Round five of the PBR is a good night for Brazil, but Mauney holds onto the World Finals average

By Mary Rudloff
Posted Saturday, November 8, 2008

LAS VEGAS, Nev. – Only three rounds to go before the books are closed on the 2008 PBR World Finals, and no one is surrendering yet.

Once again, a bull rider had to be 90 points to collect a paycheck, North Carolina’s JB Mauney is glued to his bulls and Brazilians hold several top spots in the round.

Friday night saw Round Five get underway in lively Thomas & Mack Center, and by the time the last bull was bucked, 24 more qualified rides went into the record books.

Taking top honors with his 4th 90-point-plus ride of the finals was Brazil’s Renato Nunes. Nunes, riding in the last section of bulls, posted a 92.25 pointer on Walk the Line (Chad Berger/Clay Struve), to take over first place in the round. That ride brought Nunes a $25,000 paycheck, and his PBR World Finals earnings this year are now at $65,000.

Nunes’ ride bumped Liberal, Kansas young gun Kasey Hayes out of the top spot. Hayes had claimed that spot about halfway through round five, putting up 91 big points on California Dreaming (Frontier/Teague/McBride & Wegman). It was Hayes’ third qualified ride of the finals, and earned him his first paycheck, $18.000.

It was back to Brazil for third place finisher in the round, as Valdiron de Oliveira rode Scaredy Cat (Chad Berger/Denny Hawks) 90.5 points. Oliviera has ridden three of his five bulls in the PBR Finals so far, and tonight’s $12,000 check brings his total winnings here in Las Vegas to $18,000. He now sits 13th in the World Finals average race, and has jumped back up to second place in the world title race, although his countryman Guilherme Marchi is basically out of reach and uncatchable, barring an act of the bull-riding gods.

Marchi almost tied up the title tonight, when he covered his fifth straight bull at the finals. Marchi finished the round further down the standings than usual, tied for 16th and 17th place with Travis Briscoe. It’s almost unheard of at a PBR event that an 89 point ride would place any rider that far down the in the round standings, but the 2008 PBR World Finals have been anything but normal, with 90-point-plus scores risking a national shortage of confetti. Marchi got his 89-pointer on Firewater (Big Bend/Flying 5 Rodeo Co.), while Briscoe earned his aboard fan favorite Palace Station Deuces Wild (C Berger/Low/Rosen).

Marchi is one of two riders that have ridden every bull run they’ve chosen in the draft. The other, of course, is three-round-winner JB Mauney. Mauney kept his riding streak going, riding Cat Man Do (#10 Bucking Bulls) for 89.5 points, a tie for 8th through 10th place, in the round. The score brought boo’s from the crowded T&M arena, as fans wanted to see Mauney rewarded with more points for his wild ride. While he didn’t earn round money, Mauney did add to his impressive World Finals earnings, by picking up another $5,000 in the Enterprise Ride With the Best.

Tying Mauney in round five were Daisy Rookie of the Year contender Reese Cates aboard Live Wire (C Berger/C Struve) and Robson Palermo on Nervous Waters (Frontier/Teague/Ron White). The ride puts Palermo in 6th place in the finals average, with a total score of 355.0. Hayes is tied for 10th & 11th in the finals average, with 268.5 points on 3 qualified rides.

Two riders – one a much beloved veteran and the other a mostly new face on the PBR tour – brought tons of cheers when their qualified rides split 4th and 5th place in the round. Two time world champion Chris Shivers is showing the form that won him both titles, riding Cooper (C Berger/C Struve/J Rosen), while Canadian Aaron Roy rode Wrangler’s Rock Star (Braithwaite & Dansey), each for 90 points and $7,500 paychecks. Shivers’ ride is his fourth of the finals, and he currently sits third in the finals average with 360.25 points. Roy, who joined the BFTS tour late in the season after an outstanding performance at the PBR World team competition in August, is seventh in the finals average, with four qualified rides and 353.0 points.

Rounding out round five, which saw 24 qualified rides – were:

- Splitting 6th & 7th places, Billy Robinson, who rode Booger Butt (Robinson/Tedesco/Larry the Cable Guy) and Zack Brown, on Cool Whip (Duncan & Evans Bucking Bulls), for 89.75 points and just out of the round money. It was Brown’s third ride of the finals, and Robinson’s second;

- 11th through 15th place, each with 89.25 points, were retiring 2 time world champion Justin McBride on Small Package (Andrews Rodeo Co. Inc), Josh Koschel on Recoil (D&H Cattle Co.), Austin Meier on Slow Ride (Hart Cattle Co/Rafter D Rodeo), Colby Yates on Wild Life (Boyd/Floyd Bull Co.) and Wiley Petersen aboard The Iceman (Chad Berger/Denny Hawks). Each of the riders came in with one or more qualified rides;

- 16th and 17th places, Travis Briscoe and Guilherme Marchi, at 89 points;

- 18th and 19th places, Dustin Elliott riding Boogie Man (Braithwaite and Dansey) and Ross Coleman riding Crossover (D&H Cattle Co), each for 88.75 points. The qualified ride removed Elliott from the short list of scoreless riders, while it was Coleman’s third score of the finals, including splitting a win of round three with Brendon Clark.

- Clark also put up a score, splitting 20th and 21st places in round five with Matt Bohon. Clark rode Gonzales Black (James Debord) while Bohon rode Over the Edge (Lufkin Ranch & Rodeo), each for 88.25 points. It was Bohon’s second score of the finals, and Clark’s third.

- 22nd place went to Leonil Santos, who started the round off with 87.75 points on Fraggle Rock (Roy Carter Bucking Bulls) for 87.75 points. It was his second score of the finals;

- 23rd place went to Ednei Caminhas with 86.5 points on Too Sharp (Radke Bucking Bulls). The ride had a scary ending when, after Caminhas came off the bull, the bull’s hooves came down on Caminhas’ back and the back of his neck. After several minutes, Caminhas stood and walked from the arena with assistance. No further update was given. The ride was Caminhas’ first score of the world finals.

- 24th place went to Clayton Williams, who rode Bad Brad (Jerome Davis Bucking Bulls) for 85.25 points, and in doing so, Williams also removed himself from the scoreless club at the finals.

Bryan Richardson and Nick Landreneau remain as the only two riders scoreless in the first five rounds.

Alternate Vince Northrup took his first ride of the finals in round five, but failed to cover King Solomon (Hale/hicks & McCracken). Northrup entered the world finals starting Friday night in round five, replacing Jared Farley, who dislocated his shoulder during his ride in round four.

The draw for round six will take place at 10:30 a.m. Saturday morning, in the Fan Zone at Mandalay Bay casino. The draw, which is being used in all eight rounds, including the championship round on Sunday, will give riders the chance to pick what they believe are round winners, good solid guaranteed scores, and can make strategy as important as ability in winning the world finals.

Round Six will take place at 6 p.m. (Pacific Time) Saturday, with the PBR World Finals closing out Sunday with a full round seven and then round eight – the championship round – where the top 15 riders in the World Finals average race will compete for bragging rights and a $250,000 payday. The World Finals event winner appears to be the only title in question, as Marchi’s win of the world championship is all but written in ink already.