An old foe of 2021 YETI World Champion Bull Woopaa may be ready to push the previously defending champion again.
Twice ago, Ridin Solo and Woopaa were battling for the 2020 ABBI Classic title, with which Woopaa eventually walked into the 2020 PBR World Trials.
This time around, it looks like Cord McCoy has Ridin Solo to the point where he’s ready to challenge Woopaa for the title of 2022 YETI Bull Champion World.
Ridin Solo broke out for an alternate bull score of 46 or higher this weekend when the soon-to-be 6-year-old bull transferred Mason Taylor soaring over the Enterprise Center dirt in 3.69 seconds at the PBR TicketSmarter Invitational, presented by Cooper Tires, Saturday night.
Ridin Solo scored 46 points to increase his world champion sire average to 45.75 points to tie Woopaa for the top of the world champion sire rankings.
The 2022 YETI World Champion Sire will be the beast with the highest average sire score from his top six regular-season starts and two PBR World Trial starts. With the reduced number of UTB events in 2022, the PBR lowered the minimum number of putouts a bull required to qualify for the World Championship this time from the one-season standard of eight.
Ridin Solo took fourth place last season in the 2021 YETI Champion Bull race with a regular 45.43 World Champion Bull. Woopra won the title with an average of 46.93 points.
Ex No. 1 Moonlight Party took a step back in St. Louis after falling during his crown round avoidance to Brady Oleson, scoring 39.75 points. Moonlight Party now sits at 17th in the rankings but should be fit to lose that low score and get back into the title mix this season.
Then there are some other notable stats from this weekend in St. Louis.
3 Ridin Solo is the third sire this time to have recorded two or more 46-point sire scores. Last week, Ridin Solo scored 46.25 points when José Vitor Leme rode him for 94.75 points at Oklahoma City. Woopra and Moonlight Party have each had two bullish scores over 46 so far this season.
8 Daylon Swearingen is the eighth multi-event winner of the 2022 season and will head to Los Angeles 61.34 points off World No. 1. 1 Joao Ricardo Vieira. Swearingen is also one of only eight riders to have won two or more rounds at UTB. Stetson Lawrence leads the PBR with wins through three rounds.
6 At 22, Swearingen is one of only six riders in the Top 10 of the world rankings who are 25 or younger. His 22-year-old teammate, Mauricio Moreira, went 2-for-3 in St. Louis to finish second behind Swearingen and move up to No. 5 in the world rankings. There are three cyclists aged 30 or over: the world number. 1 Joao Ricardo Vieira (33), No. 4 Stetson Lawrence (33) and No. 6 Eli Vastbinder (30) – in the Top 10.
3 Swearingen is the third rider to win multiple rounds in a single event this season. Stetson Lawrence (Chicago) and Kyler Oliver (New York) also won two rounds in one event this time.
58 Kaique Pacheco’s 2022 first-round palm (88.75 points in Mike’s Effect) helped him jump 58 positions in the world rankings (109 to 51). Pacheco is not in danger of being cut from UTB just yet. He has one more guaranteed impunity to wear at Tuesday night’s PBR Pluto TV Invitational in Los Angeles and new immunity from five world champions.
16 Rafael Henrique dos Santos went 2-for-3 in St. Louis, and his third-place finish helped him jump from No. 34 in the world rankings to No. 18. Santos ended his weekend in St. Louis with 87.5 points in Test Drive. The crown around and 15/15 Bucking Battles is an area where Santos needs to improve to take the next step in his career. His Test Drive drive makes him 4 for 18 (22.22) in crown rounds and 15/15 Bucking Battles.
45.5 Big Black had an amazing 4.17 alternate takeoff from reigning two-time PBR World Champion Jose Vitor Leme during the crown round for a bull score of 45.5 points. The 8-year-old sire hasn’t scored this high since he posted two 46-point scorers in October 2018.