The Race is Heating Up

The race for the world champion buckle continues this weekend in Tacoma, WA. The top 40 riders in the world will square off again with the west coasts baddest bulls, as well as a few top buckers from the north side of the border.

Top rider and fan loved Kody Lostroh has the young bull Crystal Ball from Don Kish Bucking Bulls. Ridden 75.0% of the time he is a mid 80's score for those that ride him, which Kody should have no difficulties doing.

Number 2 rider JB Mauney has got Bam Bam out of the Get A Grip bucking pens. A brand new bull, Mauney will probably have little difficulty with him. However, something in this bull's past was good enough for Lambert to bring him in, so maybe he will show us something extra.

Then there is the man who if Lostroh and Mauney don't watch their behinds is going to swoop in and take over the lead, Wiley Peterson. Peterson is on a streak riding 10 consecutive bulls. He's got the new bull Shotgun Willie from fellow bull riding superstar Ross Coleman. With a good showing this weekend, Peterson could easily pass Mauney and take over the number two position as he sits only about 40 points behind the young Carolina man.

A little further back in fourth right now is our 2008 World Champion Guilherme Marchi. Marchi will square off with the Corey and Horst Rodeo Company's star Due North. Ridden his last four outs, this bull generally helps provide scores in the low to mid 80's. With bull scores hovering around the 41.00 mark it is unlikely this will be a go round winner, but a ride on him could put Marchi in position for the event title.

Getting away from the top 4 guys, Cody Ford, who got banged around a few weeks ago, has Jack Be Nimble, another new bull from Chumley Cattle Company. Ford is ridding very well lately, so hopefully he can get a score and put himself in position for his second win of the season.

Also a welcome back this weekend to Brian Canter who has been out injured for quite some time. He is going to get aboard the Don Kish bull Splatter. Around since the 2005 season, he is a solid mid 80's bull, so with judge scores the way they have been lately this could provide Canter a top 5 score. However, he is likely to be a little rusty from having to sit out for so many weekends, so this is going to be a wait and see ride.

That's all I have time for right now. Head on over to the PBR's website to check out the rest of the match ups.

On a side note, my sympathies go out to the Hart family in the loss of their mother.

Also, a Happy Birthday to my younger brother who is 19 today.

World Champion Performance

Guilherme Marchi has been having a good season. However, when one compares it to his previous performances, in the years he finished second, and his last season race to the title, he is doing below par. Marchi is still riding over 60% of his total bulls this season, but up until last night he hadn't put up an event win. Last year he put up 5 total wins en route to the World Finals. This weekend in Kansas City he showed everyone he is still the rider he was. Round one found him putting up a third place score of 87.50 on Diamond S Bucking Bulls Velvet Elvis. That ride alone would have gotten him into the short go, but he put up a second place score on Stiffler from Boyd/Floyd Bull Company of 89.50. He had just faced this bull in St Louis for a buck off, so it is nice to see him even the score. Those two scores put him in perfect position to pick in the short go, where he selected another Diamond S bull Big Iron. He had also faced this bull during the last few weeks, taking him on in Oklahoma City for a 91.50. This weekend his 90.00 was enough to push him into first ahead of Oregon's Ross Coleman, and with the win Marchi is now sitting third in the world.

Coleman is currently ranked 9th in the world. His first round bull Eeyore (DD Dibbet Rodeo Bulls) got him an 86.25 and eighth place finish Saturday night. Then Splat Kat, from Danny Lemmons, gave him a sweet trip for 87.25 and sixth. Coleman picked Pearl Snap (Boyd/Floyd) for his short go bull. The 89.50 score that got him into second place ahead of another Brazilian, Robson Palermo.

Palermo is a phenomenal rider. He's covering nearly 60% of his bulls. This weekend he covered Buffalo Hump (Herbert Bucking Bulls/ Barry and Aliceson Bales), Rocket Launcher (Diamond S), and Hot Stuff (D&H Cattle Company). He's now sitting sixth in the world.

Then there were the bumps, bruises, and broken bones that plauged many of the top riders.

Young gun Cody Ford got into trouble after covering the bull Monkey Bones (H&D Bucking Bulls). His head and shoulder got stomped on. He suffered from lacerations and a concussion, but chose to ride again on Sunday anyways. He was obviously sore and stiff, but is hopefully not suffering any other issues.

