Does the Change of PBR Venue Bring New Challenges? ~ Joao Ricardo Vieira

Well PBR in Colorado Springs has come to an end. Joao Ricardo Vieira stepped up for a needed victory on the weekend. 

One of the things that came up during our talks last weekend about PBR, is not only cowboys and winning but also travel. Many probably do not sit back and really analyze the factors that come with the amount of travel and places the tour goes.

The last two events are prime examples of two different extremes, previously The Built Ford Tough Series was in Charlotte North Carolina. The city of Charlotte sits at an elevation of 785 feet above sea level, anyone who has been here knows that Charlotte has a very ocean influenced climate with what many describe as a heavier type of air. On the contrary the last PBR BFT event was hosted in Colorado Springs Colorado, which has an elevation of 6,035 feet above sea level. The air in Colorado has been described as thin and crisp by many people.

It is not uncommon information to hear athletes say that training or competing at a higher altitude can bring adverse effects to ones performance. In fact many elite athletes will use the altitude as a training tool in order to better condition there bodies for competition at lower Altitudes. 

The question that came up to us was, with 8 seconds of fierce battle both by cowboy and bull can this elevation make a difference. One would not figure that in 8 seconds there would be an influence. During our research for this article we started with a list of bull riders who compete at various levels as well as travel to various locations to compete. The most general answer we received was, from a cowboys perspective 8 seconds does not have much effect on performance when it comes to competing at higher altitude. The interesting note that we heard somewhat often was that the real danger came after getting off. It was noted that getting winded easily can effect a guy if he gets hung up or has to scramble out of a mess. 

We asked this weekends winner Joao Ricardo Vieria how he felt during the weekend, "I felt good, and was happy to get a win". Which we believe is pretty strong proof that as long as you stay on the right side of the bull ride there is no real effect.

Also during our talks we went to some stock contractors about the effects on the bulls. Most all the contractors felt that there bulls had no adverse effects bucking at a higher altitude. During our talk with Cody Hebert he told us "it really does not seem to matter where you take a bull, some days they will buck there hardest in the desert of Mexico and the next they will put up a terrific out in an area like New York", "as long as you let a bull get in and acclimatize to where they are they will give you all they have".

Most all stock contractors mirrored this sentiment but it is note worthy that we did hear on a couple occasions that a lot of it has to do with the bull itself. We heard on more than one occasions that some bulls really like some certain areas. We even heard of a couple of cases where bulls really seemed to like the thinner crisper air of the higher elevations.

Either way as always PBR BFT put on another spectacular show in Colorado Springs so now it is off to the great Northwest for the Wrangler Long Live Cowboys Classic in Eugene Oregon. Without a doubt both man and beast will be ready to put it all on the line.

Have an opinion? Let us know here at The Pepper Stewart Show.  

By: Phillip Kitts Staff Writer The Pepper Stewart Show

                                                                                          ​(Picture is from an event earlier this year of Joao)​