Bridle & Bit Horse Magazine January 2021 Edition

By: Justin Felisko, courtesy PBR

For the last few years, it seemed at times as if a black, ominous cloud has hovered over the defending World Champion. The pursuit of a historic second gold buckle seemed to be a distinct possibility for Jess Lockwood in 2020 before he sustained a careerthreatening torn left hamstring at the beginning of March that would keep him out of competition for six months. Two years earlier, Lockwood’s first attempt at winning back-to-back world titles ground to a halt when he tore his groin in the summer.

2018 World Champion Kaique Pacheco’s defense of his world title came to an unceremonious end in June 2019 when he sustained a season-ending injury by landing on his elbow at a PBR Brazil event. Lockwood and Pacheco are just the latest World Champions who have failed to accomplish what only one man in PBR history – Silvano Alves – has ever done.

Win back-to-back world titles. By no means is the reigning World Champion cursed once he leaves the PBR World Finals with a gold buckle and $1 million. Rather, the 17 previous World Champions not named Alves are reminders of just how hard it is to win a championship in the toughest sport on dirt in back-to-back seasons. Mauney - Moraes - McBride - Shivers. All legendary champs who also failed to pull off what Alves did in 2011-12. In fact, Alves is the only defending World Champion in the last 20 years to even finish runner-up in his title defense season. In 2021, the pursuit of back-to-back glory falls onto the shoulders of the 18th different World Champion in PBR history – Jose Vitor Leme.

Leme’s pursuit of a second consecutive world title will begin when the 2021 Unleash The Beast: American Roots Edition begins on Jan. 16 in Ocala, Florida. The two-day PBR Monster Energy Invitational is the beginning of the 2021 premier series, and it will be Leme’s first event back in the United States since he returned home to Brazil for the offseason. Leme ended 2020 with a league-high seven UTB event wins, 16 round victories and a leaguebest 67.69% riding average (44-for-65). The 24-year-old may have won his first world title in 2020, but he has been one of the best bull riders in the world since winning the PBR World Finals in 2017. Leme finished runner-up in back-to-back seasons before his year of dominance this past season.

Leme heads into his fourth full season on the PBR’s premier series 142-for-240 (59.17%) with 29 90-point rides and 13 event wins in his career.

Alves’s focus and drive never wavered during his back-to-back championships. He also had the good fortune of a clean bill of health, which is always a rarity in a sport of man versus beast. Ultimately, health always will play a factor in a rider’s pursuit of history. Riders often end a World Championship run with torn ligaments and broken bones. Many leave their sweat, blood and tears on the dirt during their gold buckle journeys. Two-time World Champion Justin McBride needed reconstructive shoulder surgery after he won the 2007 world title. He finished sixth in 2006 after winning the 2005 gold buckle.

Leme has already voiced publicly his desire to win multiple world titles. His determination is likely not going to waver in 2021, and he will also begin the new year in good health. The only thing that slowed Leme down during the second half of 2020 was a minor thumb injury and then the PBR’s COVID-19 protocols, which prevented him from competing at two events when he was exposed to someone who tested positive for the virus. Leme missed two events in the first half because of broken ribs, but he otherwise was fully healthy in 2020. Leme also may be prepped to handle the mental grind that comes with being the defending World Champion seeing as he spent the final seven and a half months of the 2020 season as the No. 1 bull rider in the world.

During that time, Leme became the focal point of interview requests, spending a fair amount of time discussing his previous world title shortcomings, and he was the sole focus for every rider in the world attempting to run him down. Therefore, Leme may be well-seasoned to handle the added attention and responsibility of being the champ.

Alves may be the only successful back-to-back World Champion so far in PBR history, but two previous world title winners were close to defending their thrones in the last five years. Two-time World Champion J.B. Mauney, as well as 2016 World Champion Cooper Davis, finished third in the world standings during their title defenses.