The Mighty One Mike White also got slammed in the first go round. As a result of the plethora of concussions he has suffered in recent years, he chose to sit out the rest of the weekend.

Hot shot and controversial rider (at least this year) Kasey Hayes suffered a probably ankle fracture on his first round bull and is out for an indetermined lenghth of time if that is the case.

Luke Snyder, the man who took over the most events ridden in streak for JW Hart last year may be facing the end of that streak. He has suffered some shoulder injury that resulted in torn cartilage and may have to sit out next weekend as a result.

Ednei Caminhas is likely out anyways because of where he is in the standings. However he too was knocked out this weekend in the second go round and had to be helped from the arena.

Sean Willingham has suffered a possible leg fracture after getting stomped on in the short go this weekend. He is unlikely to compete in Birmingham but that is yet to be determined.

In other news, Cord McCoy is likely to be cut from tour. He picked up a much needed ride in the first go round. And then had to face off with a bull that he has never been successful with in the second round. Once again Blizzard was able to ditch McCoy in a very short time. While I am extremely sad to see him cut, I hope he will come ride in Glens Falls. That is the ONLY way I could possibly be accepting of his not being on tour. He is such a treasure to the PBR fans and family that his absence from competition will be felt across the board.

McCoy Has To Win

If he wants to remain on tour. Cord McCoy started the season out strong. Unfortunately the last five weeks have been rough on the Oklahoma native. He suffered broken ribs after a bizarre ride in the first go round of the Oklahoma City event. And since then he has continued to struggle to stay aboard. If he doesn't win this weekend, he will be cut from the tour. Personally I am REALLY hoping he puts up a win! If he gets cut he is going to be greatly missed. He is one of the most popular riders on the tour. His first draw for this weekend is Bo Jammin' from D&H Cattle and Jason Aduddell. This is a brand new four year old bull, so who knows what is going to happen.

Brazil's Endei Caminhas also has to have a top five weekend if he wants to continue to ride. He won the OKC Event but it isn't enough to keep him from danger, as he chose not to ride in Glendell Arizona he lost his grace event. He wanted to ride in St. Louis last weekend, but the PBR told him no but that his make up event would be Kansas City. He's got the bull Habanero from Michael and Patti Mace, yet another brand new bull.

Then there are the guys like Kody Lostroh, JB Mauney, and Zack Brown, that are safe and sound baring injuries at the top of the standings.

JB has the bull from Bryan Smith, Neon Ghost. Neon Ghost bucked off Brendon Clark last year in Kansas City in just over 5 seconds. Brendon was having a rough season at that point, and JB is having one of the best in his career. I'd say easy score here for Mauney. But he did have a horrible event last weekend. We'll have to wait and see how this plays out.

Brown has Alex Hou from Shane Davis and Jim Davis. Alex Hou was ridden by Mike Lee last year for an 86.00. I'd look for Brown to ride this bull, and possibly put a slightly higher score than Lee's up. Brown loves to spur, and the judges have been giving points for that all season.

Kody is going to take on Range War from Brent Bullard. Unridden by Matt Bohon in Oklahoma City, this bull has a 44.25 score. Kody is an extraordinary rider, so my money is on Kody.

Then there are some other favorites of various people. The Mighty One Mike White is taking on Bomb Saddam from Dobbins/McFarlin/ Burgess. (Side Note I love this bulls name). Bomb Saddam bucked off Leonil Santos in OKC but only had a bull score of 41.75. With a score that low, Mike should have no trouble with him.

And finally, the man who has taken over the longest event competition run from the Iron Man JW Hart, Luke Snyder will take on Good Time Charley from D&H Cattle, Bucks and Watts. Good Time Charley has been covered by Aaron Roy for 87.50. Luke is riding pretty well right now. So this could be a good out for him, but if he wants a win he will need to be at the top of his game. He's sitting in 20th right now so he isn't in any danger of being cut, but with the 40 man instead of 45 roster, he can't afford to get down much further if he wants to keep his event streak going.

On another note, the tickets for the Glens Falls Enterprise Event May 1-2 are on sale now. Go to Ticketmaster if that is something you want to attend.

