Arizona Ridge Riders Take the Lead on Wildcatter Days Opening Night

The 2026 PBR Teams season is in full swing, kicking off its second event of the season with a bang. With 10 teams and 5 games, opening night of the Wildcatter Days was non-stop excitement and full of major moments. After such a great nigh of competition, the stage is set for Night 2 to be a close competition.

The night kicked off with one of the closest competitions of the season. Paulo Eduardo Rossetto opened the event strongly with a 91-point ride on Tigger, giving the Missouri Thunder an early lead. Felipe Furlan was the next rider to get a qualified ride, earning the Thunder another 89.95 points. Missouri had its sights set on the game win, never quitting early.

Maverick Smith was a standout rider from this game because of his resolve to not tap out early. Although he did not get a qualified ride, he stayed on and spun his bull even after his hand had slipped out of the bull rope. However, the New York Mavericks also had their sights on the event win and weren’t going to let Missouri win that easily. They answered back with an 89.3-point ride from Mauricio Gulla Moreira.

The Mavericks closed out game 1 with a re-ride for João Henrique Lucas, a ride that earned another 88.85 points. At the end of the night, the Missouri Thunder claimed the win.

Game 2 was a rare type of game that was almost a compete shutout from the bulls. Both teams were unable to compete ride after ride, and the teams had almost given up hope of putting any points on the board. It wasn’t until the final out of the game, a reride, that the Carolina Cowboys were able to get points on the board. Thiago Salgado had a great ride on Dirty Honey, earning 89.05 points. As the only ride of the game, the Carolina Cowboys walked out with a secure win to set them ahead going into night 2.

Florida Freedom brought their best to the dirt for night one, sweeping the win 179.4 to 89.15. Game 3 started off on slow with the first three riders unable to spur their bulls. All that changed when Alex Cerqueira came out of the chutes ready to ride with a monster 88.95-point ride. The last two qualified rides of the game were from rerides, one per team. The Kansas City Outlaws were able to end the night with some points on the board thanks to Eric Henrique Domingos’s impressive 89.15-point ride on Milestone, putting them temporarily I the lead. The third and final ride of the night came from Ethan Winkler for Florida Freedom, who was able to secure a massive 90.45-point ride on Lights Out, a bull not typically seen in the reride pen. Overall, Game 3 was a close competition, but ultimately, Florida Freedom was able to sweep the win thanks to Winkler’s high-scoring second ride.

The Arizona Ridge Riders have been dominating their games in the 2026 season so far. Still the only team of the season to secure four qualified rides in a single game, which they accomplished on the 2026 season opening night. This trend continued into the opening night of Wildcatter days as they became the only team to secure three rides in their game. The Austin Gamblers started the game off string with an 87.35-point ride from Jose Vitor Leme. However, their lead didn’t last long when the Arizona Ridge Riders answered with three back-to-back rides totaling 261.70 points; the highest scoring game of the event. The Ridge Riders move forward into night 2 of the event with their second game win of the season, spirits high.

Riding on their home dirt, the Oklahoma Wildcatters hoped to close out the night with a hometown win. Sadly, this dream was not a reality on night 1 of the event, as the Nashville Stampede secured two qualified rides, while the host team secured only one. Nashville Stampede secured two 88+ point rides totaling 176.90 points to win the game. While the Wildcatters only had one qualified ride, they made sure to make it count. Kaiden Loud was the Wildcatter to spur his bull, earning 91.20 points. This was the highest-scoring ride of the night, a welcome celebration on his team’s home dirt.

Overall, the Wildcatter Days kicked off the three-day event strong with 5 games of non-stop excitement. PBR teams truly shed a new light on rough stock sports, showing the value and opportunity in teamwork. As the 2026 season continues, fans are sure to see countless exciting moments. At this point in the season, there is no clear front-runner for the Teams Championship, but time will surely produce a likely leader in the weeks to come.