Team USA Eagles defends home soil to claim second Global Cup Championship, while Team Brazil’s Jose Vitor Leme wins individual aggregate
By Kacie Albert
ARLINGTON, Texas – After a strong start to the 2020 WinStar World Casino and Resort PBR (Professional Bull Riders) Global Cup USA, presented by Monster Energy, Team Canada, under the new leadership of Head Coach Scott Schiffner (Strathmore, Alberta) and Assistant Coach Tanner Girletz (Cereal, Alberta), finished the “Olympics of Bull Riding,” fourth.
Going 3-for-16, the nation earned $67,900.
Two-time PBR Canada Champion Zane Lambert (Ponoka, Alberta, Canada), Jake Gardner (Fort St. John, British Columbia) and Jordan Hansen (Okotoks, Alberta) were the three Canucks to put the combined 259.75 points on the board for the contingent representing the Maple Leaf.
Lambert was the high-marked rider on the national team, covering Arctic Assassin (Phenom Genetics/Swalin/Sankey Pro Rodeo) for 87.75 points.
Gardner’s 8-second effort was aboard Medicine Man (TNT Bucking Bulls/Hart Cattle Co.) for 87 points, while Hansen delivered an 85-point trip on Apocalypse (Deer Prairie Creek Bucking Bulls/5S Bucking Bulls).
In front of an electric home country crowd inside AT&T Stadium, Team USA Eagles became the first team in the history of the PBR Global Cup to defend home soil, winning the 2020 PBR Global Cup USA.
Team USA Eagles went a combined 6-for-16 in representing the Red, White and Blue, under the leadership of Head Coach Justin McBride (Whitesboro, Texas), Assistant Coach J.W. Hart (Overbook, Oklahoma) and Honorary Assistant Coaches Cooper Davis (Jasper, Texas) and Chase Outlaw (Hamburg Arkansas). The six-man contingent left the home of the NFL’s Dallas Cowboys with the glittering U.S. horn from the Global Cup trophy, first-of-their-kind medals and a check for $362,022.22.
Reigning, and two-time, PBR World Champion Jess Lockwood (Volborg, Montana) headlined for Team USA Eagles, going 2-for-4 and adding 178.75 points to the team’s total.
Lockwood delivered both 8-second efforts on the opening night of the competition regarded as the “Olympics of bull riding.”
After recording the third 90-point ride in Global Cup history when he rode Grand Theft (Paige Stout Bucking Bulls) for 90.25 points, the Montanan then covered Red Dawn (Dakota Rodeo/Chad Berger/Clay Struve/Heald Pro Bulls) for 88.5 points.
Team USA Eagles was riddled by injury in the weeks going into the event, however, substitute Cole Melancon (Paris, Texas) stepped up and seized the moment, also going 2-for-4.
On Saturday evening, Melancon rode Top Down (Rockin R Bucking Bulls) for 86 points, which he followed with an 88.25-point trip aboard Monkey (Cooper/Scruggs Bucking Bulls) on Sunday afternoon.
Matt Triplett (Columbia Falls, Montana) and Cody Teel (Kountze, Texas) also contributed qualified rides, both going 1-for-2, in the home nation’s defense of their soil.
Triplett covered La Grande (Davis Rodeo Ranch/Speers) for 88.75 points, while Teel reached the buzzer atop Peep Show (Cornwell Bucking Bulls) for 82 points.
In addition to becoming the first national team to defend home soil at a PBR Global Cup, Team USA Eagles is now the second multi-time Global Cup Champions, joining Team Brazil, who also has two victories at the nation vs. nation event.
Team USA won the inaugural edition of the event in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada, in November 2017, and Team Brazil then laid claim to be best bull riding nation in the world in the next two Global Cups in Sydney, Australia in June 2018 and Arlington, Texas in February 2019.
After a hard-fought, come-from-behind surge on the final day of competition, Team Australia finished second, a slim 9.25 points removed from their first-ever Global Cup win.
Team Australia entered Championship Sunday third, then made great strides up the leaderboard, including a brief stint leading the international tournament, after the contingent from Down Under went an impressive 4-for-6 in Round 2.
Two-time, and reigning, PBR Australia Champion Aaron Kleier (Clermont, Queensland, Australia) was the nation’s top performer, going 2-for-3 to add 168.75 points.