Lostroh Picks Up Second Win of the Season, Moves Back up into Second in the World

California is good to Colorado's Kody Lostroh. First he won in Fresno, when he covered Troubador for the so far highest marked ride of the season. Then, last night, he won Anaheim. This time by covering a bull named Beer Goggles, yes that is what I said, Beer Goggles. His owners at Don Kish Bucking Bulls are apparently Neil McCoy fans. Kody also covered Wrangler Big Rig and Encore. His combined three bull total put him in just a point and a quarter ahead of Australia's Brendon Clark.

Clark is having one of his better seasons in my opinion. He seems to be staying healthier, and be riding more consistently than the last couple years. Right now he is sitting 18th in the world standings. In Anaheim's short go he picked Berger & Struve's bull Say I Won't Gunner which gave him a 90.25 score and third in the go round. This is an awesome young bull who, while he gets ridden relatively often, has a bull rating of just barely less than 45.00. Put together that 90.25 with his round one score of 86.25 on The Captain (Jeff Robinson Bucking Bulls) and round two score of 86.50 on EBOE (Sis and Stan's Bucking Bulls) and he slid in ahead of Oklahoma's own Austin Meir.

The current world number three chose the Don Kish bull Scoundrel for his short go match up. Riden often Scoundrel's bull rating is just over 43. They came together for an 88.25, but it was enough with the 87.00 aboard Smokey (Diamond G) and his 80.25 aboard Big Rig (Flying Rafter Z Rodeo) to get him in ahead of the only other man to ride three, Canada's Aaron Roy.

Roy had a rough weeekend score wise. His first round draw, Hard Tough (Big Bend, Flying 5 Rodeo), only got him a 77.50, and his second draw Dirty Deal (Don Kish) was an 83.75. Then there was his short go bull, War Zone (Corey and Horst), who while not a bad bull by any means, was not the best one in the pen either. That ride was only worth a 86.75. But still three scores is better than two.

Rounding out the top five was the Rookie of the Year contender Skeeter Kingsolver. He bucked off his bull, Bring It (Flying U Cindy Rosser), but went on to ride Wolf Tickets (Don Kish) in the second round for a tie for 2-4(87.75) which was enough to get him back for the short go. Where he selected the fantastic, rarely ridden All In (Berger/Naccarato/Struve). This bull dusted Guilherme Marchi last year, and has in previous seasons dusted other top riders more than once. For a young guy like Kingsolver still so new to the BFTS to cover him for a go round win is phenomenal in my opinion and shows us what this young gun will be capable of once he really settles in and gets comfortable.

Tampa Thursday

Let's head to Tampa, where I have a report that it isn't as warm as would be appreciated, and the Tampa Invitational. A one day event, it will be followed by a two day competition in Tallahassee, the Troy-Built Invitational.

For the first weekend, we are going to see a lot of newer bulls, as well some of the well known boys. To start off our winner from last weekend in Winston Salem North Carolina JB Mauney will take on Leprechaun from Fronteir/Teague Bucking Bulls. Leprechaun is getting ridden a lot, but I don't think this will be a go round winner for Mauney. Though it should get him a solid 5-6 place showing.

One match up I am really looking forward to is LJ Jenkins on Booger Butt. Booger Butt is an awesome awesome bull. LJ is a great bull rider. LJ was cut but got back as an alternate. He is going to need to make some big rides to get back on tour. And this could be the bull to do it with. Booger Butt is often a short go bull, so for a rider to have a chance at him in the long round, is a chance that LJ can't afford to let get away from him.

Then there is the Mighty Man Mike White. Who is going to have to get past Cooper, then again, Cooper is getting ridden a LOT this year. White is doing pretty good this year, covering over 40% of his bulls. With how Cooper has been bucking lately, I'd look at this as a probable easy out for White. But eh I was wrong a lot last time around...

Colorado man Kody Lostroh has Super Deuce, who we haven't seen since last season. He was ridden one out of 3 trips, for an even 85 score. Kody is apparently recovering from a bout with the flu, so I am not even going to hazzard a guess on this out. If Kody is feeling better, he should be okay, but if he is still sick and weak, well...

Last weekends number two man, Ryan McConnel, has the new bull Walk My Way. With a new bull it is hard to make a guess what the outcome will be. But Ryan is riding great. SO I think I will go with him on this match. Total side note, but is Walk My Way a son of Walk This Way? Or otherwise related?

