Photo: Andre Silva
Austin Beaty Captures Career-First PBR Victory at Pendleton Whisky Velocity Tour’s Wheeling Invitational
WHEELING, W.V. – As a raucous crowd inside WesBanco Arena in Wheeling, West Virginia looked on, 30-year-old Austin Beaty (Bedford, Virginia) reached a critical career milestone Saturday evening. Going a near-perfect 2-for-3, Beaty logged his first-ever PBR (Professional Bull Riders) event win, victorious at the Pendleton Whisky Velocity Tour’s Wheeling Invitational.
As action got underway Friday evening in the Mountain State, Beaty was one of six riders to register a qualified ride, covering Zacchaeus (Jenkins Cattle Co.) for 85 points.
Beaty returned determined as Championship Saturday got underway, surging to the top of the event leaderboard after tying for the Round 2 victory compliments of his 87-point effort aboard How Bout It (UTC/Sellers Bucking Bulls).
While the Virginia native was unable to conclude the event making the 8-second whistle, dispatched by Cutthroat (Cornwell Bucking Bulls) in 2.34 seconds in the championship round, Beaty’s initial scores were enough to clinch the golden finish.
For his efforts, Beaty earned 37 world points and is now ranked No. 89 in the world.
Four-time PBR World Finals qualifier Ramon de Lima (Rio Branco, Brazil) was second, netting a crucial 21.5 world points.
Attempting to return to the sport’s most prestigious event for the fifth time in his career, Lima began the event on a high note, tying for fourth in Round 1 when he rode Drax (Cannon Cattle Co.) for 85 points.
Lima then remained perfect in Round 2 when he went the distance atop Murdock (Cannon Cattle Co.) for 74 points. The stoic Brazilian’s hopes of victory, however, came to an abrupt end in the final round when he was bucked off by Lil Boy Blue (Cornwell Bucking Bulls) in 3.84 seconds.
After traveling to the PBR Wheeling Invitational ranked No. 51 in the world, Lima is now No. 48, 68.17 points outside of the Top 35 and the threshold to qualify for the PBR World Finals Nov. 3-7 in Las Vegas at T-Mobile Arena.
Third was 2002 PBR World Champion Ednei Caminhas (Indaiatuba, Brazil).
The past gold buckle-winner went 2-for-3, covering Last Chance (Sho-Me Rodeo) for 86 points in Round 1 and Podunk (J Bar W) for 57.5 points in Round 2.
Caminhas left WesBanco arena having earned 13 world points.
Mexican sensation Alvaro Aguilar Alvarez (La Punta Lagos, Mexico) was fourth.
After winning Round 1 of the PBR Wheeling Invitational via an 89-point effort on Keep ‘em Guessin (UTC/Sellers Bucking Bulls), Alvarez was relegated to fourth after bucking off Doolin Dalton (Frenzel Bucking Bulls) in a hard-fought 4.14 seconds in Round 2, sustaining a left shoulder injury.
Rounding out the Top 5 in fifth was Quentin Vaught (Crane, Missouri).
Vaught, who went 1-for-3, notably tied for the Round 2 victory after covering Grey Day (J Bar W) for 87 points.
Earning 9.5 world points, Vaught rose 10 positions in the world standings, climbing from No. 92 to No. 82.
In the bull pen, Bolo (Richardson Land & Cattle Co.) and Contusion (Sho-Me Rodeo) tied for the high-marked Bull of the Event honor, each posting a 44.5-point effort. Bolo earned the score for his 2.67-second buckoff of Joe Hostetler (Homer City, Pennsylvania) in Round 1, while Contusion turned heads in Round 2 courtesy of his 2.66 seconds of work against Alex Jenks (Vale, North Carolina).
The PBR Pendleton Whisky Velocity Tour’s Wheeling Invitational was also a stop on the 2021 Million Dollar Bull Team Challenge.
Richardson Land & Cattle Co. swept both nights of competition compliments of a 363.49-point effort on Friday and 360.7-point total on Championship Saturday.
The PBR Pendleton Whisky Velocity Tour next travels to Des Moines, Iowa, and Wells Fargo Arena for the PBR Lucas Oil Invitational on October 16. Action gets underway at 7:00 p.m. CDT.
PBR Pendleton Whisky Velocity Tour – Wheeling Invitational
WesBanco Arena – Wheeling, West Virginia
Event Leaders (Round 1-Round 2-Round 3-Event Aggregate-Event Points)
1. Austin Beaty, 85-87-0-172.00-37 Points.
2. Ramon de Lima, 85-74-0-159.00-21.5 Points.
3. Ednei Caminhas, 86-57.5-0-143.50-13 Points.
4. Alvaro Aguilar Alvarez, 89-0-0-89.00-13 Points.
5. Quentin Vaught, 0-87-0-87.00-9.5 Points.
6. Lane Nobles, 0-86.5-0-86.50-5.5 Points.
(tie). Francisco Morales, 86.5-0-0-86.50-6.5 Points.
8. D.J. Parker, 0-86-0-86.00-2 Points.
9. Eder Barbosa [2], 0-84.5-0-84.50-1 Points.
10. Leonardo Lima, 0-84-0-84.00-1 Points.
11. Dakota Louis, 0-83.5-0-83.50-1 Points.
12. Bob Mitchell, 0-82.5-0-82.50
13. Eder Barbosa [1], 81-0-0-81.00-1 Points.
Fernando Henrique Novais, 0-0-0-0.00
Michael Lane, 0-0-0-0.00
Cody Casper, 0-0-0-0.00
Grayson Cole, 0-0-0-0.00
Kyle Jones, 0-0-0-0.00
Marcos Gloria, 0-0-0-0.00
Cole Skender [1], 0-0-0-0.00
Cole Skender [2], 0-0-0-0.00
Joe Hostetler, 0-0-0-0.00
Thor Hoefer II, 0-0-0-0.00
Logan Biever, 0-0-0-0.00
Rubens Barbosa, 0-0-0-0.00
Venn Johns, 0-0-0-0.00
Eduardo de Oliveira, 0-0-0-0.00
Josh Steele, 0-0-0-0.00
Bryan Titman, 0-0-0-0.00
Devon Weaver, 0-0-0-0.00
Matt Oliver, 0-0-0-0.00
Jason Landing, 0-0-0-0.00
Alex Jenks, 0-0-0-0.00
Eli Miller, 0-0-0-0.00
Brandon Chambers, 0-0-0-0.00
Zach Laney, 0-0-0-0.00
Brandon Ballard, 0-0-0-0.00
Eric Spence, 0-0-0-0.00
Tristen Marshall, 0-0-0-0.00
Jared Avina, 0-0-0-0.00