Over the first two days of action here at the Wrangler Long Live Cowboys Classic, we have seen some major gut check moments as the ride totals for the year continue to grow at a rapid pace making the 2018 season one for the record books early on. Even though we have seen as much action as many fans will see throughout an entire weekend as we travel across the county, the action here at the Golden 1 Center is far from over as Championship Sunday has finally come. Not only will we see the third and final round of qualification action, it will come down to the Championship Round here later this afternoon to determine who will walk out of Sacramento being crowned the 2018 Wrangler Long Live Cowboys Classic event champion! After what we have seen in the previous rounds nothing is taken for granted as we look to cap off a long weekend for the top 35 bull riders in the world!
Now that the day has finally come, we will wait to see if the ride totals can continue to match the amount that we have seen over the previous two days. As the fans began to look over the daily draw sheet many considered this to be a round where we could see more qualified rides than buck-offs since the best bulls from the previous two days have been invited back to round three. The PBR’s Director of Livestock Cody Lambert had a chore ahead of him last night as he picked the round three rough stock to make their way back to the arena floor again this afternoon. Today will be a gut check moment for these guys to see if they can ride through the aches and pains to ultimately make it back to the Championship Round and contend for the overall event championship title!
Brennon Eldred Wins Round Three In Sacramento
Photo Credit: Watson / Bull Stock Media
Today’s third round of action will look a bit the same as the first two rounds prior as the top bucking bulls from those two previous rounds would pair up with their bull rider partners once again to see if the bovines can turn the numbers back to their side of the fence. In the first two rounds, we saw seventeen rides in round one and fifteen rides in round two and expect to see much more of the same here in round three. The other focus this weekend has been on the 10 alternates and invitees that are competing this weekend as they do what they can to earn not only qualified rides but to earn the needed world title race points to stay on the Monster Energy Unleash The Beast Tour following the first cut of the season following next week’s event in Anaheim, California.
Many of these ten athletes are carrying over qualified rides but need a solid performance here in round three to advance to the championship round later this afternoon in hope of earning any of the points needed. That being said, the third round gave us much of the same that we saw in rounds one and two, giving us another eleven qualified rides, setting up a very interesting race towards the Championship Round that was set before them. Today’s round gave us all much to cheer about but the doors flew off the hinges when Brennon Eldred made the 87.75 point bull ride aboard Dakota Rodeo/Chad Berger/Clay Struve/H&C Bucking Bulls’ Set Em’ Up Joe to win the third round of the 2018 Monster Energy Unleash The Beast Tour Wrangler Long Live Cowboys Classic here at the Golden 1 Center in Sacramento!
Complete List Of Round Three Qualified Rides In Sacramento:
Brennon Eldred (87.75) Kaique Pacheco (87.00)
Rubens Barbosa (86.50) Derek Kolbaba (86.00)
Claudio Montanha Jr. (86.00) Guilherme Marchi (84.50)
Luciano De Castro (84.50) Fabiano Vieira (83.50)
Ramon de Lima (83.25) Nathan Burtenshaw (82.50)
Dener Barbosa (75.75)
Ramon de Lima Brings Home The Championship Round Win
Photo Credit: Watson / Bull Stock Media
Once things were all said and done from the three qualifying rounds from this weekend, the top fifteen bull riders were invited back to partake in the Championship Round that would determine the overall event champion. After the judges and fans alike figured out who those fifteen would be it was time to take the ceremonial walk across the arena to the top of the shark cage to pick their opponents for the final round here in Sacramento. As we watched the picks being made, everyone could feel the nerves and excitement as they named their bull picks one by one, some causing those in the arena to gasp and cheer in anticipation of what they were about to see. When the picks were made, everyone made their way back behind the bucking chutes to begin preparations for their last match-ups of the weekend!
As the cowboys and fans looked through the bucking bulls that were available to be picked, the feeling was that not many rides would be made but those that were would be for huge scores that would set the crowd into a frenzy. From the first to the last pairing, those watching were given all they could handle as the championship round continued its path to let one man walk out with an event win. Once the round was completed it would be a total of only three of those fifteen that would be able to conquer the wall that was placed before them. Included in that list would be the one and only Ramon de Lima would be able to post a whopping 89.25 point score aboard Dakota Rodeo/Chad Berger/Clay Struve/Staci Wilks/N Bar Ranch’s More Big Bucks that would carry him to the championship round win, giving him another 100 world title race points.
Ramon de Lima Celebrates His 2018 Wrangler Ling Live Cowboys Classic Win
Photo Credit: Watson / Bull Stock Media
After a long and grueling weekend where we were able to watch five rounds of bull riding action concluded, it was time to find out who would be walking out of the Golden 1 Center in Sacramento, California with the 2018 Wrangler Long Live Cowboys Classic event title. Getting to this point would not be an easy task with the power that we witnessed with D&H Cattle Company and the Chad Beger clan of bovine buckers dominating the field. That being said, we can not forget the other fantastic stock contractors that made their way to California to provide some of the best bulls to round out a star-studded set for this weekend’s event. We all sat in amazement as we were about to officially crown the champion of this weekend’s event and see where that would put him in the early standings in the world title race!
Once the arena was cleared and deemed safe for celebration, it was time to close out the 2018 Wrangler Long Live Cowboys Classic in grand fashion by crowning the event champion atop the shark cage in the center of the arena. As in-arena announcer Brandon Bates made his way to his mark, he invited Ramon de Lima up to the cage to get an event champion interview regarding this weekend’s performance that earned him a whopping 715 world title race points and jumped him all the way up to the number three spot in the world standings leader board! After listening to his speech, everyone should look over their shoulders them for this cowboy that is on his way up avoiding the first cut of the season following next weekend’s event in Anaheim, California and throughout the rest of the regular season if he can manage to stay healthy until the end.
Another great event is in the books as the Wrangler Long Live Cowboys Classic is a wrap from the Golden 1 Center in Sacramento, California and begins our annual west coast run as the 018 PBR 25th Anniversary Monster Energy Unleash The Beast Tour heads down the road to Anaheim next weekend! This weekend’s event will leave many cowboys full of aches and pains as a five-round/ three-day competition can take its toll on the top bull riders in the world. That being said, it also allows those that can thrive on the moment to pick up a ton of world title race points, which is very important as the first cut of the 2018 season quickly approaches us and caused anxiety among those cowboys towards the cut off line that comes after the fifth stop on the tour next weekend in Anaheim, California!
It is quite easy to follow all the breaking news and excitement with the Rodeo Round Up simply by copying this website into your favorites in your web browser for easy one-click access to event statistics. You can also like and follow us on Facebook here, or by liking and following us on Instagram at @rodeoroundup and on Twitter at @therodeoroundup. You can have easy access to all of the video interviews Jason does from all the events across the country as well by simply clicking the link HERE to be transferred to the Rodeo Round Up’s Youtube channel as well! Jason has also made it easy for you to be a part of his interviews by opening up a listener comment line. If you have a question for a certain rodeo star simply call in and leave your name, where you are from, who the question is for and what your question is and he will do his best to get it answered for you during his interviews.
Leave a Reply