My last match up to mention for this week is Skeeter Kingsolver on Hot Wire...yet another new bull. But I felt I had to mention this phenomenal kid, because he is a true pleasure to watch.

JB Mauney Wins in Winston-Salem NC

The title for the Copenhagen Bull Riding Invitational went to North Carolina's shining star JB Mauney. He beat out 2 time World Champion Chris Shivers by a mere quarter of a point to claim the title, his second of the season. He's proving just how world champion title hungry he is, having ridden over 80% of his bulls so far. Mauney covered the unridden Deja Blu in the short go for 91.00, a tie score with Shivers who chose California Dreaming. Be sure to tune in in 2 weeks to see Mauney take on the unridden 2008 Bull of the Year Bones. Frankly I think my money is on Bones, but we will see. Mauney is riding just about everything. But Bones is one of those stupendous bulls that feels for what his rider is doing, and twists out of it. So where this one will go is anyones bet.

Third place in the event went to Austin Meier...back just another half a point. He selected High Lonesome, a rarely ridden bull, and put up a score of 89.75. Combined with his other rides it put him just a bit ahead of Wiley Peterson. Peterson took on Scene of the Crash (yeah so called that one) for an 89.00 and a tie with Ryan McConnel who chose to attempt Nervous Waters (also called it). McConnel ended up finishing the weekend out a quarter point behind Peterson in sixth.

To me however the highlight of the weekend wasn't the match between Marchi and Bones (Bones won), or JB Mauney winning another title, he's a good rider, he should top 5 every weekend. It was young 19 year old Skeeter Kingsolver's 90.50 on his first bull Big Iron. Big Iron gets ridden pretty frequently compared to a lot of bulls. But they DO NOT put up 90+ point rides on him. EVER. This is his third year on the BFTS and the first 90+ point ride they have put up on him. This kid can ride! He was spurring and looked like he'd been on the BFT for years, not up on his first bull there. Kingsolver is one guy who I'd say is going to stick around for a good while. He's certainly got the style for it.

Let's Head to Texas...

Dallas, Texas that is. For the Dickies Invitational this Saturday and Sunday, and take in some thrilling bull rides in one of the best regions for bucking bulls in the country. The first go round alone is enough to make a bucking bull enthusiast drool.

First big name bull, Page and Teague's Crossfire Hurricane. The big monster of a bull hasn't been out since the World Finals. He's only been ridden 11 out of 54 trips. And frankly, I don't care whose got him, I usually pick him to win the match up. However, if Dustin Elliot is on his game, he might be succesful. That man has after all put up rides on bulls such as Palace Station Deuces Wild. Whose only been ridden 19 out of 55 attempts. If Elliot is successful he will be the first man since Travis Briscoe to cover the Hurricane since Tulsa Oklahoma last year. And with Elliots riding style, it could be a potential go round win score.

Next bull up, another Page and Teague beast, Black Smoke. Ridden just 12 out of 45 attempts, he will take on World Champion Ednei Caminhas (yes I know he was supposed to retire...he didn't). We didn't see much of this bad boy in 2008, but the 2006 and 2007 seasons were full of high 80- low 90 point rides, and big streaks of buck offs, with bull ratings in the mid 40's. With the way Caminhas has been riding, it is hard to guess which way this ride will go. If the World Champ side of him comes, look for a 89-90 point ride. Otherwise I'd say he will be in the dirt after about 3.5-4 seconds. I'd like to see Caminhas cover him, but so far this year he's only been successful on one bull. Not a good way to start off the season, when you consider that they had a good long break to heal up and recuperate. Caminhas is good at pulling himself out of holes though, so maybe he can get by Black Smoke.

And then there is JB Mauney's bull Zorro from Lufkin Ranch and Rodeo. I really like this bull who made his PBR debut back in 2004 at the World Finals by dusting legendary PBR superstar Michael Gaffney. And while he has only been ridden 10 out of 44 outs, I think I have to go with Mauney on this one. He's riding over 70% of his bulls, on a super hot streak that started back at the World Finals. While I love Zorro and he is an amazing super star bucker, Mauney is just too hot I think. Course Zorro is a smaller bull, so he may join the other three bulls that have gotten past Mauney this season.

