PBR Iron Cowboy

Iron Cowboy

By Barbara Pinnella Photos by Andrea Kaus/ChaosGraphics

Melancon Reigned Supreme to Become This Year’s Iron Cowboy

For the second year in a row, the Staples Center in Los Angeles, CA was the site of Iron Cowboy, and what a great event this was. It took place over the course of two nights. The fans were amazing, and there were good crowds for both performances. But it was not only the fans who were great; both the bull riders and their bovine partners also shined under the lights of L.A. Right behind Jesus with a score of 88.25 was Eduardo Aparecido. He mastered Money, owned by Culp Bucking Bulls/Zapata/Mendes. In third place was Matt Triplett, while Brock Radford and Luciano de Castro split fourth and fifth. Since the rules state that there will be 25 moving into the second round, 10 others joined those 15 original qualifiers,

When the dust cleared, the one who sparkled the brightest was Cole Melancon. He survived five tough rounds to be crowned the 2020 PBR Iron Cowboy! He took home a cool $100,000 check and a custom belt buckle. To add even more icing to this cake, he became only the second rookie to ever win a PBR Major. This was his first Unleash The Beast tour win, and with that victory Cole moved up into sixth place in the World Standings!

The first night there were 40 cowboys who tried their hand at riding their bulls with the hopes of moving on to the second round. Only 15 men were successful in that quest, and the best of those was young Cody Jesus. He covered the Dakota Rodeo/ Julie Rosen/Clay Struve/Chad Berger bull Gambini for a score of 88.5.

Ryan Dirteater rides Smooth Over (Hart Cattle Co. / GT Bucking Bulls) for 92.75 points to win round 2 of the PBR Iron Cowboy.

based on their World Standings at that time. The final rounds took place the second night, and Staples Center grew more electric with each passing round. Round 2 saw ‘The Cherokee Kid’ Ryan Dirteater post the highest score of the entire event; a huge 92.75 on the Hart Cattle/GT Bucking Bull charge, Smooth Over. This was a fabulous ride by Ryan, and much appreciated by the fans in attendance. But Joao Ricardo Vieira was not to be ignored in this second round. He scored a 90.25 on M.A.G.A., owned by TNT Bucking Bulls/Hart Cattle Co. to be second. Budakon, owned by Hart Cattle Co./Hale. He was given a score of 87 for his efforts. The final man to ride was JR. He received an 86.5 when he got the eight on War Cry, a bull from Julio Moreno/Dallas Schott. Time for Round 4, and there were four men slated to ride; Melancon, Lockwood, JR, and Triplett. Important to note here that Dirteater was supposed to ride in this penultimate round, but in the third round he was slammed down hard courtesy of Mason’s Missouri Gold and was unable to compete any longer. Enter Cole, Ryan’s replacement.

Melancon was third, Triplett fourth, and two-time World Champ Jess Lockwood split fifth and sixth with Ramon de Lima. The 15 was pared down to eight for the third round. Only three men were able to make the whistle, with Lockwood being the most successful of the three. He scored an 87.5 with the Dakota Rodeo/Chad Berger/Clay Struve/Ken Barnhard bull Fist City. Triplett continued showing his consistency by covering To say he made the most of this opportunity is an understatement. Of the four, he was the only one to ride. Had he bucked off, all four would have had to ride again, but he made sure that would not be the case. He scored an 89.75 on the Julio Moreno/Dallas Schott bull Spotted Demon. The man he would go up against in the fifth and final round? None other than the three-time Iron Cowboy Champion, Vieira. Their total scores moving into that last round had Cole with 263 and JR with 261, and to put it simply, the highest score would win.

As the drama built to a crescendo, Melancon bucked off at a heartbreaking 7.43 seconds. It was all up to Vieira. If he rode, he would win his fourth Iron Cowboy title. But it was not to be, as the new kid on the PBR block ran off with the coveted Iron Cowboy championship.

After his win, Cole admitted that he was tired after getting on four bulls back to back.

“It takes a lot out of you, but we train every day for opportunities like this. This win ranks at the top of my victories. I grew up watching these events. It’s unfortunate that Ryan got hurt. I had Spotted Demon, and for some time, I didn’t want to get on him. He looks pretty treacherous, but I had my opportunity tonight, and made it count.”

Humps N Horns Bull Riding Magazine wants to offer our congratulations to Cole, and invite you to read his in-depth interview in this issue, so you might learn more about our 2020 Iron Cowboy!

(Above) Jess Lockwood covers Soup in a Group (Dakota Rodeo/ Chad Berger/ Clay Struve/ Wilks Ranch) for 84 points in round 1.

Humps-Horns.com · 33 · March 2020 (Left) Stretch (Dakota Rodeo/ Chad Berger/ Clay Struve/ Heald Pro Bulls) notches a 44.75 bull score as he dispatches Joao Ricardo Vieira in the final round of the PBR Iron Cowboy.