Gavin Michel Wins Big in Round 1 of the Third Bracket at the Fort Worth Stock Show & Rodeo

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Gavin Michel wowed the crowd in his first performance at the Fort Worth Stock Show & Rodeo last night, scoring 82 points on Rafter G Rodeo’s High Voltage and proving to be the only bull rider of the night who could last eight seconds. Being the only qualified ride, he pocketed not only the first place but all of the night’s bull riding prize money for a total of $4,400.

While Michel and the other seven riders in Bracket 3 of the ProRodeo tournament will be back again tonight to face Rafter G’s rank competitors, the 22-year-old cowboy from Sulphur Springs, Texas, is now a virtual lock to be one of the two bull riders from his bracket moving on to the semifinals. With only another $4,400 left to be won during performance two tonight, no other bull rider in this set will be able to win more than Michel’s already earned.

“It’s very exciting,” he said of knowing he will ride in a semifinal. “I came to ride a bull and do my job.”

For him, the job doesn’t involve doing much research. “I usually don’t look my bulls up,” he says. “I expect to ride through whatever moves they make.”

Watch Bracket 3’s second performances LIVE tonight on The Cowboy Channel starting at 8:30PM EST.