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.

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.

Anaheim Califonia Event

This weekend will cover two events in two states. First out in Anaheim California at the Anaheim Invitational. Followed by a single day event in Glendale Arizona, ironically the Glendale Invitational (I personally think someone needs to work on the names for these events!).

The two nights of action in California promises to be exciting. Last weekends winner was Ednei Caminhas, which I have to say it is about time he got something ridden! I am not one to be unpleasant about any rider, but Caminhas was starting to peeve me, as he just couldn't seem to stay on anything. He fixed that last weekend covering 4 of 4 for the win. Tonight he will take on Corey and Horst Rodeo Company's bull Bad Medicine. Bad Medicine is not a particularly "bad" bull, with a bull score for his only out of 2008 barely over 30. If the world champion Caminhas that was in Oklahoma last week shows up he should cover this bull and make it look like practice, and probably end up with a reride option. But we will have to wait and see because Caminhas can be two very different riders.

Our current World race leader, and the only man to officially cover Tom Teagues Bones bull, JB Mauney has Poison Oak, also from Corey and Horst. Poison Oak gets ridden a fair amount of the time, but not for overly high scores. However his bull ratings have gone up as he has gotten older. And with the way Mauney loves to spur, this could be the bull's first actually decent score.

Then there is the other man to, unofficially as he slapped, ride Bones, Matt Bohon. Bohon has Water Moccasin from Julio Moreno Bucking Bulls. On paper he is the best of the three bulls, covered just twice with a bull score over 42. However, he's also dusted Bohon once before. So this is Bohon's chance to get even and put a score on the board. Bohon is riding that rush from covering Bones even though they took the score off the stats. So I am hoping this will be a good one for him.

Colorado man Kody Lostroh has the awesome bull Encore from Jeff Robinson/ Anchor Bull Company. He and this sweet spinning black bull have already come together once before for a near 90.00 ride. I am hoping he can do it again, and maybe put together a go round win at the same time!

Mighty Mike White has his hands full and then some with his draw for tonight in Big Bend/ Flying 5 Rodeo Co.'s bull Firebird. Firebird has been around for 3 years now, and has consistently bucked off his riders, with bull scores of right around 45.00. He did get covered twice last year, but both times it was by Jarrod Craig, who seems to have this bulls number. So we'll have to see if White, who is riding really well can get by him. With how conservative scores have been through the early portion of this season this could be a high ride for the night.

That's all I have time for now. If I missed your favorite, swing on by the PBR's website and check out all 40 draws.

Mohegan Sun Invitational 2008

As I stated, now two days ago, I am going to Mohegan Sun tomorrow for the Mohegan Sun Invitational. It is the last regular season event for the year. As announced earlier in the season it is also the last regular event for the super powerful bull Super Duty. He is being retired following the finals. As those connected to the PBR as either fans or supporters etc he is the bull who for the last several years, participants in the Ford Trucks Ford Super Duty challenge had a chance to enter, and have the chance to "own" a piece of this bull for a season, as an honorary stock contractor. I entered every year but to no avail. His succesor will be named during the finals, and is now down to the bulls Holy Smoke and Huslter. Another bull, my personal pick, Jacob's Pet, was disqualified from the voting as he was injured.

As for the event, today was a draw day, which means the guys get to pick their bull for the night out of the 45 available. I was stunned this morning to find my two favorite fellas Cord McCoy and Kody Lostroh on top, so they got to pick 1st and 2nd respectively. I won't spoil who they decided they want to take on tonight for you, head on over to www.pbrnow.com to discover the "magic" matchups for yourself. Trust me it will be worth the stop.

There are a few sad things about going down to Mohegan Sun's event. One being the number of my favorites that are sitting out. Adriano is hurt, Clayton Williams is hurt, and so is Brendon Clark to name just a few. It is the end of the season so that is to be expected. But it was my last chance to see Adriano ride, and I was really hopeful. Then again I would rather he sit out while he heals, and ride like the 3 Time World Champion he is at the finals in Vegas, which are literally right around the corner!

I'm hoping to get some good pictures of everyone there. If you let me know your favorite rider who will be at the event before tomorrow I will do my best to get a really nice one of them and put it up on here.

