SUNRISE — South Florida got its last taste of rodeo for the weekend as professional bull riding wrapped its stint at Amerant Bank Arena on Sunday afternoon.
The PBR event was once again headlined by the home team, the Florida Freedom, who had yet to drop a game in front of the South Florida crowd through two days of competition.
“That’s what we ride for, our home team and our home crowd,” the Freedom’s Austin Richardson said after Sunday’s game.
The Freedom — led by coach Paulo Crimber — hunted for their third win of the homestand, facing the Carolina Cowboys, who were 1-1 so far. However, a weekend sweep was not in the cards for the No. 2 Freedom (5-3), and they were upset by the No. 5 Cowboys (5-3) 263.85-89.50 Sunday night to wrap the weekend competition in South Florida.
Things were coming up Carolina from the opening ride. Thiago Salgado was in the leadoff spot for Carolina on Bullistic, searching for his second qualified ride of the weekend. And he got it, posting an 88.35 and giving his team an early advantage.
Bruno Carvalho of Florida Freedom rides Husky during a Professional Bull Riding event at Amerant Bank Arena on Sunday, Aug. 9, 2026. (Jim Rassol/Contributor)
After his heroics Saturday night, putting up the team’s sole qualified ride, Richardson looked to even the score for Florida on Big Spit.
“Just to be able to cover for the team, I mean, that’s exciting,” Richardson said about Saturday’s ride.
However, his ride Sunday came to a quick end after 2.59 seconds, and he opened the door for Carolina’s Guilherme Valleiras to widen the gap on Enter Sandman, but after his attempt resulted in a re-ride, the opportunity to flip the script came back to the Freedom.
Vinicius Rodrigues Pereira struggled on High Road, though, sending it back to the Cowboys with his team still scoreless. But still, Carolina was not able to put Florida fully in the rear view, with youngster Clay Guiton not making it to the 8-second buzzer on Down Payment.
Florida’s Boudreaux Campbell met a similar fate on Crazy Party, though, and the Freedom were now in a precarious spot. Adriano Salgado was coming in looking to cap off his successful weekend with his third qualified ride on Louisville Slugger. And he did just that, posting an 87.55 that put pressure on the Freedom.
Valleiras’ re-ride was up next, and a qualified ride for him meant a loss for the home team, with just two riders left and too much ground to make up for Florida. The Cowboy backed up his teammate’s successful ride, putting up an 87.95 that sealed the Freedom’s fate and lifted Carolina to victory.
The night was not without bright spots for the Florida crew, though. With the Freedom’s premier rider John Crimber out of the lineup, Bruno Carvalho came in to close for the home team on Husky, and he gave the Florida crowd the qualified ride they were hoping to see with an 89.50.
Despite the loss to end the weekend, a 2-1 outing for crew still has them set up for success heading into the rest of their season.
“It gives me all the confidence in the world,” Richardson said. “I was planning on coming here three-for-three, but then, a few hiccups, but having those two build our confidence going into next weekend.”
The Freedom were not the only crew to leave Amerant Bank Arena with a tough loss on the final day of competition. To open the night, the Texas Rattlers battled the Arizona Ridge Riders looking for their first win of the weekend, while Arizona had its eyes on a sweep. And it was the Ridge Riders who got what they came for, securing the first win of the day, 173.15-90.20. In Game 2, the Missouri Thunder met a similar fate as the Rattlers, losing their third game of the weekend to the Kansas City Outlaws 266.90-179.00.
The New York Mavericks — who Florida topped Saturday night — danced with the Nashville Stampede in the third game of the afternoon.
The No. 1 Stampede dominated for the third time this weekend, clinching a 356.30-89.55 win behind an impressive four qualified rides, including one from Rogério Venâncio, who briefly moved to the top of the MVP standings with his ride.
Then, preceding the highly anticipated Freedom, the Austin Gamblers took on the Oklahoma Wildcatters, and the team in green put on a show. The Gamblers racked up 350.45 points on four qualified rides, sending them into next weekend’s competition in Nashville with plenty of momentum.