Jake Gardner Tenth at First-Ever PBR Pendleton Whisky Velocity Tour Event in Grand Forks, North Dakota

GRAND FORKS, N.D. – Saturday night inside the Alerus Center was electric as fans were treated to night two of the first-ever PBR (Professional Bull Riders) Pendleton Whisky Velocity Tour (PWVT) event in North Dakota.

With two Canadians competing at the Grand Forks Chute Out, Jake Gardner (Fort St. John, British Columbia) led the contingent, going 1-for-3 to finish tenth and earn 1 world point.

The 24-year-old registered his 8-second effort in the opening round of action, covering Law Dog (Cantankerous Bucking Bulls) for 83.5 points.

However, Championship Saturday was less than kind to the Canuck. Gardner was bucked off by his final two bovine athlete opponents, dispatched by Snoop Dog (TDS Bucking Bulls) in 2.69 seconds in Round 2 and Drifter (Rafter B Bucking Bulls/Harris) in 5.4 seconds in the championship round.

Gardner, who began the event ranked No. 90, climbed one position in the world standings, now No. 89. He trails the world’s Top 30 and a berth to the elite PBR Unleash The Beast by 72.83 points.

Albertan Wyatt Gleeson (Sundre, Alberta) also competed at the North Dakota tour stop, however was bested by both of his draws. After Stonewall (Rafter JML Cattle) brought him down in a heartbreaking 6.38 seconds in Round 1, Libby Time (Championship Pro Rodeo/CCC) bucked off the 26-year-old in 2.6 seconds in 2.6 seconds.

As the dust settled in Grand Forks, young gun Austin Richardson (Stephenville, Texas) emerged victorious as the only cowboy to go a perfect 3-for-3 over the weekend at the Grand Forks Chute Out.

After an eighth-place finish in Round 1 on Friday night courtesy of an 82-point ride on Armed & Dangerous (CBT), Richardson remained perfect through both rounds of competition on Championship Saturday.

Round 2 matched the 21-year old with Rockin Robin (CBT), and he made the 8 for an 84-point ride. 

In the championship round, Richardson was the only man to record a qualified ride. He rocketed from the chutes aboard The Muley (T&G Bucking Bulls), and fans roared as his 86.5-point score was announced, clinching his first-ever Pendleton Whisky Velocity Tour event win.

The win earned the Texas cowboy 39.5 world points.

Pennsylvania’s Joe Hostetler (Homer City, Pennsylvania) went 2-for-3 to collect a second-place finish on Saturday night. Hostetler successfully rode Jokers Wild (Frontier Rodeo/CBT) for 85 points to win Round 2 before being matched up with Wild Side (CBT 2) in the final round.

The championship matchup didn’t go as planned when Hostetler hit the ground after just 2.02 seconds.

Despite the buckoff, Hostetler netted 30.5 world points.

Friday night’s Round 1 winner Hunter Kelly (Santan Valley, Arizona) finished third, going 2-for-3 at his career-first Velocity Tour event.

In Round 2, Kelly made the 8 aboard Blue (Frontier Rodeo/CBT) for 80 points, but he was then bucked off of Doolin Dalton (Frenzel Bucking Bulls) at 3.13 seconds in the championship round.

Kelly left North Dakota with 18 world points for his efforts.

Brazil’s Thiago Salgado (Navirai, Brazil) began the weekend on fire after a second-place finish in Round 1. However, Saturday night did not go as planned for the determined 23-year old.

After being dispatched by Last Chance (Sho-Me Rodeo) in 6.64 seconds in Round 2, Salgado was then paired with Cadillac Jack (TDS Bucking Bulls) in the championship round, only to be flung to the ground in 3.68 seconds.

Despite a less-than-favorable 1-for-3 weekend, Salgado earned 9.5 world points for his fourth-place finish.

Three riders rounded out the Top 5 for the weekend, all going 1-for-3 to collect 4.33 world points. The trio of cowboys all registered the matching score in Round 1, but were unable to find success the remainder of the weekend.

