After setting yet another record as the first man to win three PBR world titles, what will Adriano Moraes do for an encore?
In the first event of the new season on the Built Ford Tough Series season, Adriano made his intentions fairly obvious when he won not one, but both of Saturday’s rounds in Madison Square Garden. He heads into Sunday’s third round and short go with a sizable point lead for the overall title at the Versus Invitational.
Stating earlier in the day that his latest goal is to be the first PBR rider to win back-to-back titles, Adriano put on a good show for fans in easily taking the lead. The drama of both rounds was added to as he was the last rider out, snatching the lead away at the last possible minute. In round one, it was Jared Farley’s 90.25 point ride on Encore, from the Anchor Bull Company, that held the top spot on the leader board until Adriano rode. Adriano’s 90.75 on Evil Forces, from Doug Joseph Bucking Bulls, gave him solid footing heading into round two. By the end of round one, 20 riders had posted scores.
During Saturday night’s round two, 19 bullriders posted scores, but most of those were riders who hadn’t posted scores in round one.
The low to mid-80s seemed to be where most of the scores were landing, and Matt Bohon took the round lead late, scoring 86.75 on a reride aboard Ditto. But it was the last ride of the night, again, that changed the leader board. Adriano faced off against Red Jacket and won the battle, posting an 88.75 point score. That ride both won the round and gave Adriano a sizable point lead in the event. Whether he can three-peat on Sunday remains to be seen, especially after he got a friendly nudge in his Wranglers in round one from Evil Forces and then Red Jacket got in a few shots on the Brazilian after his round two ride.
Round two was also the round for rerides, with five riders receiving rerides. Four of the five - JW Hart, Brian Canter, Mike Lee and Matt Bohon - managed to remove a previous zero or improve on their earlier score with their rerides. Only Beau Hill, whose reride came after a complicated challenge of the judge’s ruling was unraveled, failed to capitalize on his reride, bucking off Tigerland in 5.4 seconds.
Hill bucked off his original ride, fan favorite Coyote, at 7.95 seconds, according to the official timekeeper. In a less than stellar outing, Coyote, probably the smallest bull in New York for the event, and matched up with one of the tallest cowboys on the BFTS tour, ran Hill back into the chutes. Hill challenged the time on the clock.
What the replay showed, however, is that at 6.6. seconds, Hill had grabbed hold of the chute gate with his free hand, when Coyote bucked back into the rails. Because of that grab, Hill’s only options were a re-ride or a no-score. Because Coyote had fouled Hill before the fence-grab, Hill took the reride option, but failed to deliver a score.
Hill’s replay challenge was the second of the night, and came just a few riders after JW Hart challenged the clock on his reride. Earlier in the round, Hart had landed an 81.75, with a reride option, aboard Little Speck from Davis and Wilson. On the reride, the clock showed Hart bucking off at a painfully close 7.99 seconds.
Hart headed right for the buzzer to challenge the time. Reviewed three separate times, the review judge found Hart did make a qualified ride, and scored 82.75 points. Had his challenge failed, Hart would have paid a $500 “assessment.” Because Hill had grabbed the fence during his ride, he could not challenge the call, and his challenge was voided.
The excitement of the new season fills the air and if you can't attend every event you will be able to watch them on VERSUS. Have fun and enjoy!
Check out all the results on the link below.
Draws and results: http://www.pbrnow.com/competition/bfts/eventDrawLoad.cfm?ID=07-101
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