PHOTOS BY AUSTIN SMITH
Montana’s own Flint Rasmussen, billed as the greatest rodeo entertainer in history, graced the First Interstate Arena in Billings for the final time Sunday as the PBR wrapped up its longest-running Unleash the Beast tour stop.
The Wrangler Invitational, presented by Cooper Tires, was taken by the new World No. 4 Cooper Davis after a 3-for-4 performance topped with a Round 1 ride of 88.75 on Taylor’s Cowtown Throwdown (Farris / Platinum Bull Company).
The current World No. 1 Kaique Pacheco extended his lead with three UTB events left after notching the short go’s only ride, an 86.25 on Pookie Holler (Dakota Rodeo / Brian & Ashley Pintar / Clay Struve / Chad Berger). Fellow Brazilian Lucas Divino nabbed 3rd place in the event thanks to rides in Round 1 and 2, the best of which was a meeting with High Country Hitman (High Country Solutions / Jenkins Cattle Co) scored at 87 points.
Other notable outs include UTB rookie Brady Turgeon goin’ 90 in Round 2 on Tijuana Two-Step (M Rafter E Bucking Bulls), and an 85.25 effort by home-state favorite and last year’s event champion Dakota Louis on Another Lunatic (Frihauf Cattle).
There are two UTB events in Washington state this week, April 19th-20th in Everett and 22nd-23rd in Tacoma, followed by the final premier tour stop of the regular season in Louisville, KY on April 29th-30th. The Top 35 will then head to Dickies Arena in Ft. Worth, TX for the ‘23 World Finals, before the PBR switches gears for the start of its Team Series season at Cheyenne Frontier Days on July 24th.
The PBR Challenger Series will continue to run all summer long into October, with Montana events scheduled for Kalispell (June 2nd), Great Falls (June 3rd), Livingston (July 15th), fan-favorite Big Sky (July 20th-22nd), and Eureka (Aug. 26th).
