As of 2017, the youngest competitor to ever win RFD-TV’s The American, presented by Dish was the very first winner of the event. Richmond Champion took home the bareback title and full $1 million bonus in 2014 at the age of 21. 

After becoming the youngest competitor to ever win the PBR World Finals in the fall of last year, Jess Lockwood now has the opportunity to become the youngest competitor to win The American at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas. At just 20 years old, Lockwood has the opportunity to unseat Champion, who has held the mark since the event’s inaugural year.

Watch The American LIVE Feb. 18-25 FloRodeo. 

Even after suffering injuries throughout the 2017 season — including four broken ribs, a punctured lung, and a lacerated kidney — Lockwood was able to battle through to take home the highest honor offered in the PBR, and the association's $1 million bonus. 

“The money is icing on the cake, but money doesn’t mean much and it goes away,” Lockwood said to PBR’s Kacie Albert shortly after winning the title. “The championship buckle will be with me forever.”

Lockwood also added his name to the PBR record books next to fellow competitor and 2015 champion of The American, Silvano Alves. The two now hold the record as the only competitors to earn world championships just one year after winning the title of rookie of the year. 

Now, the young bull rider has received yet another injury and is sitting out his next PBR event, the Caterpillar Classic February 10 and 11, and may not be returning until the WinStar World Resort and Casino Iron Cowboy just one day before he’s slated the compete at The American.

“Tandy (Freeman) said (I have) small tears,sprained both MCL’s I believe,” Lockwood told PBR’s Justin Felisko. “They feel really awesome, but I want to have them 100 percent rather than try to show how tough I can be and ride with them messed up and hurt myself even more.”

I wonder what it’s like to be the person that’s not always injured during the @PBR season, maybe one year i can find out ??

— Jess Lockwood (@jesslockwood2) February 4, 2018

The American has seen many “young gun” competitors win the event throughout the years, including 2015 bareback and $500,000 bonus winner Taylor Price, who was just 22 when he took home his share of the $1 million bonus. Then Hailey Kinsel, Sage Kimzey, and Marty Yates all won the event just last year in the barrel racing, bull riding, and tie-down roping, respectively, also at the age of 22. 

Bull riding qualifiers will make their way through the semifinals with the top competitors joining Lockwood and the other invites from the PBR — along with Sage Kimzey from the PRCA — in the finals. So for now, Volberg, Montana's Jess Lockwood will have to wait to see if he can recover from his injury and attempt to raise the bar set by Richmond Champion in 2014.