Courtesy Of PBR | Photo Credit: Todd Brewer/Bull Stock Media
HOUSTON, Texas – As PBR (Professional Bull Riders) action got underway Friday night in Houston, Texas, 2018 Rookie of the Year Keyshawn Whitehorse (McCracken Spring, Utah) rode supreme, winning Round 1 of the Michelob ULTRA PBR Houston, cracking the Top 10 in the 2025 World Championship race.
KEYSHAWN WHITEHORSE RIDES LET’S ROLL FOR 89.25 POINTS / VIDEO COURTESY OF PBR TO TENN TEXAS MEDIA
Whitehorse, who rides for the Arizona Ridge Riders in the separate PBR Teams league, led the field of 19 qualified rides when he dominated Let’s Roll (Stoltzfus/Bob & Jerry Adams/BS Cattle Co.) for 89.25 points.
Whitehorse garnered 28 Unleash The Beast points and rose from No. 13 to No. 10 in the Unleash The Beast standings. He is now within 250.5 points of No. 1 John Crimber (Decatur, Texas).
Crimber extended his lead atop the gold buckle race by tying for fourth in Round 1. The Florida Freedom standout and 2024 PBR Teams MVP covered Mr. Right Now (Silent 7/Hilton Bull Co.) for 88 points, netting 15.5 Unleash The Beast points.
JOHN CRIMBER RIDES MR. RIGHT NOW FOR 88 POINTS / VIDEO COURTESY OF PBR TO TENN TEXAS MEDIA
The teenage phenom grew his lead to 113.5 points over No. 2 Dalton Kasel (Muleshoe, Texas), who was bucked off by Coach (Craig Moore/D&H Cattle/Buck Cattle) in 4.31 seconds.
The opening night of the two-day event in Space City also featured the third installment of the Monster Energy Team Challenge, presented by Camping World, an extension of the PBR Teams league that brings head-to-head, team-vs.-team bull riding games to the sport’s elite individual tour.
In a battle for the Lone Star State, the 2023 PBR Teams Champion Texas Rattlers knocked off the league’s reigning Champion Austin Gamblers, 350.25-172.25, winning the first installment of the 2025 Texas Cup. The Rattlers improved to 8-6 all time against their in-state rivals.
The Rattlers were propelled to victory courtesy of 8-second efforts from Brady Fielder (Clermont, Queensland, Australia), Callum Miller (Warwick, Queensland, Australia), Daniel Keeping (Montague, Texas) and Braidy Randolph (Stephenville, Texas).
Fielder’s 88.25-point ride on Lap Dancer (Flying S/Dozier Cattle Co.) was the third-best score of the opening round. Earning 17 Unleash The Beast points, Fielder remained No. 3 in the world, now 140.5 points behind No. 1 Crimber.
While Austin was denied the win, Lucas Divino (Nova Crixas, Brazil) and Kaique Pacheco (Itatiba, Brazil) both converted, advancing to Round 2 of the Michelob ULTRA PBR Houston with a score on the board.
Returning to the top of the event leaderboard, Kaiden Loud (Kaufman, Texas) was second in Round 1. He rode Rooster’s Melt Down (D&H Cattle Co./Buck Cattle Co.) for 88.5 points.
The Nashville Stampede standout earned 18 Unleash The Beast points for the score, rising from No. 16 to No. 14 in the world.
Rounding out the Top 5 and tying for fourth alongside Crimber was his Florida Freedom teammate Thiago Salgado (Navirai, Brazil). Salgado delivered a matching 88-point ride on Oyster Creek Brawler (Farris Cattle/Big Schott Rodeo) to earn 15.5 Unleash The Beast points.
Salgado rose from No. 38 to No. 36 in the world ahead of championship Saturday.
Action for the 2025 Michelob ULTRA PBR Houston will conclude with Round 2 and the championship round on Saturday, Jan. 18. Action gets underway at 7:45 p.m. CT. Tickets are still available and can be purchased online at ToyotaCenter.com, AXS.com and PBR.com, and at Toyota Center’s Box Office.
Both nights of competition in Houston will be available LIVE and FREE on PBR’s X channel (https://x.com/PBR), RidePass on Pluto TV, PBR’s YouTube channel (https://www.youtube.com/@pbr), PBR’s mobile app (https://qrco.de/bdtdKp), and PBR’s app on connected TVs, including Apple TV, Fire TV, Roku and Google TV. The stream for Michelob ULTRA PBR Houston continues Saturday, Jan. 18.
PBR RidePass on Pluto TV will offer re-airs and on-demand replays of PBR Unleash The Beast events and is available on desktops, laptops and mobile devices via www.pluto.tv.
PBR Unleash The Beast Michelob ULTRA PBR Houston Toyota Center – Houston, Texas Event Leaders (Round 1-Round 2-Round 3-Event Aggregate-Event Points)