Then there is Sports Machine from Page Buck and Watts. He's got to take on 2004 World Champion Mike Lee. Sports Machine has 11 out of 41 trips successful for his riders. And Lee is on a hot streak, having covered all of his bulls at last weekend's Sacramento event. Given Lee pretty much seems to like any bulls style, it is hard to ever go against him in the chutes. In his career he's ridden 56.9% of his bulls. So better than half of the time a person is more than safe picking Lee to make a ride. I do doubt this will be a go round winner, depending on who else comes off or rides. But we will have to wait until this weekend to find out.

And finally for the "big boys" that have come to play, there is young Ryan Dirteater's draw...the one...the only...Cat Man Do. He's been ridden more times than any of the others (22 out of 43) but lord do I love to watch him buck. #10 Bucking Bulls Cat Man Do is one of my all time favorites to watch. He's put legends such as Justin McBride, Paulo Crimber, and JB Mauney down before the whistle. This match up I think I will go with Cat Man Do. Dirteater's riding a lot of his bulls, 5 out of 9, but I don't know if this is a bull he can make the whistle on.

As a shout out for a few favorites of various folks. Mighty Mike White has Roudy Houdlum, from Circle T Ranch and Rodeo. Houdlum has been ridden twice, by Dustin Elliot, and Mike is nursing a sore jaw, so who knows how this will turn out. Frankly with Mike already hurting I am not sure I even want to hazzard a guess.

Then there is our current World race leader, and one of my personal favorites, Colorado man Kody Lostroh. He's drawn D&H Cattle Company's Livin' Large. Livin' Large was only out once last year for a buckoff. And Kody is covering bulls like Troubadour and making it look fantastic. And he's my favorite...how can one go against one's very favorite?

That's all I have time for now. Hope everyone is enjoying their Thursday. And have a safe and happy weekend!

Zack Brown in Albany NY January 2008

Zack Brown won the event in Sacramento this weekend. I am too lazy at the moment to put much effort into a post. SO here is a video of him from Albany last January. Enjoy.

Fresno Event in the Books

When the lights grew dim, and the cowboys started towards Sacramento for their second event of the weekend, Kody Lostroh headed out still in the lead for the world title race, and with his first event win in his pocket. He covered Little Bighorn for 88.75. That gave him the top spot going into the championship go round. Which with the new draw system update which allows the riders to pick their bulls for every championship round at all the events, not just the three day meets. In normal Kody style, he picked a rank, powerful, high scoring bull in Julio Moreno Bucking Bulls famous bucker Troubadour. Troubadour's average bull score is 46.53 out of a possible fifty. And his average ride score, for the 4 times the brave souls who took him on have stayed up, is 94.31. Not to mention, Kody had already covered Troubadour for a 93.50 in Portland Oregon last year. Kody's successful ride for a 94.50 was enough to win him the event over Brazil's Renato Nunes.

Nunes covered his first bull (Benedict) for second place and his second (Little Bo) for third. That grabbed him enough points to rack up a second place finish over Matt Bohon.

For more results, head on over to the PBR website.

Injuries reported for the event were Mike White. He suffered a jaw laceration which required stitching and has a possible jaw fracture. He is listed as questionable for Sacramento tonight.

Fresno, California, and the Table Mountain Casino Invitational

In what I am fairly certain is the only warmish place in the country, the bulls of the west, and the PBR's top 45 riders will come face to face for 2 events spreading from Friday to Sunday, first in Fresno, and then in Sacramento at the Sacramento Invitational.

The draws are up for both first go rounds. Fresno is tonight. So lets start there.

Current world number one Kody Lostroh has Little Bighorn from Priest Creek Ranch. He's a new bull so I can't tell you much about him. I can tell you that Kody has covered 6 of 7 bulls he has taken on so far, is riding great, and is looking amazing on everything he ties onto.

JB Mauney, who is still riding the hot streak he started up at last seasons World Finals, will take on Flying Rafter Z Rodeo Company, LLC's, bull Big Rig. Yet another new bull. But JB has also covered all but one of his bulls this season, is trailing Kody by just a few dozen points or so and is World Title hungry and in the hunt of that prestigious honor.

