By Kacie Albert
NEW YORK CITY – In front of a raucous Friday night crowd in New York City, Conner Halverson (Gordon, Nebraska) rode supreme, delivering a monstrous 90-point ride to win Round 1 of the PBR (Professional Bull Riders) Unleash The Beast’s Monster Energy Buck Off at The Garden, presented by Ariat.
Halverson, who rides for the Carolina Cowboys in the separate PBR Teams league, set the tone for the first Major of the season early as he settled in atop YETI World Champion Bull contender UTZ BesTex Smokestack (Blake Sharp/Chris Utz/Carey Brothers). Nodding with confidence, the reserved Nebraska native remained centered, reaching the requisite 8 with ease for 90 points.
His early 90-point score was never surpassed, earning him the Round 1 win and a crucial 39 Unleash The Beast points. In the race for the 2024 PBR World Championship, Halverson rose from No. 33 to No. 19.
The Arizona Ridge Riders’ Eduardo Aparecido (Gouvelandia, Brazil) and Mauricio Moreira (Gaviao Peixoto, Brazil) tied for second via matching 88.75-point scores.
Aparecido dominated Smooth Over It (Shuler Bucking Bulls), while Moreira conquered Tijuana Two-Step (Blake Sharp/Michael Floyd). Each rider earned 25 Unleash The Beast points.
For Aparecido, he rose from No. 6 to No. 5 in the standings. He inched within 189.5 points of No. 1 Cassio Dias (Sao D. de Sales, Brazil), who was bucked off by Red Mosquito (Zach Muegge/McCoy Rodeo) in a close 7.33 seconds Friday night inside the World’s Most Famous Arena.
Moreira catapulted 11 spots up the standings from No. 34 to No. 23.
Fourth was the Austin Gamblers’ Austin Richardson (Dallas, Texas).
Fresh off his event win less than a week ago in nearby Albany, Richardson netted 20 Unleash The Beast points for his 88-point effort aboard Moonlight Party (Jane Clark/Gene Owen).
Richardson solidified his No. 2 ranking, lessening No. 1 Dias’s lead to a slim 53 points.
Rounding out the Top 5 in fifth was the Arizona Ridge Riders’ Jesse Petri (Dublin, Texas).
Petri was poised aboard Cliff Hanger (Pioneer Bulls/McCoy Rodeo), matching him jump-for-jump en route to an 87.25-point score.
Leaving Madison Square Garden with 19 Unleash The Beast points, Petri rose from No. 36 to No. 25 in the standings.
Action for the 2024 PBR Monster Energy Buck Off at The Garden, presented by Ariat, will continue with Round 2 on Saturday, Jan. 6. Action gets underway at 6:45 p.m. EST.
PBR RidePass on Pluto TV will offer re-airs and on-demand replays of every PBR Unleash The Beast event. PBR RidePass is available on desktops, laptops and mobile devices via www.pluto.tv. Click here for on-demand PBR programming.
PBR Unleash The Beast
PBR Monster Energy Buck Off at The Garden, presented by Ariat
Madison Square Garden – New York New York
Event Leaders (Round 1-Round 2-Round 3-Round 4-Event Aggregate-Event Points)
- Conner Halverson, 90-0-0-0-90.00-39 Points.
- Eduardo Aparecido, 88.75-0-0-0-88.75-25 Points.
(tie). Mauricio Gulla Moreira, 88.75-0-0-0-88.75-25 Points.
- Austin Richardson, 88-0-0-0-88.00-20 Points.
- Jesse Petri, 87.25-0-0-0-87.25-19 Points.
- Dalton Kasel, 85.5-0-0-0-85.50-16.5 Points.
(tie). John Crimber, 85.5-0-0-0-85.50-16.5 Points.
- Eli Vastbinder, 84-0-0-0-84.00-14 Points.
- Koltin Hevalow, 83.25-0-0-0-83.25-13 Points.
- Felipe Furlan, 72.75-0-0-0-72.75-3 Points.
Cassio Dias, 0-0-0-0-0.00
Alan de Souza, 0-0-0-0-0.00
Cody Jesus, 0-0-0-0-0.00
Brady Fielder, 0-0-0-0-0.00
Caden Bunch, 0-0-0-0-0.00
Sage Steele Kimzey, 0-0-0-0-0.00
Kaiden Loud, 0-0-0-0-0.00
Julio Cesar Marques, 0-0-0-0-0.00
Kaique Pacheco, 0-0-0-0-0.00
Paulo Eduardo Rossetto, 0-0-0-0-0.00
João Ricardo Vieira, 0-0-0-0-0.00
Bob Mitchell, 0-0-0-0-0.00
Braidy Randolph, 0-0-0-0-0.00
Vitor Losnake, 0-0-0-0-0.00
Silvano Alves, 0-0-0-0-0.00
Brady Oleson, 0-0-0-0-0.00
Wyatt Rogers, 0-0-0-0-0.00
Luciano De Castro, 0-0-0-0-0.00
Daylon Swearingen, 0-0-0-0-0.00
Boudreaux Campbell, 0-0-0-0-0.00
Ednélio Almeida, 0-0-0-0-0.00
Wingson Henrique da Silva, 0-0-0-0-0.00
Jake Morinec, 0-0-0-0-0.00
Lucas Divino, 0-0-0-0-0.00
Alex Cerqueira, 0-0-0-0-0.00
Flavio Zivieri, 0-0-0-0-0.00
João Lucas Campos, 0-0-0-0-0.00
Rafael dos Santos, 0-0-0-0-0.00
Guilherme Valleiras, 0-0-0-0-0.00
Andrew Alvidrez, 0-0-0-0-0.00
Keyshawn Whitehorse, 0-0-0-0-0.00
Mason Taylor, 0-0-0-0-0.00
Briggs Madsen, 0-0-0-0-0.00
Ednei Caminhas, 0-0-0-0-0.00
Chanse Switzer, 0-0-0-0-0.00
Dawson Gleaves, 0-0-0-0-0.00
