In the first shootout of the new PBR Team Series, the Nashville Stampede out-rode the Carolina Cowboys by one qualified ride to register the team’s first win in the new league, 337.75-257.25. In a dramatic ride-for-ride showdown, the riders of the Stampede and Cowboys covered 70% of the game’s bulls. The Stampede (4-for-5) boasted an 80% riding average, while the Cowboys (3-for-5) concluded the game with a 60% conversion rate. Joao Henrique Lucas (Bastos, Brazil) and reigning PBR World Champion Daylon Swearingen (Piffard, New York) registered scores for the Stampede and Cowboys, respectively, to set the tone early in the ferocious showdown. The Carolina Cowboys emerged the early leader, pulling 5.25 points ahead as Swearingen was marked a game-best 88 points atop WSM’s Nasty Wishes (WSM Auctioneers/Clay Struve/Dakota Rodeo/Chad Berger), while Lucas scored just 82.75 points aboard Blunt Force Trauma (Hadley Cattle Co.). Stampede first-round draft pick Kaique Pacheco (Itatiba, Brazil) came down short of the 8 on High Country Hitman (High Country Solutions/JR Phillips), but he was awarded a crucial re-ride after the bull fouled himself. The Cowboys briefly extended their lead to 93 points over the Stampede following an 87.75-point ride by Boudreaux Campbell (Crockett, Texas) on The Undertaker (Cornwell Bucking Bulls/Riley Bucking Bulls/PCP Bucking Bulls).
Free agent Fernando Henrique Novais (Pereira Barreto, Brazil) was next up for the Stampede, delivering an 85-point effort aboard Experiment 626 (Classic Jack Cattle/Viducic Bucking Bulls). Novais’s score, coupled with Mason Taylor’s (Maypearl, Texas) ever-close 6.37-second buckoff aboard Slim Shady (Hadley Cattle Co.), allowed the Stampede to close within 8 points of the lead, as the scoreboard read 175.75-167.75 ahead of Pacheco’s re-ride. The 2018 PBR World Champion then converted when his team needed it most, giving the Music City contingent a 78.5-point lead when he covered Mr. Winston (Dakota Rodeo/Mark Baker/Clay Struve/Chad Berger) for 86.5 points. The lead, however, was short-lived. After Thiago Salgado (Navirai, Brazil) failed to convert for the Stampede, PBR newcomer Wingson da Silva (Navirai, Brazil) put the Cowboys back atop the game leaderboard by three points, 257.25-254.25, when he reached the whistle on Juju (Tommy Julian/D&H Cattle) for 81.5 points. With one rider left to compete for each team, the game came down to veteran riders Ryan Dirteater (Hulbert, Oklahoma) and Ramon de Lima (Rio Branco Acre, Brazil). In a must-ride-situation, Dirteater, who emerged from retirement to compete in the groundbreaking PBR Team Series, delivered the clutch score of the evening, putting the Stampede a bull ahead with his 83.5-point ride on Twisted Feather (Blake Sharp/Michael Floyd/Cain Kobert). As Lima climbed into the chutes, the Carolina Cowboys needed a score in excess of 80.5 points to win the game. Lima, however, was unable to rise to the occasion, bucked off by Falcon Eddie (Lari Crane/Gene Owen) in a quick 1.73 seconds. When the PBR Team Series continues in Cheyenne, Wyoming, the Stampede will look to earn their second win when they face the Missouri Thunder, and the Carolina Cowboys will attempt to rebound against the Arizona Ridge Riders.
The PBR Teams Series: Cheyenne event continues Tuesday, July 26 at 7:45 p.m. MDT.
CBS Sports Network will televise all the action from the second day of action for the PBR Team Series season debut in Cheyenne, Wyoming, LIVE with coverage beginning at 10:00 p.m. ET on Tuesday, July 26. CBS Sports will also air a one-hour highlight show from the season-launch PBR Team Series event on Sunday, July 31 at 1:00 p.m. ET.
PBR RidePass on PlutoTV will offer replays of all the PBR Team Series action from Cheyenne, Wyoming. Check https://pluto.tv/en/live-tv/pbr-ridepass for the latest programming schedule.
TEAM QUOTES:
“It feels good,” said Nashville Stampede Head Coach Justin McBride. “Obviously, that’s what everybody wanted to do is win their game. We got a lot of work to do. This is obviously the start, and it’s a long way to the finish, so we’ve got a lot of improvement to work on. From the time we set on him in the chute ‘til the time the whistle blows, we’re going to keep working every day at it.”