Grayson Cole (New Riggold, Pennsylvania) was no match for Deadwood (Championship Pro Rodeo/CCC) in Round 2 or Twisted Terry (CBT) in the championship round.  

Laramie Craigen (Stephenville, Texas) also came down hard in his unsuccessful Round 2 pairing with Jerry Lee (Shuler Bucking Bulls) and his short 5.64-second effort in the championship round aboard Prayer Warrior (Halpain Bucking Bulls).

Dirlei Bonani (Taubate, Brazil) fell just short of the 8 when he was launched by Lil Riz (Frenzel Bucking Bulls) in Round 2 at 7.61 seconds. His championship-round ride also didn’t pan out for the determined Brazilian after Yukon Jack (Frontier Rodeo/CBT) bested him.

The Grand Forks weekend was also a stop on the Million Dollar Bull Team Challenge. Shuler Bucking Bulls took home first place, scoring 272.26 points, while Frontier Rodeo/CBT collected a second-place finish with 271.79.

Fans can relive all the action from Round 2 and the championship round in North Dakota starting on Sunday, April 18 at 8:00 a.m. ET on RidePass.com or via the RidePass mobile app.

The talented bull riders of the Pendleton Whisky Velocity Tour will next head to Wichita, Kansas, for the Wichita Invitational at INTRUST Bank Arena April 23-24.

PBR Pendleton Whisky Velocity Tour – Grand Forks Chute Out
Alerus Center – Grand Forks, North Dakota
Event Leaders (Round 1-Round 2-Event Aggregate-Event Points)
1. Austin Richardson, 82-84-86.5-252.50-39.5 Points.
2. Joe Hostetler, 86-85-0-171.00-30.5 Points.
3. Hunter Kelly, 88-80-0-168.00-18 Points.
4. Thiago Salgado, 86-0-0-86.00-9.5 Points.
5. Grayson Cole, 85.5-0-0-85.50-4.33 Points.
(tie). Laramie Craigen, 85.5-0-0-85.50-4.33 Points.
(tie). Dirlei Bonani, 85.5-0-0-85.50-4.33 Points.
8. Jake Lockwood, 0-84.5-0-84.50-4 Points.
9. Manoelito de Souza Junior, 0-84-0-84.00-2.5 Points.
10. Jake Gardner, 83.5-0-0-83.50-1 Points.
11. Conner Halverson, 77.5-0-0-77.50
12. River Stephenson, 75.5-0-0-75.50
13. Bob Mitchell, 64.5-0-0-64.50
Luis Blanco, 0-0-0-0.00
Dakota Louis, 0-0-0-0.00
Michael Lane, 0-0-0-0.00
Wallace Vieira de Oliveira, 0-0-0-0.00
Hunter Ball, 0-0-0-0.00
Seth White, 0-0-0-0.00
Justin Houston, 0-0-0-0.00
Alex Cardozo, 0-0-0-0.00
Cole Skender, 0-0-0-0.00
Keith Hall, 0-0-0-0.00
Rubens Barbosa, 0-0-0-0.00
Caic Cassio Carvalho, 0-0-0-0.00
Alvaro Aguilar Alvarez, 0-0-0-0.00
Jorge Valdiviezo, 0-0-0-0.00
Alex Jenks, 0-0-0-0.00
Bradley Brittain, 0-0-0-0.00
Alex Santana, 0-0-0-0.00
Tyler Werner, 0-0-0-0.00
Junio Quaresima, 0-0-0-0.00
Dylan Madsen, 0-0-0-0.00
Wyatt Gleeson, 0-0-0-0.00
Weston Hartman, 0-0-0-0.00
Cory Price, 0-0-0-0.00
Fernando Henrique Novais, 0-0-0-0.00
Juan Alonzo, 0-0-0-0.00
Devin Hutchinson, 0-0-0-0.00
Cody McCandless, 0-0-0-0.00
Christian Melgarejo, 0-0-0-0.00
Jacob Ramirez, 0-0-0-0.00
Paulo Souza Rodriguez, 0-0-0-0.00
Cimarron Rucker, 0-0-0-0.00
Ty Shaffer, 0-0-0-0.00