In Round 1 of the PBR World Finals, it wasn’t the riders who shined the brightest, rather, the animal athletes stole the show.

The bovines didn’t hold back, ushering in a fitting introduction to what will be a grueling two-weekend, nine-round World Finals. The bulls owned Friday night, allowing just eight qualified rides in the entire First Round.

They couldn’t hold back everyone, though. The night belonged to Sage Kimzey.

The No. 3 man in the faced a bull he had already found success on. Kimzey covered Short Fire for 90.5 points in a Teams Series game last September, and experienced some deja vu Friday night in Fort Worth.

Kimzey again covered Short Fire for 90.5 points, winning Round 1. It seemed that familiarity gave him the edge he needed as he put on a bull riding masterclass for all eight seconds. It’s both Kimzey’s sixth round win and his sixth 90+ ride of the season, leading the Tour in both categories.

In his third straight World Finals appearance, Sage Kimzey had the bounce-back he needed. It’s only Kimzey’s fourth qualified ride since PBR Indianapolis back in March, but he noted he was healthier than he has been all year after skipping the last regular season event in Tacoma.

“Taking that week off, my body feels amazing right now,” he said Friday.

Kimzey’s Round 1 win is bad news for the two riders ahead of him, Brady Fielder and John Crimber.  With 746 UTB Points, Kimzey sits just 69 points behind No. 2 Fielder, and 238.5 points behind No. 1 Crimber.

Kimzey still has work to do if he wants to reclaim the No. 1 ranking, but with both Fielder and Crimber bucking off their bulls in less than three seconds, Kimzey can close that gap even more if he makes the whistle in a rank pen of bulls out in Round 2.

Other Top Performers

Daylon Swearingen got off to a great start in Fort Worth and is now one ride closer to his second Golden Buckle.

The 2022 PBR World Champion continued to impress, building upon his Tour-best 94.9 point ride to finish the regular season, which won him PBR Tacoma.

Swearingen flexed his grit and experience, covering Let’s Roll on a re-ride opportunity for 89.85 points. He’s now covered 10 of his last 12, and each of his last four. Swearingen was ranked No. 30 before winning his first event of the season in Tallahassee. Now, he’s ranked 7th, with 531.5 Points, momentum, and a puncher’s chance to shake up the top of the UTB Standings.

He finished third in the round and selected Pegasus for Round 2. That’s the same bull he rode for 94.90 just a few weeks ago and a repeat of that performance makes this World Title race much more interesting.

Hudson Bolton extended his qualified ride streak to eight by covering Blonde Bomber for 89.65 points and fourth in Round 1. He’s now covered nine of his last 10, with six of those rides being for 89+.

Bolton’s late-season turnaround is no fluke, and he let everybody know Friday night that he’s “feeling hot.”

Callum Miller rose to the occasion with a much-needed cover against Big Dawg. Miller scored a season-high 90.25 points, getting his second qualified ride in his last 16 outs.

His second-place finish in Round 1 moved him up one spot in the UTB Standings.

Missed Opportunities

John Crimber and Brady Fielder are the headliners for missed opportunities Friday, but they were far from the only ones on a night that the cowboys rode just 8-of-45.

Maverick Smith sat just 43 Points behind Marco Rizzo in the UTB Rookie Of The Year race heading into the World Finals. Hot on Rizzo’s trail, Smith looked to gain a jump early in the First Round, but was unsuccessful. Smith, facing Ground Pounder, couldn’t counter a pair of brutal shoulder rolls and was bucked off in just 1.76 seconds.

Rizzo, however, also missed his opportunity to pull away from Smith as he bucked off Sour Patch in less than three seconds in a rematch from Little Rock.

Friday night marked Dalton Kasel’s eighth straight World Finals appearance. He entered last year’s World Finals as the Tour leader, but was unable to secure the World Championship. Ranked 7th with 506.5 points heading into the World Finals this year, Kasel is now playing catch-up.

He missed his initial opportunity to do so, though, being bucked off Turning Point in 5.06 seconds. Kasel dropped behind Swearingen and is now No. 8 in the World Standings.

Standings Movement

Up The Standings

No. 9 Keyshawn Whitehorse: +5

No. 35 Dener Barbosa: +3

No. 5 Paulo Eduardo Rossetto: +1

No. 7 Daylon Swearingen: +1

No. 17 Luciano De Castro: +1

No. 25 Callum Miller: +1

Down The Standings

No. 6 Alex Cerqueira: -1

No. 8 Dalton Kasel: -1

No. 9 Marco Rizzo: -1

No. 11 Cort McFadden: -1

No. 13 Julio Cesar Marques: -1

No. 14 Bob Mitchell: -1

No. 18 Maverick Smith: -1

No. 26 Andrew Alvidrez: -1

Rest of the Best

18 Bulls had a 44+ BullScore

3 Bulls had a  45+ BullScore

Let’s Roll: 46.4 BullScore (Highest of the Night)

Luciano De Castro came into Fort Worth having covered his last nine bulls. He got his 10th in a row, a career high, covering Mean Machine for 88.45 in Friday’s First Round.

Dener Barbosa got his fourth qualified ride of the season atop Hookie Monster, scoring 87.7 points. He jumped from 35th to 38th in the standings.

Keyshawn Whitehorse got back in the ride column after having bucked off his last four. He covered Rolex for 86.95 points and jumped five spots in the rankings, returning to the Top 10 in 9th with 426 points.

Paulo Eduardo Rossetto returned to the Top 5, covering Nasubi for 84.55. Now at 545 UTB Points, Rossetto is setting up for a standings shake-up if he can find his rhythm.