PBR's "Air Force Invitational" in Worcester Mass. closed out Sunday

WORCESTER, Mass. (May 3, 2009) – The PBR’s "Air Force Invitational" Built Ford Tough Series event, in Worcester, Mass. May 1-3, came down to a battle of champions.

A two time world champion facing off against the reigning world champ. The last two rides of the event. Both rode all four bulls.

When the dust in the arena finally settled, it was two time PBR World Champion Chris Shivers walking away with the event title and the prize money on Sunday. He topped Guilherme Marchi’s event average by two full points. And Shivers’ short-go ride of 91.75 – a tie for first in the round – came on the back of the bull that Marchi rode in round two for 90.25 points: "Buckeye" from Silverado Rodeo Company.

Shivers got first pick in the short-go draft, after riding "Push Baby" (Rice Ranch) for 86.0 points in round three – a score that put him fourth in that round, but first in the event average. With some of the very best bulls in the PBR there for the picking – Big Tex, Code Blue, Say I Won’t Gunner and Chicken on a Chain to name a few – it was Buckeye that Shivers wanted.

Why? Because Guilherme scored 90-plus on Buckeye in round two and Shivers wanted his shot at the 90-pointer.

The gamble paid off. It brought Shivers a tie for the round win, the event win, the Ford "Moment of Truth" bonus, for winning the event after leading into the short-go, and valuable points in the year-end race.

Marchi didn’t make it easy. After riding "Black Tornado" (Dakota Rodeo/Struve) in round three for 84 points – 10th place in the round – he got second pick of bulls for the championship round.

In the short-go, he rode "Say I Won’t Gunner" (Dakota Rodeo/Clay Struve) for 90.25 points. On top of his three earlier rides, it gave him the lead in the event, at least for one ride. And it earned him valuable points, moving him within 400 points of Kody Lostroh, the number one rider in the year end World Champion chase.

Round three went North Carolina’s JB Mauney, also working to gain ground on an absent Lostroh. Mauney won round three on "Lil Feller" (Jeff Robinson/Bar None) for 87.0 points. Picking fourth in the championship round, Mauney stepped up and took "Apollo" (Box K Cattle), for 91.25 points. That tied him with Shivers for the round win and found Mauney finishing third for the weekend, with 347.25 points.

The fourth rider to go four-for-four this weekend was Brazilian Valdiron de Oliveira. He finished 11th in round three, riding "Bad Timein’ Bo" (McKee Bar M Ranch) for 82.75 points, and third heading into the short-go. He picked "All In" (Dakota Rodeo/Naccarato/Struve), which battled Oliveira in a 90.0 point ride, and left him finishing fourth in the event, with 347.0 points.

The final four riders in the championship round putting up 90-plus scores provided an exciting ending to a thrilling but totally scoreless round up to that point. The bulls beat the riders 11-for-11 in the short-go to that point. All that was forgotten, however, with the top four finishers and their high octane buzzer-beater rides.

The other top finishers in the event were:

5th place, Nick Landreneau, bucking off "Pinball Wizard" (Jeff Robinson/Bar None) at the 3.4 second mark in the short-go. Event total: 253.25 points;

6th place, Renato Nunes, who made 3.9 seconds on "Code Blue" (Walton & Wagoner/Berger & Struve) in the short-go. Event total: 250.75 points;

7th place, Austin Meier, bucking off at the 6.1 second mark aboard "Bad Blood" (Dakota Rodeo/Struve) in the short-go. Event total: 245.25 points.

8th place, Robson Palermo, the round two winner, who rode "Chicken on a Chain" for 5.0 seconds in the short-go, before going head-to-head with the bull. Event total: 179.25 points;

9th place, McKennon Wimberly, on "Migraine" (Silverado) for a quick 2.5 seconds in the championship round. Event average: 172.5 points;

10th place, Wiley Petersen, who took on "Big Tex" (Dakota Rodeo/Struve) for 1.7 seconds in the short-go. Event total: 171.0 points;

11th place, Travis Briscoe, aboard "Booger Butt" (Robinson/ Tedesco/ Larry the Cable Guy /Broken N-N) for 6.6 seconds. Event total: 89.25 points;

12th place, round one winner Clayton Baethge on "Major Payne" (Robinson/Broken N-N/C&D Bulls/SkyHawk/Red Knection) for 4.7 seconds in the short go. After getting disqualified in round two for having his spurs in the rope coming out of the chutes, Baethge rode round three without his spurs, but was unsuccessful, bucking off "Never Enough" (Dakota Rodeo) in 2.6 seconds. The spurs were back on for his attempt at riding "Major Payne." Event total: 87.25 points;

13th place, Aaron Roy, taking his best shot at "Aftermath" (Silverado Rodeo) for 2.5 seconds in the short-go. Event total: 87.0 points;

14th/15th place, Brian Canter on Voodoo Child (Roninson/Bueller/Broken N-N/Hyland/ McNeely/ Fletcher/ Jennings) for 3.3 seconds. Event total: 86.75 points;

14th/15th, Rocky McDonald who, as last in the draft, was left with "El Presidente" (Robinson/Broken N-N/SkyHawk Rugs). The bull made quick work of McDonald, sending him to the dirt in 1.8 seconds.

In the 12th year that the PBR has made a stop in Worcester, 29 of the 40 riders managed to put up at least one qualified score. Those going scoreless in the three-day event included Matt Bohon, Like Snyder, Chad Denton, Dustin Elliott, Dusty LaBeth and Sean Willingham.

One of Sunday’s most surprising rides – albeit an unsuccessful one – was Robson Aragao of Brazil, aboard "Bad Action" (Dakota Rodeo/Struve). "Bad Action" started off strong, then stumbled for several steps, before falling over on its side, with Aragao aboard. The bull regained its feet, and returned to bucking and spinning, with Aragao still sitting centered on the bull. Although he made the 8-second mark, because of the bull’s stumble Aragao was given a re-ride. He failed to make a qualified ride on his reride on "God’s Gift."