FORT WORTH, Texas — The best bull riders in the world converged on Fort Worth over the weekend for the elimination rounds of the Professional Bull Riders World Finals.
And two North Texas teenagers stole the show at the Cowtown Coliseum.
John Crimber, an 18-year-old from Decatur, and Kaiden Loud, a 19-year-old from Kaufman both scored round wins, and Loud won the four-day event.
Crimber tied for the lead on both Saturday and Sunday and pocketed $127,833.33 across four days of competition.
Crimber's strong weekend inched him closer in the PBR world standings to leader Cassio Dias, who missed Sunday's action after getting injured Saturday night. Crimber still sits at No. 2 behind Dias, but he shortened the gap from 560.5 points to 487.5 points heading into this weekend's final rounds at AT&T Stadium.
If Crimber can overtake Dias at Jerry World, he would be the youngest PBR world champion in history.
The most consistent performance of the early rounds in Fort Worth came from Loud.
Loud won Round 2 on Friday and was the only rider in the competition to go 3-for-4, holding on for eight seconds on Black Betty on Thursday, Doze You Down on Friday and Renegade on Saturday. His 91.75-point ride on Black Betty earned him the Round 2 victory. In all, Loud collected $219,833.33 from his four-day run in the Fort Worth Stockyards.
Loud and Crimber were two of 15 riders who clinched their spot in the final rounds of the World Finals at AT&T Stadium in Arlington this weekend, May 18-19.
In the meantime, the PBR's Ride for Redemption event at the Cowtown Coliseum on Wednesday and Thursday, May 15-16, will give 40 additional riders a shot at the final five remaining spots for the final rounds this weekend.