By Doug Hare EBS STAFF
The
2017 Professional Bull Riders world champion Jess Lockwood won the Jackson Hole
PBR Touring Division stop, taking advantage of re-rides to continue his surge
up the world title leaderboard since breaking his collarbone at the 2019
WinStar World Casino and Resort Global Cup USA on Feb. 9, which led to him
missing nine Unleash The Beast events.
Lockwood only trails world leader
Jose Vitor Leme by 146.66 points following his July 16 victory in Wyoming, his
first time competing in Jackson Hole. The bovine athletes for the event were
supplied by eight-time PBR contractor of the year Chad Berger.
Lockwood went 3-for-3 over the two
day competition, winning the first night with a 89.5 ride on Lefty to top Derek
Kolbaba’s 87.5 score from early in the night. On night two, Lockwood put up 88
and 87 point rides to beat out Daylon Swearingen (85/88), the only other bull
rider to put up a qualifying ride in the last round of competition.
The Volborg, Montana, native leads
the PBR with five wins this summer and a PBR record 687.5 world points earned
during the UTB summer break. At the time of his injury, Lockwood held the no. 1
ranking with a commanding 967.5-point lead, which other bull riders chipped
away at during his absence from competition. The 21-year-old is an impressive
28-for-42 (66.66 percent) at all levels since returning to competition on May
3.
“What
an amazing stop for the PBR as 40 of the best bull riders in the world battled
it out in Jackson Hole as the 2019 season kicks into high gear,” said Cord McCoy,
longtime spokesperson for PBR and former bull rider and TV personality.
“Congratulations to Jess Lockwood for going 3-for-3 against some outstanding
PBR bulls.”
Lockwood,
world no. 3 Chase Outlaw and a host of other world-class bull riders are slated
to convene in Big Sky for a three-day PBR competition July 25-27.
