Over the last four days, we have seen some pretty amazing feats of athleticism as the top 40 bull riders in the world compete at the 2017 Professional Bull Riders Built Ford Tough Series World Finals. All of that action came down to what every single one of them here this weekend was chasing as we crowned our season champions. Before that could happen, there was still business to take care of as round five and the Championship Round had to be completed. That being said, earlier this afternoon, the final rounds began and in the fifth round of competition we saw some amazing match-ups that amounted to 13 total rides down on the arena floor inside of the beautiful T-Mobile Arena. Today, the man taking home the win in the second to last round of the 2017 PBR season was Stormy Wing who would manage to earn a 90.25 point ride to head into the Championship Round 300 points and $35,000 richer!
Complete List Of Round Five Qualified Rides Posted Below:
Stormy Wing (90.25) Jose Vitor Leme (89.75)
Chase Outlaw (89.00) Luciano De Castro (88.75)
Kaique Pacheco (88.50) Eduardo Aparecido (87.50)
Rubens Barbosa (87.50) Sage Kimzey (87.50)
Ryan Dirteater (85.75) Fabiano Vieira (85.25)
Ramon de Lima (85.00) Claudio Montana Jr. (84.25)
Koal Livingston (55.00)
Jose Vitor Leme Wins The World Finals and Rookie Of The Year Honors
Photo Credit: Rokin’ K Photos / Danny Kilcrease
Once the five previous qualifying rounds were completed it was time to see what the top fifteen bull riders of the World Finals event could do against the top fifteen bulls, two of which were vying for the World Champion Bucking Bull honors. After the riders picked their bovine opponents live atop the shark cage it was time to see how things would play out and who would leave with the 2017 PBR World Champion title. Here in the championship round four of those fifteen riders earned qualified rides in the round while Jose Vitor Leme would put up the top ride in the round with a whopping 94.50 point bull ride to round out a very exciting and emotional 2017 Professional Bull Riders Built Ford Tough Series World Finals!
This year we have been able to watch some of the tightest races in the history of the Professional Bull Riders organization and the Rookie of the Year race is just one of those that would, again, come down to the last day of the season. Three of the world’s top riders, Cody Teel, Claudio Montanha Jr. and Dener Barbosa have been fighting tooth and nail all year in hopes of earning this title that you can only get once in your career. Coming into the 2017 PBR World Finals this race was another virtual dead heat which would leave it all up to whoever performed the best at this event in Las Vegas, Once things were all said and done it would be Jose Vitor Leme that would have a great World Finals and eventually come out on top to take the 2017 PBR Rookie of the Year honors home with them after going an amazing 6-for-6 earning 2533 world title race points throughout the weekend and ending the year 7th in the world standings.
Jess Lockwood Celebrates His 2017 PBR World Championship Title
Photo Credit: Rokin’ K Photos / Danny Kilcrease
After a year of an emotional up and down, roller coaster type season, everything came down to the Montana Silversmith buckle that would be presented here this afternoon with the inscription 2017 PBR World Champion. Derek Kolbaba came into this weekend in the number one position in the world standings but after a fantastic World Finals event Jess Lockwood would surpass him and never look back after round two on Thursday night. The 20-year-old Montana cowboy would be dominant, winning the first three rounds, skyrocketing him to the top of the leaderboard. At the end of the day, he would be crowned the 2017 PBR World Champion, beating out the world number two, Derek Kolbaba, by 447.50 points after coming into Las Vegas sitting in the number five spot in the world standings!
Chad Berger Earns Another Stock Contractor of the Year Award
Photo Credit: Rokin’ K Photos / Danny Kilcrease
When we talk about the bovine athletes of the Professional Bull Riders we tend to forget that they need to be trained to perform and to be kept healthy throughout the year to be able to do what they love. This could not be done without the fantastic stock contractors that own, care for and love these animal athletes. One person, in particular, always comes to mind when we talk about professional bull riding and he hails from the Midwest and the great state of North Dakota. Chad Berger has been in the business for many years and wears his love for the sport, its bull riders and its fans on his sleeve everywhere he goes. This year, he made history by becoming the only stock contractor to win 7 Stock Contractor of the Year awards in the Professional Bull Riders Built Ford Tough Series! Congratulations to a great man that proudly supports veterans and military members across the globe.
Over the past week, all of us at the Rodeo Round Up have been blessed to witness many historic moments and be front and center for the crowning of the new 2017 Professional Bull Riders Built Ford Tough Series World Champion. Earlier this afternoon it all came to an end which gives us all a moment to breathe, collect our thoughts, have a decent meal and relax until we ramp up for the Wrangler National Finals Rodeo in just about a month’s time. We could not have given you all the coverage we did this weekend without a very dedicated team: Danny and Jeana Kilcrease of Rokin’ K Photos for capturing some amazing images, Scott Kotjein of MidwestRodeos.com for facilitating our daily LIVE pre-show and to my amazing wife Denise Hetland for keeping me grounded when I am at my wits end. I want to personally thank you all as we now begin our preparations to be right back out here in one short month to do it all again!
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