Kleier was one of two riders to score in the opening round, covering The Tickler (Dakota Rodeo-Chad Berger/Clay Struve/Ken Barnhard) for 84.25 points.
He was then part of the dominant wave of Australian success in Round 2, reaching the 8 on Full Count (Rocking F Bucking Bulls/Chase Foutch) for 84.5 points.
Lachlan Richardson (Gresford, New South Wales, Australia) was the high-marked rider for Team Australia when on his lone qualified ride of the event he conquered Trail of Tears (CG Bucking Bulls/Groundshakers Team) for a massive 88.5 points.
Nathan Burtenshaw (Coonamble, New South Wales, Australia) and Troy Wilkinson (Upper Horton, New South Wales, Australia) also added a score for Australia in Round 2.
Burtenshaw’s 87-point ride was earned aboard Quasimodo (Tom Baker/Chase Foutch), while Wilkinson rode Night Sweats (Plummer/Hart Cattle Co.) for 84.75 points.
Riding alongside his younger brother, Cliff Richardson (Gresford, New South Wales, Australia) was the final Aussie to contribute a score. He rodeWicked Hou (Hart Cattle Co./Hale/Randy Wood) for 85.5 points.
Team Australia’s second runner-up finish at a PBR Global Cup earned the team a check for $99,644.44. The national team recorded its first second-place effort at the 2018 PBR Global Cup Australia in Sydney.
In a shocking finish, defending Global Cup Champions Team Brazil finished third.
Jose Vitor Leme (Ribas do Rio Pardo, Brazil) was crowned the winner of the individual aggregate, earning a $30,000 bonus.
Leme, the No. 2 rider in the world on PBR’s premier series, went an impressive 3-for-4 to amass 268.75 of Team Brazil’s 435.75 points.
After recording the first-ever 90-point ride in Global Cup history at the 2019 edition of the event in the Lone Star State, Leme again delivered a monstrous ride during the opening night of competition for the 2020 PBR Global Cup USA when he tamed Rising Sun (Dakota Rodeo/Chad Berger/Clay Struve/Heald Pro Bulls) for 90.25 points, marking the second 90-point effort in the event’s history.
Despite bucking off in the first bonus round, Leme rebounded on the second day of competition, delivering back-to-back qualified rides. He recorded the high-marked ride of each round, covering Dang It (Davis Rodeo Ranch/Fogle) for 89 points and Jive Turkey (Dakota Rodeo/Chad Berger/Clay Struve) for 89.5 points.
Eduardo Aparecido (Gouvelandia, Brazil) and 2018 PBR World Champion Kaique Pacheco (Itatiba, Brazil) were the only other members of the South American contingent to cover one of the event’s rank bovine athletes.
They rode Holy Water (Paradigm Bull Company) for 87.5 points and M.A.G.A. (TNT Bucking Bulls/Hart Cattle Co.) for 79.5 points, respectively.
The third place finish, which left Team Brazil 88 points behind Team USA Eagles, collectively earned the team $135,833.33.
Fifth was Team Mexico, earning $49,000.
Edgar Durazo (Moctezuma, Sonora, Mexico) highlighted the nation’s finish, covering Cochise (Jane Clark/Gene Owen) for 89 points, the high-marked ride of his career.
Rounding out the leaderboard was Team USA Wolves in sixth.
Colten Jesse (Potawatomi – Konawa, Oklahoma) rode Harold’s Genuine Risk (M Rafter E Bucking Bulls) for 85.25 points to propel the all Native American team to a $42,100 payday.
In an event dominated by bull power, Air Support (Braun/Cooper) was the YETI “Built for the Wild” Bull of the Event. The bovine athlete was marked 46.5 points for his 4.9 second buckoff of Team USA Eagles’ Melancon in the event’s final bonus round.
Fans can relive all the action from the 2020 WinStar World Casino and Resort PBR Global Cup USA, presented by Monster Energy, tomorrow, Monday, February 17, at 8:00 a.m. EST on RidePass.com or via the mobile app.
2020 WinStar World Casino and Resort PBR Global Cup USA, presented by Monster Energy
Arlington, Texas – AT&T Stadium
(Rides – Outs – Event Aggregate)
- Team USA Eagles, 6-16-523.75
- Team Australia, 6-16-514.5
- Team Brazil, 5-16-435.75
- Team Canada, 3-16-259.75
- Team Mexico, 1-16-89
- Team USA Wolves, 1-16-85.25
