GRAND RAPIDS, MI — The 2026 Pendleton Whisky Velocity Tour stop in Grand Rapids did more than crown a first-time winner Saturday night at Van Andel Arena. It provided fans a understanding of where the next generation of Professional Bull Riders is headed — young, aggressive, and increasingly comfortable under pressure.
Elijah Jennings, just 18 years old, delivered the breakthrough performance of his young career, riding two of his three bulls on Saturday to secure his first Velocity Tour event win during Cooper Tires PBR Grand Rapids. His 173.40-point aggregate was enough to edge a tight leaderboard and cap a weekend that saw multiple teenagers challenge some well established names for position.
Jennings entered Saturday needing a 8-second ride after being bucked off on Friday night and he delivered when the pressure was on. He opened the evening with a solid 85.80-point ride aboard Ferracci in the second round, staying composed through a trip that had ended his night 24 hours earlier. That ride put him back in contention, but the event buckle was still very much up for grabs heading into the Championship Round.
By the time Jennings nodded his head in the chute while on Catching Gears, Cole Trivette had already laid down the marker. Trivette followed up an 81.60-point ride on Ferracci Friday night with the best score of the Championship Round, an 87.90 aboard Socks In A Box, pushing his event total to 169.50 points. For several pressure filled minutes, it looked like that would be enough to hold off the field.
Jennings had other plans. His 87.60-point ride on Catching Gears was controlled and efficient, matching the bull’s intensity without chasing it. When the score flashed, it was enough — 173.40 points overall, vaulting him past Trivette and sealing the first event win of his PBR career.
Trivette settled for second, but his weekend reinforced his growing consistency. Two quality rides across the event kept him in the hunt until the final out and earned him 93 Velocity Tour points, an important haul as the season tightens.
Tahj Wells was one of the most intriguing storylines of the weekend, competing with two entries and finishing tied for third with himself at 166.20 points. The 19-year-old from Browning, Montana showed balance and adaptability across four rides, starting with an 82.70-point effort on All Sudden Friday night and closing his first entry with an 83.50 aboard Infection in the Championship Round.
Wells’ second entry proved just as strong. He posted 82.20 points on Angel’s Envy on Friday, followed by an 84-point ride on Southern Bend in the second round, briefly setting the pace before the Championship Round reshuffled the standings. The double-entry effort highlighted both his endurance and his growing maturity inside the chutes.
Another 18-year-old, Brody Robinson, continued his upward trajectory with a fifth-place finish. His 86.90-point ride on Organized Chaos in the second round was the highest score of that round and the third-highest of the entire weekend. While Robinson wasn’t able to convert it into a Championship Round score, the ride itself underscored why he remains one of the most closely watched young riders on tour.
Beyond the top five, the Grand Rapids event featured flashes of greatness throughout the field. Elijah Jennings’ first entry earned 40 points with an 85.10-point ride Friday night, while Melvin Byler and Marcus Mast both posted solid single-ride scores that kept them in the mix early. Ezekiel Mitchell added two qualifying rides across his entries, continuing a steady season that also has him climbing the standings.
What separated the podium finishers from the rest was what matters most, consistency. Grand Rapids Van Andel Arena rewarded riders who stayed patient through transitions and resisted the urge to overcorrect, a theme that played out across all three rounds. Several competitors were one clean out away from changing the final order, but the margins at this level remain unforgiving.
The result in Grand Rapids also carried implications beyond a single weekend. With his win, Jennings climbed to seventh in the Pendleton Whisky Velocity Tour standings, now sitting at 251.00 points. While Kase Hitt continues to lead the tour with 348.50 points, the middle of the standings remains tightly packed and performances like Jennings’ can quickly shift momentum as the season progresses.
Brody Robinson now sits 17th overall, while Wells’ double-entry effort helped stabilize his position inside the top 30. For riders still chasing qualification security, every clean ride is becoming increasingly valuable as the tour approaches its midpoint.
Next week, the Velocity Tour splits into two directions, with events scheduled for Greenville, South Carolina, and Nampa, Idaho, on January 30–31. The Grand Rapids stop served as a reminder that the tour’s depth runs deep — and that the next first-time winner may already be waiting in line behind the chutes.
For Elijah Jennings, that wait is over. In Grand Rapids, under the lights of Van Andel Arena, he announced himself not as a future contender, but as a present one.
Cooper Tires PBR Grand Rapids Gallery ©John Swider
Pendleton Whisky Velocity Tour – Cooper Tires PBR Grand Rapids Van Andel Arena – Grand Rapids, Michigan Event Leaders (Round 1-Round 2-Round 3-Event Aggregate-Event Points)
1. Elijah Jennings [2], 0-85.8-87.6-173.40-116 Points.
2. Cole Trivette, 81.6-0-87.9-169.50-93 Points.
3. Tahj Wells [1], 82.7-0-83.5-166.20-62.5 Points.
(tie). Tahj Wells [2], 82.2-84-0-166.20-60.5 Points.
5. Brody Robinson [2], 0-86.9-0-86.90-45 Points.
6. Elijah Jennings [1], 85.1-0-0-85.10-40 Points.
7. Melvin Byler [2], 84.8-0-0-84.80-24 Points.
8. Marcus Mast, 0-84.6-0-84.60-22 Points.
9. Ezekiel Mitchell [2], 80.6-0-0-80.60-18 Points.
10. Ezekiel Mitchell [1], 79.5-0-0-79.50-7 Points.