Our reigning world champion Guilherme Marchi it taking on another new bull (there are many) Hard Times from Holman Bucking Bulls. Guilherme is as he always is. Riding just about everything, and looking good doing it. He's a bit more than 100 points behind, but he has lots of time to climb back on top, and become the first man to take back to back championships.

One of my favorite guys Cord McCoy is sitting back in 12th position right now. He's drawn the Ryan McClure bull White Lies. We've seen White Lies once on the BFTS, at the Oakland CA event in 2008, when Beau Hill took him on for a 83.25.

A final guy whose draw I will comment on is Luke Snyder and Shotgun Willie (Holman Bucking Bulls). Not because Shotgun Willie has only been ridden 1 out of 6 trips. Not because we haven't seen him since Brian Canter covered him in 2007. But because Luke Snyder has STILL not missed an event since he was a rookie and first appeared on the BFTS in 2001. He is up to 237 consecutive events. This event will put him up to 238, and if he rides in the second event of the weekend, 239. He is the record holder. And I am REALLY impressed by how tough and durable he is. He's ridden hurt tired and sore. But he just keeps going.

To check out the full draw, as well as the short go bulls that are available, head on over to the PBR's website, or click here to go straight to the event page.

I am going to this Sunday....

Click HERE to see what "it" is...more to follow tomorrow, and thanks again Mom and Dad for sending me for true and total day off! Words can't express my gratitude!!!

Anyone Who Had Doubts...

About the riding capabilities of the Brazilians had those doubts put away for good this past weekend. The St Louis, MO event concluded Sunday night with a stellar championship round. It was one of the first weekends where the bulls fully won. Only three men covered all four bulls. And they were, you guessed it, three of the top Brazilian riders in the world. Renato Nunes won for the weekend, putting up an amazing 95.75 on Chicken on a Chain. That is now the highest marked ride of the season. He had a nearly perfect rider score, at 48.75. It doesn't get much better than that. Following him was Robson Palermo with and then the world number two Guilherme Marchi. Overall the event was wonderful.

However there are still a few nasty injuries to report. Another Brazilian, dancing Paulo Crimber, is out for 6-12 weeks with a C1 neck fracture. Ross Coleman has another concussion but is still riding. Travis Briscoe has a concussion from hitting the ground hard and is also still riding. JB Mauney suffered some minor injuries from his bull stomping on his head and body. His helmet was shattered and he is very lucky he was wearing it or he would be in a lot worse shape. And about fifteen other men suffered bumps bruises and lacerations which you can check out on the PBR's injury page. Cord McCoy also has some bruising from being struck while he was thrown by his bull. Talk about adding insult to injury!

This Weekend Was One for the Record Books

And it all happened here in upstate New York. The PBR's Built Ford Tough Series was rocking and rolling in Albany, a mere fourty three and a half miles from our home farm. And yes I went, both nights too, and I took over two hundred short videos and pictures. Everything from the leader boards to the rides, to the cowboys, to the spotlight bull. And that spotlight bull was Palace Station Deuces Wild. An old timer to the sport, I never ever thought I would actually have the chance to watch him buck live. This big and simply amazing black and white bull from the pen of Chad Berger/Low/ Rosen has been ridden just sixteen out of forty five career trips, and he once again put his rider in the dust this weekend.

Travis Briscoe however remains practically perfect in every way. He rode all of his bulls yet again this weekend for a total of 267.50 on three and yet another event win, for three total wins this season, and that is out of just six that have gone this year. So far this season he has ridden 14 out of his 15 bulls, putting together a current 93.33% riding success rate, and that is including that spectacular 95.00 aboard Copperhead Slinger in Massachusetts. It is still to early to tell, but this young 20 year old out of Edgewood, NM may be our World Champion. He is, to me, certainly showing that he has what it takes.


I am going to continue posting more on this event in the days to come, but this will have to do for now, as I have to be up early, and I am exhausted!

The video just below is of Deuces Wild. Sorry but I didn't manage to get a very good one of him, but you can see what I mean by him being a big solid boy.

It's Here...

It's here, it's here....IT'S FINALLY HERE!!!!!!!!

The Albany Invitational that is!

I am so excited I can't even handle doing a real post right now!

I will let everybody know how this goes, as I am going to both nights. I simply can't wait!

