7.45 seconds. Outlaw’s Friday night qualified ride combined with his 86.5-point ride aboard The Tickler (Dakota Rodeo-Chad Berger/ Clay Struve/Ken Barnhard) in Saturday’s earlier round earned Outlaw $7,191.67 and 148.33 world points. His hold at No. 3 in the world standings now leaves him 1,415.83 points behind Leme.

The Top 35 bull riders in the world will now head to Las Vegas, Nevada for PBR Unleash The Beast World Finals at the T-Mobile Arena November 6-10.  

PBR Unleash The Beast - Cooper Tires Take the Money and Ride
Ford Idaho Center, Nampa, Idaho
Event Leaders (Round 1-Round 2-Round 3-Event Aggregate-Event Points)
1. Dalton Kasel, 86.75-87.75-92-266.50-550 Points.
2. Jose Vitor Leme, 88.75-84-88.25-261.00-380 Points.
3. Jess Lockwood, 0-85.75-94-179.75-285 Points.
4. Cooper Davis, 85-0-90-175.00-155 Points.
5. Chase Outlaw, 88-86.5-0-174.50-148.33 Points.
6. Brennon Eldred, 87.5-86.5-0-174.00-113.33 Points.
7. Scottie Knapp, 0-88.25-0-88.25-105 Points.
8. Marco Eguchi, 88-84.75-0-172.75-75 Points.
9. Junio Quaresima, 0-87.25-0-87.25-55 Points.
10. Lucas Divino, 0-85-85.75-170.75-45 Points.
11. Ramon de Lima, 80.75-86.5-0-167.25-38.33 Points.
12. Luciano De Castro, 86.5-0-0-86.50-20 Points.
13. Mason Taylor, 86-84.5-0-170.50-15 Points.
14. Cody Teel, 0-84.75-0-84.75-5 Points.
(tie). Keyshawn Whitehorse, 84.75-0-0-84.75-5 Points.
16. Dakota Buttar, 0-84.25-0-84.25
17. Alan de Souza, 0-83-0-83.00
18. João Ricardo Vieira, 0-82.75-0-82.75
19. Eduardo Aparecido, 79-0-0-79.00
Derek Kolbaba, 0-0-0-0.00
Daylon Swearingen, 0-0-0-0.00
Ezekiel Mitchell, 0-0-0-0.00
Alisson De Souza, 0-0-0-0.00
Matt Triplett, 0-0-0-0.00
Claudio Montanha Jr., 0-0-0-0.00
Cody Jesus, 0-0-0-0.00
Stetson Lawrence, 0-0-0-0.00
Cody Nance, 0-0-0-0.00
J.B. Mauney, 0-0-0-0.00
Rubens Barbosa, 0-0-0-0.00
Taylor Toves, 0-0-0-0.00
Dylan Smith, 0-0-0-0.00
Brady Sims, 0-0-0-0.00
Ruger Piva, 0-0-0-0.00
Marcus Mast, 0-0-0-0.00