World Champion Bucking Bull Preview

By Kelly B. Robbins

Fall is here and will soon usher in changing colors and cooler temperatures. But fall also means it is time for the PBR World Finals! This year the Finals are back at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas for a last hurrah. In 2022, the Finals moves to the Dickies Arena in historic Fort Worth and will be held in May. But it really doesn’t matter where or when the Finals are held, it is a guaranteed time of great bull riding, intense competition, and fan delight!

So far, 2021 has been a year of domination in the race for both the PBR World Champion Bull Rider and the PBR World Champion Bull. Number one ranked, and current reigning PBR World Champion Jose Vitor Leme’s ride atop the standings has been historic, and perhaps one of the greatest ever. As of this writing, Leme has seven event titles, 19 round wins, and 21-90+ point rides, far surpassing the old record of 16-90+ point rides in a single season. His 43 qualified rides, and 66.15% riding percentage lead the season as well.

Woopaa, the number one ranked bull contender, has had eleven outs and has been ridden seven times in 2021, for an average ride score of 95.59! Woopaa’s bull score has been 46 or more points in ten of the 11 outs. Woopaa also is leading the contenders with seven YETI “Built for the Wild” Bull of the Event honors. And PBR history was made when Leme and Woopaa met in Tulsa at the BOK Center in July, where the two battled it out for the highest ever PBR score of 97.75 points!

The 2021 YETI World Champion Bull will be the bull with the highest average score from their top eight regular-season outs, and two outs at the PBR World Finals November 3-7 in Las Vegas.

124 Woopaa

124 Woopaa is the number one ranked bull contending for the PBR Yeti World Champion Bull title, with a world average bull score of 46.94 as of this writing. Woopaa has dominated the bull standings so far this season. Woopaa is owned by Larry Barker of Barker Bulls and Laramie Wilson of Hookin’ W Ranch. There are only three events remaining until the PBR Finals, and for any bull to overtake Woopaa for the championship, it will take some really high scores for the contending bulls and some really low scores for Woopaa. This past weekend in San Antonio, at the U.S. Border Patrol Invitational presented by Ariat, Woopaa made PBR history again as he dueled with the 2019 PBR Rookie of the Year Dalton Kasel for a whopping score of 96.75 points! That is the second highest score in PBR history.

Photo by Andy Watson / BullStock Media

Photo by Andy Watson / BullStock Media

524C Mezcal is sitting in third place with a world average bull score of 45.78. This six-year-old bovine athlete is owned by Jeremy Walker of the Paradigm Bull Company in Stephenville, Texas. Mezcal is a half-brother to Chiseled. Both are sons of World Champion Bull Contender Stone Sober.

Mezcal improved his average bull score to 45.78 this past weekend in San Antonio, at the U.S. Border Patrol Invitational presented by Ariat. There he dumped number four PBR World Champion contender Joao Ricardo Vieira in 2.28 seconds. “At this point, it’s Woopaa’s championship to lose,” Jeremy reflected. “He’s far ahead and it seems he can do no wrong.

43C Chiseled is currently in second place, with a world average bull score of 46.38. Chiseled, owned by D&H

524C Mezcal

He would have to run off into the woods and not show up at the finals to not win it! Whatever happens at the finals is what will happen. San Antonio was Mezcal’s last event before the finals. We’ll let him rest and do some nutrition maintenance so he can be ready for Vegas. With three bulls in the top six, we want to try to finish strong and get going again next year.”

612 Ridin Solo is in fourth place, with a world average bull score of 45.59. Ridin’ Solo has an 82.76% buck off percentage and an average ride score of 87.9. Fouryear-old Ridin Solo is owned by Cord McCoy and Steve Best and has had a strong season so far in 2021. He bested reigning PBR World Champion Bull Rider and current number one contender Jose Vitor Leme in August in Nashville, where he bucked off Leme in 6.51 seconds. He also edged out current number two bull riding champion contender Kaique Pacheco in July in Cheyenne in 7.92 seconds. Ridin Solo will be bucking in the Union Home Mortgage Invitational presented by Bass Pro Shops at the Greensboro Coliseum Complex

612 Ridin’ Solo

Photo by Andy Watson / BullStock Media

in Greensboro, North Carolina this weekend, Saturday October 9, and Sunday October 10.

“Ridin Solo is just an awesome bull,” declared Cord. “He’s had a really good year. He’s changed some this year and he’s done really good at leaving it all out on the line. He’s bucking in the 15/15 Bucking Battle in Greensboro, and we have drawn Dalton Kasel, who’s just coming off an incredible weekend in San Antonio. That will be Solo’s final out until the Finals. As far as the World Champion Bull race goes, I think betting against Woopaa would be like betting against Jose Vitor Leme to win the Bull Rider Championship. If either loses, it will probably be the biggest upset in the history of the PBR! But it’s not over yet. Anything can happen! Even though he’s ranked fourth, Solo is pretty much out of the race. As things developed, we slowed down a little with Solo in the second half. We are looking forward to next season. I think Solo can take a lot of outs. They are going to cram a whole season into six months next year, and we’ve got our sights set on the World Championship. We will give Solo every opportunity to be consistent and win it next year.”

W600 Marquis Metal Works Red Clark rounds out the top five contenders with a world average bull score of 45.53. This four-year-old bovine athlete is known to have quite an attitude and is owned by Jeremy Walker and Paradigm Bull Company and Marquis Metal Works. Red Clark has a 94.74% buck off percentage and an average ride score of 91.25. “Red Clark had an abscess on his toe,” Jeremy revealed. “He missed some events. The last time he bucked was in Nashville. We took him to Oklahoma State University and got him all fixed up. He won’t buck again until the finals. Red Clark is the type of bull that gets better the more he bucks. He will be 100% for the finals, but I’m a little concerned that he may be rusty. We’ll just get him ready to go and see what happens at the Finals.”

Slade Long of Probullstats.com said, “It looks like Woopaa has the advantage. He’s got a decent lead on the other bulls. It’s leaning towards one bull this year, more than any other championship race in recent years. Under the system they use now with the Finals, if all the bulls have a normal out, Woopaa is unbeatable.”

Photo by Andy Watson / BullStock Media

W600 Marquis Metal Works Red Clark

Jose Vitor Leme and Woopaa (Barker Bulls / Hookin’ W Ranch) team up for 97.75 points, the highest marked ride in the history of the PBR, in the 15/15 Bucking Battle in Tulsa, Oklahoma.

Photo by Andy Watson / BullStock Media