As the Professional Bull Riders Built Ford Tough Series rolls into the Windy City this weekend fans can expect to see some big time match-ups in night number one. Tonight, the Allstate Arena plays host to the top 35 bull riders in the world which will begin three action-packed days in the tundra that we call Chicago, Illinois! The buzz of what happened just seven days ago in New York City is still fresh in everyone’s minds and the anticipation of what was to come was at an all-time high as the seats started filling in with the sold out crowd that was ready to watch some great bull riding action.
Earlier this week the professional rodeo and bull riding worlds lost a huge part of our family when it was announced that Canadian bull rider Ty Pozzobon had passed away. That being said, before any of the action began a very somber moment was had down on the arena floor as we all paid tribute to a young man that was at the top of his game after placing fourth at the 2016 PBR World Finals. There was not a dry eye in the arena as we all came together to remember the life of Ty Pozzobon.
Gage Gay Splits The Round Win Here In Chicago
Photo Credit: Andy Watson / Bull Stock Media
As the lights dimmed on the arena floor and the bull rider introductions began the fans that were in attendance were on the edge of their seats. Coming into tonight’s first round of the Chicago Invitational Missouri cowboy Matt Triplett gave up his lead in the world standings to high school graduate, 18-year-old Jess Lockwood, coming off a huge major event win last weekend in New York City. It was safe to say that the fans in Chicago were in for a treat as the top 35 bull riders in the world were set to begin.
One the bull riding got underway it would be fast and furious as the first section of action brought many of the fan favorites including last year’s PBR World Champion Cooper Davis. Once things were all said and done and the first round of action was concluded there would be 15 of the top 35 bull riders in the world that would manage to carry a round one score into tomorrow night’s second round. Tonight two men, Gage Gay and Kaique Pacheco, would be able to split the round win after claiming a huge 86.25 point scores aboard their respective bulls to split the round one win here in Chicago!
Complete List Of Round One Qualified Rides Listed Below:
Gage Gay (86.25) Kaique Pacheco (86.25)
Brady Sims (85.75) Mike Lee (85.75)
Nathan Schaper (85.25) Alex Cardozo (85.25)
Ryan Dirteater (85.00) Stormy Wing (84.50)
Marco Eguchi (84.00) Keyshawn Whitehorse (83.50)
Jess Lockwood (83.00) Justin Paton (82.75)
Rubens Barbosa (82.25) Guilherme Marchi (82.00)
Fabiano Vieira (82.00)
Mike Lee Takes Home The First 2017 15/15 Win Of The Season
Photo Credit: Andy Watson / Bull Stock Media
The first round of excitement was not the only entertainment that the sold out crowd inside of the Allstate Arena was going to witness here on Friday night as the first 15/15 Bucking Battle of the 2017 season was set to begin as well. Many of the fans both in attendance and watching the action on PBR.com dissected the day sheet and noticed a major player missing from the action here this weekend. J.B. Mauney pulled himself out of the event after consulting with Dr. Tandy Freeman earlier in the week.
Many of the match-ups in the 15/15 Bucking Battle would be ones for the record books if both the cowboy and the bovine athletes had great efforts. Tonight the bucking bulls had their day on the dirt and gave the 15 bull riders all that they could handle keeping the qualified rides to a bare minimum. After all was said and done there would be only 3 of the 15 bull riders competing that would be able to earn a qualified ride. No one could beat the effort that the 2004 PBR World Champion Mike Lee put on aboard K-C/Josey McElroy Bucking Bulls/Spark-lin Acres’ Handsome Jeff to the tune of 87.75 points to win the first 15/15 Bucking Battle of the 2017 Built Ford Tough Series season.
After an emotional start to round one here in Chicago the action and excitement inside of the Allstate Arena here tonight began to set the tone for what would happen over the next two days. Earlier tonight we saw a fantastic round one followed immediately by the first 15/15 Bucking Battle competition of the 2017 Professional Bull Riders Built Ford Tough Series season. Once things were all said and done the fans inside of the arena here tonight were left in awe and full of anticipation for what would happen in round two tomorrow!
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