FORT WORTH, Texas – If you ask Felipe Furlan which bull riders he looks up to, his answer is Joao Ricardo Vieira.
The 23-year-old counts the 40-year-old as one of his greatest inspirations for not just his legendary career but for his legendary work ethic.
“He was an inspiration for me because he’s one of the older guys here and he’s probably the one that works harder,” Furlan said with Bruno Zecchin translating. “When I have the opportunity to talk to him, he always says, ‘The one that wins is the one that persists.’ I took it for me. I wasn’t riding good, but I kept thinking about what JRV told me, to persist, and I kept going.”
Persistence was the name of the game for Furlan in 2025.
It's been a slog of a season at times for Furlan, who finished the regular season ranked No. 3 in the Unleash The Beast standings and went 19-for-46 (41%). He finished second in Pittsburgh in late January and third in Milwaukee in March, but struggled to place in the last month of the season.
Furlan headed into the 2025 PBR World Finals: Unleash The Beast – Eliminations knowing he needed to ride to keep his season alive.
However, he went 0-for-4 and was relegated to Ride For Redemption where everything was, truly, on the line. The Top 5 in the aggregate after the two rounds on Thursday night would advance to the Championship in AT&T Stadium on May 17-18. For the rest, the season is over.
Furlan bucked off Woody in 2.33 seconds in Round 1, but in Round 2, he rebounded to ride Bad Bob for 87.75 points.
It was good for third place in the aggregate and a spot in AT&T Stadium. Action kicks off on Saturday, May 17, with Rounds 1 & 2 at 8:45 p.m. ET on RidePass, the PBR app, YouTube, X and Facebook, and 9 p.m. ET on the Cowboy Channel.
“I’m so happy,” Furlan said with a laugh. “I’m so happy because I was not in a good standings, but I came tonight. I wasn’t able to ride my first bull, but God gave me the opportunity to ride my second bull, and I did it, and I’m very blessed and happy to have the opportunity to go to AT&T Stadium.”
It was a lot of pressure knowing his whole season came down to one bull, but he kept things as simple as possible when it mattered most.
“I put all my faith in God because I wanted this opportunity, I asked him for this opportunity, and when I was going to ride my second bull, I did not remember what happened with the first one,” Furlan said. “I just focused on the second one and was able to ride.”
This will be Furlan’s first appearance at the Championship stage of the World Finals. He made his debut on bull riding’s biggest stage in 2024 but failed to advance out of Ride For Redemption.
Furlan made his U.S. debut at the PBR Teams season-opener in 2023, riding for the Missouri Thunder, and has been studying English ever since.
“I study, but I forget words every time,” he said, laughing, without the help of a translator. “I need more talk with American guys. I need train more.”
His English class is once a week for two hours, and he goes over his notes for the rest of the week.
Clearly, Furlan anticipates being in the U.S. for quite some time. Making it to the Championship – his first official World Finals qualification – is a solid step towards building a long-lasting career in the PBR.
Perhaps no one has been better at being long-lasting than Vieira, who’s competed at 12 PBR World Finals and won Rookie of the Year honors in 2013 at age 28.
Vieira had a down season in 2025, slotting in behind Furlan at No. 31 in the world. He too competed at Ride For Redemption, converting aboard Wild Card for 83.25 points.
The ride that propelled Furlan into the Top 5 in the aggregate was the ride that bumped Vieira out of it, ending his bid for a 13th World Finals qualification.
“It was bittersweet,” Furlan said. “I was happy to get in, and sad for him to get out. But he knows how it works, and he’s still my inspiration.”
Photo courtesy of Bull Stock Media