Some of the Stills I took out to Albany

I am honestly not certain which rider this is.

These three are of Steven Shelley's ride.

Three of the toughest hardest working men in bull riding!

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!

And We Have Officially Gotten Started

First off let me wish everybody a Happy New Year. May 2008 be a great one for you and your family and friend.

And second, as of this past weekend, the 2008 Built Ford Tough Series Season has finally started with the Copenhagen Bull Riding Invitational. Mike Lee, the 2004 World Champion, ran off with first place, putting up 261.00 points on three. Following him, Adriano Moraes and Paulo Crimber tied for second with 258.00 on three. The top five was rounded out with Brian Canter (257.50), and Travis Briscoe (251.75). All in all it was a pretty good weekend. Kody Lostroh put up two scores, winning go round number one with a 88.50 on Dark Side. Cord McCoy took on two bulls the first night, covering them both ( he was offered a re ride after his first bull had a lacking performance).

This weekend will find the cowboys squaring off with the roughest bulls in my own state of NY. They're riding at Madison Square Garden with the Versus Invitational and this will be the first event where following the first round the riders will be allowed to select their bull for each go round. It will be interesting to see how that goes. Some (myself included) are very curious to see how this is going to work out. We'll finally find out.

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.

Even More From the PBR Enterprise Event

Ford Country Classic

Last night, May 19th, was the first Built Ford Tough Series event for the cowboys of the PBR in two long weeks. The single night event down in San Antonio, Texas at the Alamodome, was packed with awesome rides. In all, 22 of the top 45 riders in the world covered one bull, with three of the 22 mastering both of their draws for the weekend. First place was taken by young Colorado cowboy Tyler Smith, with a combined two bull total of 176.75. Smith made it to the whistle on Mud Flap (Bonsall Bucking Bulls)in the first go round, making it back to the championship round with a 86.75, sitting in 13th. He then came back to put up the only 90.00 point score of the weekend, aboard Chumley Cattle Company's Re-Vamp. Following Smith in the weekend's standings was Texas's own Mike Lee, the 2004 World Champion, with a two bull total of 176.5 Lee posted a 87.25 aboard Prime Time from Davis/Wilson in the long go, and came back to ride my favorite bull in the PBR, McCoy Ranches Bells Blue with a score of 89.25. That is the first successful ride they have put on Blue since the World Finals last year when Cody Whitney topped him for 92.00. With a combined score of 174.75, which was good enough for third, was Georgia cowboy Sean Willingham. Willingham had a successful trip aboard the Mossy Oak Mudslinger son Lil' Slinger from Page & Teague Bucking Bulls. He came back to top another Page & Teague bull, Sunshine, in the short go for a third place finish in the round. Rounding out the top five were Brazil's Ednei Caminhas and Guilherme Marchi. The next event will be the Jack Daniels Invitational down in Nashville, Tenn. on June 16th and 17th.

Missouri Event, and a Missouri Champion

ST. Louis, Missouri hosted this weekend's event, The Enterprise Rent-A-Car Classic. And only the Missouri man, Matt Bohon, could cover all of his draws. He put up some amazing rides, and had easily one of the biggest grins in the stadium. However, one man who wasn't smiling at the end of the night was Louisiana's Mighty Mike White. He took some hard hits to the face courtesy of Sunshine, and was unconscious on the arena floor for quite some time. He did eventually get up and walk out, but his face was very swollen and bloody. I haven't been able to find any information on his condition at this point, but I wouldn't be surprised to find he had at least a concussion, and probably also a broken jaw, but we will just have to wait and see. My fav rider, Cord McCoy took home a tie for 8/9, after covering two of his four bulls, for a combined score of171.75. He had an interesting first out in the short go, when his bull, Smooth Move, lost his flank strap, earning him an immediate re-ride, which came aboard Bond, James Bond. Bond made short work of Cord, and pulled a 42.50 for a bull score, not bad, but not the best in the go round. The top rated bull for the round was Cat Man Do, a big white faced black bull, who Robson Palermo covered to win the short go, with a score of 90.25, and a bull rating of 44.50. All in all it was a pretty stellar weekend, with a lot of good, high quality rides, and extraordinary bulls. