BAKERSFIELD, Calif. – As the PBR (Professional Bull Riders) Pendleton Whisky Velocity Tour (PWVT) one-night event in Bakersfield, California concluded on Saturday, Jadon Hayes (Abilene, Texas) secured the first event win of his career in the final moments.

In Round 1 the 21-year-old was paired with Zoot Suit, rocketing from the chutes to take his place at No. 3 on the leaderboard after earning 85.4 points.

Hayes needed a qualified ride in the championship round in order to pull out the momentous first win of his PBR career. Paired with July, as Bakersfield fans buzzed with anticipation, his ride was picture-perfect. Turning in 88.1 points, Hayes sailed to the top of the leaderboard with only one rider remaining to confirm his destiny.

Despite his best efforts to catapult in front of Hayes and take the win inside of Dignity Health Center, Braidy Randolph(Stephenville, Texas) faltered in the last ride of the night – confirming the win for Hayes.

For his 2-for-2 weekend, Hayes netted 115 Velocity Global points and moved to No. 67 in the Velocity standings.

Velocity Global points contribute to the Velocity Global Standings and determine which new riders are added to the elite Unleash The Beast throughout the season. The Top 3 Velocity Global riders who have not already qualified are also invited to the PBR World Finals in May.

Local cowboy Eric Novoa (Vacaville, California) claimed second place for the weekend after also going 2-for-2.

The 20-year-old California man first put himself on the leaderboard in the opening round after securing fourth place in Round 1 with an 84.4-point ride aboard I’m With It.

Entering Saturday night’s final round aboard Johnny Dang, he burst from the chutes in complete control for an 88.8-point score, temporarily taking the lead until Hayes’ win confirmed his second-place finish.

For his efforts, Novoa collected 94 Velocity Global points and is now the No. 20 man in the Velocity standings.

Randolph, who rides for the Texas Rattlers in the separate PBR Teams league, captured third place in Bakersfield.

After conquering his Round 1 matchup against Brown Sugar, turning in an 87.7-point ride, Randolph secured his spot at the top of the leaderboard heading into the championship round.

Despite the upset in the final ride as Apple Juicing tossed him down at 6.72 seconds, his 1-for-2 finish earned 64 Velocity Global points and he now sits at No. 38 in the standings.

Texan Kaleb Lewis (Kaufman, Texas) finished fourth for the weekend.

In the opening round on Saturday evening, he was paired with Sheep Creek, where he made the 8, with an 86.1-point score, and a second-place finish in the round.

Setting his sights towards the final round, he geared up for his match with Jason, only to hit the ground after a mere 2.93 seconds.

Now sitting at No. 47 in the standings, Lewis collected 39 Velocity Global points for his efforts in Bakersfield.

Rounding out the Top 5 at Dignity Health Arena was Dener Barbosa (Paulo de Faria, Brazil), who rides for the Austin Gamblers during the separate Team season.

Barbosa was paired with Nitro as the night began. As fans cheered, he made quick work of his bovine partner scoring 82.4 points.

The 31-year-old veteran was then paired with Smoke Screen in the championship round. Despite his best efforts to stay seated on the twisting animal athlete, he came down early – hitting the dirt after 4.94 seconds.

For his weekend in California, Barbosa earned 32 Velocity Global points and now sits at No. 5 in the tour standings.

The talented bull riders of the PWVT will next head to Palm Desert, California for the Boot Barn PBR Greater Palm Springs at Acrisure Arena March 20-21.

PBR Bakersfield

Dignity Health Arena – Bakersfield, California

Event Leaders (Round 1-Round 2-Round 3-Event Aggregate-Event Points)

1. Jadon Hayes, 85.4-88.1-173.50-115 Points.

2. Eric Novoa, 84.4-88.8-173.20-94 Points.

3. Braidy Randolph, 87.7-0-87.70-64 Points.

4. Kaleb Lewis, 86.1-0-86.10-39 Points.

5. Dener Barbosa, 82.4-0-82.40-32 Points.

6. Dakota Johnson, 80.5-0-80.50-26 Points.

7. Aaron Williams  [1], 73.2-0-73.20-18 Points.

8. Justice Forsythe, 64.9-0-64.90-9 Points.

Jaxton Mortensen, 0-0-0.00

Zane Cook, 0-0-0.00

Romario Leite, 0-0-0.00

Wyatt Vineyard, 0-0-0.00

Aaron Williams  [2], 0-0-0.00

Vitor Losnake, 0-0-0.00

João Ricardo Vieira, 0-0-0.00

Jairo Castellanos, 0-0-0.00

Jacob Carige, 0-0-0.00

Hunter Maxwell, 0-0-0.00

Jace Catlin, 0-0-0.00

Hudson Frey, 0-0-0.00

Ray Mayo, 0-0-0.00

Andy Valdez, 0-0-0.00

Kelsey Pavlou, 0-0-0.00

Luis Tinoco, 0-0-0.00

Tyler Villarreal, 0-0-0.00

Garet Holden, 0-0-0.00

Jose Natanael Marcodes da Silva, 0-0-0.00

Anden Ajlouni, 0-0-0.00

Damien Krushall, 0-0-0.00

Gavin Matthews, 0-0-0.00

John Davis, 0-0-0.00

Kingston Herrero, 0-0-0.00

Emiliano Garcia, 0-0-0.00

Finn Cosgrove, 0-0-0.00

Macoy Attebury, 0-0-0.00

Photo courtesy of Bull Stock Media