Last night’s action kicked off the third major of the 2017 Professional Bull Riders Built Ford Tough Series season as The Last Cowboy Standing event began in part with the legendary Helldorado Days Rodeo events. In the “ride or die” format those wanting to advance further in the competition must ride their bulls that are placed underneath of them in order to move forward. That being said, tonight’s round two needed a minimum of twenty-five contestants so being in the top of the world championship point standings has its perks.
Last night there were only thirteen qualified rides so that, in turn, left half of the field open as twelve of the top bull riders in the world were invited to continue on. Those that did not cover their bovine counterparts were given another life here tonight. Although they may have gotten another life-line that will fall by the wayside if advantage is not taken in round two. Those that do not ride for the required eight seconds will not move on and will have to head back to Mandalay Bay wondering what they could have done differently.
J.B. Mauney Strides For Ride 500 In Las Vegas
Photo Credit: Debbie D Anthony Photography
As the weekend began two-time world champion J.B. Mauney was on a path to achieve a feat that only two before him ever have in the Built Ford Tough Series. Coming into Las Vegas and the Cowboy Last Standing event Mauney was sitting at 497 career qualified rides and had the chance to earn his 500th career ride here in Las Vegas. That being said, that was not the only record he was chasing in Sin City as another less notable achievement was just mere seconds away as the action began here in round two.
Coming into tonight’s rounds J.B. Mauney was in the mind-frame of showing the boisterous fans in the 90-degree heat how much he enjoys traveling to the iconic tourist destination. His match-up tonight would be Moleek who has created havoc among the bull riders that have faced him this season although Mauney had more than just a qualified ride to prove. He was striving for a chance to continue on and try for ride 500 but also with a qualified ride in round two could cement his name in Las Vegas stone with his 50th career ride in Sin City. After all was said and done it would be Moleek who would come out on top to dash his hopes at earning his 50th career Las Vegas ride and his 500th career ride before the summer break.
Kaique Pacheco Claims The 2017 Last Cowboy Standing Title
Photo Credit: Andy Watson / Bull Stock Media
After an intense two days of bull riding action, it all came down to who would outlast all the rest and claim the event championship title here at the Last Cowboy Standing and the huge amount of world title race points that came along with it. Once things began it would be 25 of the top bull riders in the world that would compete for the opportunity to advance on to the third round where the bull power was almost too much for anyone to handle. After round two there would only be eight that would move forward to face some of the world bucking bull title race contenders.
Once everything ramped up and the key match-ups were announced the sold out crowd here in Las Vegas grew louder than they had been since last night’s round one. The match-ups that were seen in the third round were PBR World Finals quality and allowed for the fans to witness some of their favorite athletes on both sides of the fence up close and personal. The only question that remained is who would advance to compete for the title of Last Cowboy Standing!
Complete Break-Down Of Round By Round Qualified Rides Posted Below:
Round Two:
Marco Eguchi (88.25) Kaique Pacheco (88.00)
Eduardo Aparecido (87.75) Silvano Alves (86.75)
Cody Nance (85.50) Joao Ricardo Vieira (85.00)
Jess Lockwood (84.75) Derek Kolbaba (81.25)
Round Four:
Kaique Pacheco (90.00)
Kaique Pacheco Celebrates His Last Cowboy Standing Victory
Photo Credit: Andy Watson / Bull Stock Media
After was all said and done the intense battle of will power came down to the last ride at the third PBR Major of the 2017 season. The anticipation of how the world standings would look following this event would live up to the hype as a few of those cowboys that needed a huge weekend got just what they were after. Many would leave here riding a high wave of confidence knowing that in three months they will once again be invited back to the elite Built Ford Tough Series tour to compete across the nation week after week!
There were many things to cheer about over the past two nights and what was witnessed down on the arena floor left the passionate PBR fans on the edge of their seats wanting more just as the summer break began. Before the fans filtered out of the arena grounds there was one thing left to do, crown the 2017 Last Cowboy Standing Champion. This year Kaique Pacheco would, once again, be the man to carry that distinction and with his win make his way up the rankings in the world title race after earning 178 points over the two nights and three rounds of competition!
Now that the first half of the 2017 Professional Bull Riders Built Ford Tough Series season is behind us it will be interesting to see how each of these athletes will take these next three months off to either heal up or continue to push forward. Many will hit some Velocity Tour events while others will hit the traditional rodeo trail on their quest to also qualify for the 2017 Wrangler National Finals Rodeo on the professional rodeo side of the bull riding world.
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