Already, we’re halfway through the 2024 Unleash the Beast season. Amazing cowboys are delivering jaw-dropping performances at every bull riding event, so spectators across the globe are ready for a wild ride this season. At the most recent PBR Tulsa event, Brazilian cowboy Joao Ricardo Vieira had one such performance. The cowboy may be 39 years old, but Vieira demonstrated to the Oklahoma audience that age is just a number.

The excellent PBR Tulsa ride by Joao Ricardo Vieira was uploaded to PBR’s official YouTube channel. As soon as it was uploaded, the video became viral due to the Brazilian cowboy’s “age-defying” victory. With this victory, Vieira also achieved a unique feat.

First win of the season for Joao Ricardo Vieira

Just like every other cowboy, Joao Ricardo Vieira sat inside the metal chutes, waiting for the gates to open. Despite his fame, the cowboy doesn’t have a World Championship under his name, which he is still aiming for at the age of 39. At the final round of PBR Tulsa, the cowboy was paired with Flyin Wired, which is the 2023 ABBI (American Bucking Bulls Inc.) Classic World Champion. The confidence of the bull rider was at its peak, and it never faded away.

The moment the metal chutes went off, the bull sprang out of the metal chutes and began bucking viciously, but Vieira had a firm grip on it. As they saw the cowboy flawlessly deal with the bull’s maneuvers, the audience went absolutely crazy. Just as the 8-second buzzer sounded, Vieira lost no time, landing perfectly away from the bull, sending the commentator and the crowd into a frenzy. A whopping 91.75 points were bestowed on this amazing cowboy ride, making the Brazilian an 18-time PBR event winner. The same ride also matched him with renowned cowboy Gary Richard for the record of the oldest rider to win a premier series event at the age of 39. The rodeo community held Vieira in the highest esteem after this PBR Tulsa triumph, and he even spoke briefly in the interview that followed the event.

A message from the Brazilian cowboy

The 39-year-old cowboy was overcome with emotion. Even though most cowboys retire when they reach a certain age, Joao Ricardo Vieira still dreams of his first PBR World Championship and preserves it through every obstacle he faces on the way to the top of the standings. In the interview that followed the match, the cowboy was quite candid as he talked about the competition in a rodeo arena. The cowboy said, “This is because…I love this.”

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He continued by saying, it inspired him to compete even more as he saw young cowboys in the same room as him preparing for the event. A last expression of gratitude came from the cowboy, who addressed “God” as the source of his strength to compete for the top of the standings. With the points he earned in Tulsa, Vieira moved up the 2024 PBR UTB standings to number five from number nineteen. Although the cowboy is far from the No. 1 in the standings, the bull riding rankings are very unpredictable and may change after a single event.

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