The Worcester Classic Was One for the Record Books

To say that this event had a lot of good rides would be an understatement in the extreme. 90.00+ rides topped all but the very first round. And I am even starting to enjoy the cowboys getting to pick their bulls for the second and short go rounds for the three day events. Some of them, such as Davey Dyke are really making for exciting rides. He picked the same bull in the second go round as bucked him off and hung him up in New York City, Big Iron, this time covering him for an even 85.00.

Another cowboy in the same round, Colby Yates, had an equally wonderful go with Cat Man Do. He took tops in the go round with a 90.50 and looked real good doing it. Colby later covered Tiger in the third round, but California Dreaming got the better of him in the short go.

Four guys covered all four of their draws, one of them being the new daddy Ross Coleman. He mostly put up rides in the low to mid 80's for the majority of the weekend. But managed to score a 90.50 on Nervous Waters in the championship round to get him a fourth place finish.

Third place went to the Colorado man Kody Lostroh. He put up not one but two 90+ point rides this weekend. The first a 90.75 on Texas in round three, and the second a 90.50 on Live Wire. Kody is now sitting in fifth in the overall BFTS standings.

Guilherme Marchi racked up a second place out in Massachusetts. His one 90.50 ride came in the championship round versus Outsider. His other three rides were in the high 80's though, which gave him a few points advantage over Coleman and Lostroh. (He's also sitting 60.75 points back in second place in the overall standings).

The number one man for the weekend was Travis Briscoe. And for anyone who missed this ride (and one other I will talk about later) I am truly sorry! It was amazing. He couldn't have looked any better aboard Copperhead Slinger. Putting up a 95.00, he is now sitting in first place in the overall BFTS standings, and has the highest marked ride not just for the current season, but for the last several years. I was so glad I stayed up to watch it, as I really enjoy seeing those types of rides. And honestly, the fact that he picked that bull intentionally made it just that much better! While that ride was stellar both in appearance and score, there was one other that made me much much more enthusiastically happy.

And that ride was put up on Big Bucks, who has been ridden just two out of 49 trips. He's a former bull of the year and for good reason. His first, and until this past weekend only ride, was two time World Champion Justin McBride (who is currently out with the surgery for that shoulder injury last summer) for a 93.00 in Columbus of 2006. This weekend Big Bucks was the next to last bull to be selected. AND none other than my favorite cowboy in the whole world Cord McCoy decided to take a chance on him. AND it was amazing. Cord put up a 92.25 on him, and in my personal opinion he deserved at least another point or so. But still, it bounced him up into 20th in the world, which is just fabulous!!

All in all the weekend was amazing. For this coming weekend the cowboys are facing off with the bulls of the west coast in California. Good luck to all the riders! Then the next weekend they are back here in the Northeast, actually in Albany, and yes, I do have tickets, and I am SO excited!

I've Been Afraid to Say Anything...

At least until I had my tickets... But PBR Built Ford Tough Series is coming to Albany NY in January of 2008 on the 26th and 27th. And I have my tickets, to both nights. I am so excited I am barely able to contain myself. This has been a dream of mine for years, getting to one of these premier events. And now, baring canclations or other catastrophes I will. I am going myself the first night, then Mom is going along with me for the final two rounds. I am going to take a gazillion pictures and videos I promise!

Sometimes It Feels Like the World's Gone Crazy...

Maybe someone on here can explain this to me. Why does a one credit class require more work than a hefty four credit course? It seems beyond insane to me. We have to do interviews, and attend a 'business dinner' in formal attire. Let me tell you, farmers rarely are going to expect their employees to go to a dinner like what they are planning. Oh well. I think I am going to give them my regrets and explain that I miss enough of my farm chores during the week, without going to a bogus dinner and award ceremony. I already know how to eat in public. The darn college doesn't need to teach me what my parents already have.

On a more pleasant note, the 2007 Built Ford Tough Season is drawing to a close, and a world record is about to be tied, and perhaps shattered. In Grand Rapids, Michigan this weekend, at the Johnsonville Brats Invitational, Missouri's Luke Snyder has the chance to tie the Ironman JW Hart's record for most consecutively attended events. Anybody with an interest in bullriding should watch this landmark event take place. If he makes it through the weekend, and comes out healthy so he can compete in the next event (Mohegan Sun Invitational, Uncasville, CT) he will be the sole record holder. Good luck to Luke!

