Nashville won the first Team Championship in 2022, the first year the team concept was implemented. Led by Justin McBride then and now, they did it again Sunday night in Las Vegas. Their opponent in the Championship Round was the Ridge Riders, who put up a good fight, but came up short. The seventh and final rider for Arizona did not get on a bull, since there was no chance to catch up. McBride and team did it again!

A couple of big moments though, for the Ridge Riders. The big ride under pressure came from Cody Jesus, who scored 92.40 with his dance partner Lights Out. That cool bull is owned by Blake Sharp/Henry Wilson/Hanks. Unfortunately, the Ridge Riders still came up one bull short.

Then, a fan favorite and also member of the opposing team, the Ridge Riders, Eduardo Aparecido, was named the MVP of the Championship Series. Quite an honor for this great riding veteran.

We had a chance to speak with winning Coach Justin McBride, and he had a few things to say.

“It feels great today; we were fortunate enough to win. Look, I have left Las Vegas I guess over the last 30 years as happy as anybody could be, and as disappointed as anybody can be. I have been on both sides of the spectrum. Today was a great day for our team, and I am just really proud of our guys.

“At the end of the day,” Justin continued, “they are the ones that ride. They put their trust in you as a coach to put them in the best situations they can be in to help them develop and be better young men. I am just really proud of them for trusting Silvano (Alves) and I, and allowing us to coach them.

“I love doing it and seeing the guys accomplish something great. Most people never get a chance to even attempt to do something great. These guys got themselves in that position, and they were able to have their moment.”

Game 9, which was the first semi-final game found the Ridge Riders facing off against the Gamblers. Arizona only failed to cover one of their bulls, while Austin got three ridden, which put the Ridge Riders safely into the Championship game.

Game 10, or the second semi-final game, saw the Rattlers having to face off against Nashville. There was only a one ride difference between the teams, and obviously the edge went to the Stampede. As an aside, Texas’ Josh Frost gets the tough man award, after receiving two re-rides and finally getting it done on Milestone for a big 90.30 score.

Here is how the other games went down, starting from Friday night.

Night one produced eight 90+ rides on the night, including four brilliant rides in a row. Game 1 saw the Arizona Ridge Riders knock out the Oklahoma Wildcatters and Florida Freedom. They produced three qualified rides, the highest score coming from veteran Eduardo Aparecido with an 89.75. He covered Bowser, owned by D-J Long Ranch/TP Cattle Co.

Game 2 saw Carolina Cowboys take the win over the New York Mavericks, with two rides to one. In game 3 it was the Texas Rattlers covering four of their five bulls who came out on top over the Kansas City Outlaws. This was a heated battle, which produced four 90+ rides! Daniel Keeping was the high scorer here with a 90.50 on the Sweet Life Farms/Pro Genetics Bucking Bulls’ Money Hustler.

In the Last Chance Game, all three teams, the Mavericks, Kansas City, and the Ridge Riders posted only one ride, two of which were 90+ points. But the man who made the difference was once again Aparecido. He posted a 91.45 on the great Freedom Fighter, owned by K Bar C Bucking Bulls and Sparklin Acres. That meant that advancing on to the quarter-finals were the Ridge Riders, Carolina, and the Rattlers.

Night two, semi-final night. Game 5 pitted Carolina against Nashville, with the Stampede taking the win. After the first man for each team bucked off, Carolina’s Guilherme Valleiras rode American Made to a huge score of 91.15. Nashville answered back with an 89.75 by Daniel Feitosa. Carolina’s next move might have cost them the win. Jess Lockwood was offered a re-ride after scoring a 79.20, and the team elected to keep the score. When the dust cleared, Nashville took the victory by 8.85 points! Heartbreak moment for the Cowboys.

Game 6 found the Gamblers covering four of their bulls to the Rattlers’ three to take the win. The highest scoring ride for this game came from Joao Ricardo Vieira, a 90.45. This 42-year-old veteran rode like a teenager, taking down Big Mac, a bull owned by McCoy Rodeo/Phil Dahl.

What might have been one of the biggest surprises was that the team that had been at the top of the standings for quite some time, Missouri Thunder lost to the Ridge Riders in Game 7. The Thunder rode only one of their bulls, and while Arizona only rode two, it was enough to send Missouri into the Last Chance Game.

Missouri was joined by the Cowboys and the Rattlers for that Last Chance. Missouri and Carolina were only able to cover one bull from each team, while Texas were able to ride three. But we cannot overlook the fact that even though his team lost, Maverick Smith covered the D&H Cattle Co. & Flinn Cattle Co. bull Ransom for a career-high score of 92.95 points. That was quite a feat, as Ransom is the newly-crowned 2026 Yeti PBR World Champion Bull, as well as being Bull of the Finals. Still, the team year was over for both the Thunder and the Cowboys.

Article by Barbara Pinnella

Photos: Nancy Lares