“I’m just happy to be here,” Nashville Stampede rider Ryan Dirteater added. “I’m on a great team, the Nashville Stampede. We got Justin McBride as a coach, and the team owners are here also. You know, we did our job, and that’s what we’re here to do – ride our bulls. We’ll see how it unfolds at the end.”
CHEYENNE TEAM STANDINGS:
Here are the current Team standings for the week after the opening day of competition for the PBR Team Series: Cheyenne regular season event:
- Nashville Stampede, 1-0-0-337.75
- Arizona Ridge Riders, 1-0-0-171.5
- Missouri Thunder, 1-0-0-89.25
- Kansas City Outlaws, 0-0-1-0
- Oklahoma Freedom, 0-0-1-0
- Carolina Cowboys, 0-1-0-257.25
- Austin Gamblers, 0-1-0-89
- Ariat Texas Rattlers, 0-1-0-0
PBR TEAM SERIES SEASON STANDINGS:
Here are the current Team standings for the regular season after the opening day of competition for the PBR Team Series: Cheyenne regular season event:
- Nashville Stampede, 1-0-0-0-337.75
- Arizona Ridge Riders, 1-0-0-0-171.5
- Missouri Thunder, 1-0-0-0-89.25
- Kansas City Outlaws, 0-0-1-0-0
- Oklahoma Freedom, 0-0-1-0-0
- Carolina Cowboys, 0-1-0-0-257.25
- Austin Gamblers, 0-1-0-0-89
- Ariat Texas Rattlers, 0-1-0-0-0
JULY 26 GAME SCHEDULE:
Here are the game matchups for the second day of action for the PBR Team Series: Cheyenne regular season event on Tuesday, July 26:
Arizona Ridge Riders vs. Carolina Cowboys
Nashville Stampede vs. Missouri Thunder
Ariat Texas Rattlers vs. Kansas City Outlaws
Austin Gamblers vs. Oklahoma Freedom
ENGAGE WITH THE STAMPEDE:
For more information about Nashville Stampede, visit pbr.com/teams/stampede/, Nashville Stampede on Facebook, @NashvilleStampede on Instagram, or @Nash_Stampede on Twitter.
ABOUT THE NASHVILLE STAMPEDE:
Nashville Stampede are based at Bridgestone Arena in Nashville, Tennessee, where the team will hold its inaugural Stampede Days homestand on August 19-21, 2022, the fourth event of the 10-event PBR Team Series regular season. The Stampede are coached by two-time PBR World Champion Justin McBride. Under the leadership of General Manager Tina Battock, the Stampede are owned by Morris Communications Company, LLC (MCC), which is part of a privately held company with diversified holdings in media, real estate, property development and agribusiness. MCC is based in Augusta, Georgia. MCC’s current media holdings include Morris Media Network (MMN) which reaches millions of consumers with diversified content brands in print, digital, products and live events including Western Horseman, Barrel Horse News, Quarter Horse News, Road to the Horse, EquiStat and the National Barrel Horse Association. A portfolio of lifestyle publications and digital assets serve outdoor/sporting/travel enthusiasts with Alaska Magazine, Milepost, Gray’s Sporting Journal, Charlotte Magazine, Orlando Magazine, Savannah Magazine, Where Visitor publications and more, including the Nashville Stampede, one of eight founding teams in the new PBR Team Series.
ABOUT THE PBR (PROFESSIONAL BULL RIDERS) TEAM SERIES:
The PBR Team Series is an elite new league that will feature the world’s top bull riders competing on teams in five-on-five bull riding games during an 11-event season beginning in July and culminating in a team championship at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas November 4-6. During the 2022 season, each of the eight teams representing teams in Austin, TX; Fort Worth, TX; Glendale, AZ; Kansas City, MO; Nashville, TN; Oklahoma City, OK; Ridgedale, MO; and Winston-Salem, NC will host a three-day homestand. There will also be neutral site games in Cheyenne, WY and Anaheim, CA. To determine team rosters, the league held a rider draft on May 23 prior to start of the 2022 season among any bull riders who have declared for the draft during a league eligibility window. The PBR Team Series builds on the existing structure of professional bull riding with the same basic rules for judging and scoring qualified 8-second bull rides. Events will be staged in a tournament-style format with all teams competing in head-to-head matchups against a different opponent each day. Each game will feature five riders per team squaring off against another team. Full team rosters will be comprised of seven riders on the core roster and three practice squad members. The team with the highest aggregate score of qualified rides among its riders will be declared the winner of each game. The event winner will be the team with the most game wins across an event, with a special bonus round designed as a tie-breaker to determine final event standings. All PBR Team Series events will be carried on either the CBS Television Network, streaming live on Paramount+, CBS Sports Network, or RidePass on PlutoTV.