To Nevada We Go...

The 2007 Built Ford Tough Series is rapidly drawing to a close. With just six regular events left in the season, the cowboys are quickly pulling up to the World Finals in Las Vegas (Oct 26-28, Nov 1-4). This weekend is the Reno Classic. A three day event, it will feature three long rounds, and one championship round. Sadly absent will be our world leader, Justin McBride, whose injuries from the Chihuahua Challenge will keep him out for a few more weeks. That leaves room for JB Mauney, who has been trailing McBride for a few months now, to pick up some more ground on the 2005 World Champion. Round one will find Mauney squaring off against Big Mack a Red Brahman- Katich cross from Chad Berger and Clay Struve. The big red bull isn't likely to give him a go round win, as his average ride score is only 82.5, but if Mauney can stay atop him for the eight, and put together a few other rides, he should have a decent shot at a top 5. One downer for Mauney will be that his number two bull for the weekend, H&H Bucking Bulls' Life's Good, is a brand new bucker for the PBR's BFTS, making it hard to know what kind of action he will show us.

Chihuahua Challange winner Guilherme Marchi, and our current world number three, is also looking to gain some ground on McBride. He's drawn Chug-A-Lug from Chad and Lacey Berger for round one. This bull's only had two previous outs, both of which were unsuccessful, back in the 2006 season. Marchi has been riding really well the past few events, and it will be interesting to see if he can capitalize on the momentum he gained with his win in Mexico. His second draw is much like Mauney's, another rookie bull. This time from Steve Holbrock, a 2004 bull called SH-314.

One ride I am really looking forward to watching is Kody Lostroh aboard Kaycee Simpson's superstar Red Alert. Lostroh drew him back in Laughlin 2005, and stuck him for a 90.00. The big bull has been ridden 17 times now, and has an average score of just shy of 88.00. If Lostroh can stay aboard again with similar results this could prove to be our go-round win.

Another exciting draw is Cord McCoy aboard Spiderman from Chad Berger and Larry Ryken. Eight riders have taken a shot at this bull, and all eight have eaten dust with unsuccessful trips. I'm looking forward to seeing if McCoy, who seems to be staying up on at least one bull a weekend, can put together a multiple ride weekend, and make up some ground on the leaders.

McBride Re-Writes the PBR's Record Books

As usual, world leader and 2005 World Champion Justin McBride has once again managed to re-do the record books. Down in Dallas, TX this weekend at the Dickies Invitational, he put together three stellar rides, to win his seventh event of the season. He now leads the race for this year's championship title by over 1000 total points, with JB Mauney still clinging close to his heels. And just another couple thousand points behind them sit Georgia cowboy Sean Willingham and Brazilian Guilherme Marchi. Mauney lost a bit of ground this weekend, bucking off both of his long go bulls. Willingham picked that ground up covering two of three, with a first go round win aboard Red Man with a 88.25. The other young gun from North Carolina, Brian Canter who is currently sitting fifth in the world, picked up some more points by also covering both of his bulls, including a 88.75 aboard Just A Dream. All in all it was a stellar weekend for the bulls. With only McBride covering all three, and just 18 more men putting up one or more rides. The bull power was so impressive that super star bulls such as McCoy Ranches Bells Blue and Fronteir and Teague Buckin Bulls California Dreaming got bumped down to the long go. But then again, they were in Texas for the weekend. And some of the best bulls in the world come out of the mid west and that area. So it makes a lot of sense.

This coming weekend will find the guys a bit further west, riding in Glendale AZ at the Cheeseburger IslandStyle Restraunts Invitational on June 29th and 30th. Check it out June 30th and July 1st, at 9:00 pm EST only on Versus.

Two Weeks and No BFTS

Our favorite cowboys from the PBR have two weekends off from the BFTS events, with the next one May 19th. There are quite a few guys who are probably going to be thankful for the break. A lot of them are seeing the strain of several months of solid events, with bumps, bruises, and just plain sore muscles.

On a good note, it seems that Lee Akin is progressing well from his crushed skull. You can read more on the PBR's home page. I am real glad for him and his family that he seems to be doing so well.