Lonnie West Eighth, Dakota Buttar Tied for Ninth after Round 1 of PBR’s Anaheim Invitational

ANAHEIM, Calif. –  Fresh off a win on the Canadian Touring Pro Division in Magrath, Alberta, Lonnie West (Cadogan, Alberta), continued his momentum Friday night, concluding Round 1 of the PBR Unleash The Beast’s Anaheim Invitational eighth.

The 23-year-old covered Diamond Willow (Dakota Rodeo/Chad Berger/Clay Struve/Diamond Willow) for 85 points propelling him to a $370 pay day.

Awaiting him in Round 2 as he seeks his first premier series event win is familiar opponent Voo Doo Too (Dakota Rodeo/Chad Berger/Clay Struve/Staci Wilks/N Bar Ranch/Chase Bass). West first attempted the bull in Nov. 2017 in Newtown, North Dakota, bucked off in 3.46 seconds.

Fellow Canuck Dakota Buttar (Kindersley, Saskatchewan) tied for ninth with three-time PBR World Champion Silvano Alves (Pilar do Sul, Brazil) after both riders recorded matching 84-point rides.

For the second consecutive elite tour event, Buttar was the first rider to reach the 8, covering Beaver Creek Beau (Chad Berger/Clay Struve/PBR Rock Bar), while Alves rode Kit Fox (Jerry Brown Bucking Bulls) later in the night.

Two additional Canadians are also competing at the Anaheim Invitational, Jared Parsonage (Maple Creek, Saskatchewan) and Brock Radford (De Winton, Alberta), however neither covered their Round 1 draw. Parsonage was bested by Rotten Bananas (Weber Bucking Bulls) in 3.69 seconds, while Radford was bucked off by Dusty’s Revenge (Dakota Rodeo/Chad Berger/Clay Struve/H&C Bucking Bulls) in 7.07 seconds.

2017 Rookie of the Year Jose Vitor Leme (Ribas Do Rio Pardo, Brazil) captured the Round 1 win on the opening night of the PBR Unleash The Beast, Anaheim Invitational to further his hold on No. 2 in the world standings. 

After an impressive 8-second ride aboard Sam I Am (Dakota Rodeo/Chad Berger/Clay Struve/Diamond Willow), Leme collected 88.25 points as the Honda Center erupted. He now leads world No. 3 Chase Outlaw (Hamburg, Arkansas) by 229 points but still trails world leader Jess Lockwood (Volborg, Montana) by 148 points.

The talented young Brazilian left the fan-filled Honda Center with 100 world points and $3,580. 

Fellow countryman Alisson de Souza (Taubate, Sao Paulo, Brazil) delivered an 86.75-point ride atop Mac The Knife (Dakota Rodeo/Chad Berger/Clay Struve/Diamond Willow) on Friday night for a second-place finish. The night earned de Souza 60 world points, moving him from No. 25 in the world standings to No. 23. The Brazilian rider earned a $2,750 paycheck for his efforts. 

Third place in Round 1 went to Dylan Smith (Ararat, Virginia). The young gun made the 8 on Snake Eyes (Cottonwood Bucking Bulls, LLC), scoring 86.5 points. Beginning the night at No. 41 in the world standings, Smith inched closer to the Top 35 with the 50 world points he collected landing him at No. 40. Night one in Anaheim earned the 19 year-old rider $2,000.

Ezekiel Mitchell (Rockdale, Texas) was fourth on the leaderboard after being matched up with Get Shorty (Dakota Rodeo/Chad Berger/Clay Struve/Heald Pro Bulls). His monster ride earned 86.25 points, bringing him $1,300 and 40 world points. The Texas cowboy kept his spot at No. 19 in the world standings.

Rounding out the Top 5 of the night were Chase Outlaw (Hamburg, Arkansas) and Kurt Shephard (Mareeba, Australia) in a tie. Outlaw conquered Game Changer (Tyler Farris Bucking Bulls, LLC) while Shephard covered Lil Bit Crazy (Dakota Rodeo/Chad Berger/Clay Struve). The pair scored a matching 85.75 points.

Outlaw held his strong position at third in the world standings, while Shephard held his spot at No. 39. Each rider earned 22.50 world points and $725.

The best bull riders in the world will return to Honda Center on Saturday, September 7th for Round 2 of the Anaheim Invitational.

Fans will also be able to watch the action in its entirety on RidePass.com or via the RidePass mobile app. Action from Round 1 will be viewable starting at 8 a.m. ET on Saturday, September 7.

Professional Bull Riders - ANAHEIM INVITATIONAL
Anaheim, CA, 2019 - Event Leaders (Round 1-Round 2-Round 3-Event Aggregate-Event Points)
1. Jose Vitor Leme, 88.25-0-0-88.25-100 Points.
2. Alisson De Souza, 86.75-0-0-86.75-60 Points.
3. Dylan Smith, 86.5-0-0-86.50-50 Points.
4. Ezekiel Mitchell, 86.25-0-0-86.25-40 Points.
5. Chase Outlaw, 85.75-0-0-85.75-22.5 Points.
(tie). Kurt Shephard, 85.75-0-0-85.75-22.5 Points.
7. Mason Taylor, 85.5-0-0-85.50-5 Points.
8. Lonnie West, 85-0-0-85.00
9. Silvano Alves, 84-0-0-84.00
(tie). Dakota Buttar, 84-0-0-84.00
11. João Ricardo Vieira, 83.75-0-0-83.75
12. Scottie Knapp, 83.5-0-0-83.50
13. Dalton Kasel, 82.5-0-0-82.50
14. Dener Barbosa, 82-0-0-82.00
15. Eduardo Aparecido, 81-0-0-81.00
Jess Lockwood, 0-0-0-0.00
Cooper Davis, 0-0-0-0.00
Cody Teel, 0-0-0-0.00
Luciano De Castro, 0-0-0-0.00
Derek Kolbaba, 0-0-0-0.00
Marco Eguchi, 0-0-0-0.00
Daylon Swearingen, 0-0-0-0.00
Lucas Divino, 0-0-0-0.00
Matt Triplett, 0-0-0-0.00
Cody Jesus, 0-0-0-0.00
Claudio Montanha Jr., 0-0-0-0.00
Cody Nance, 0-0-0-0.00
Brennon Eldred, 0-0-0-0.00
Taylor Toves, 0-0-0-0.00
Keyshawn Whitehorse, 0-0-0-0.00
J.B. Mauney, 0-0-0-0.00
Jared Parsonage, 0-0-0-0.00
Michael Lane, 0-0-0-0.00
Brock Radford, 0-0-0-0.00
Carlos Trejo, 0-0-0-0.00
Fabiano Vieira, 0-0-0-0.00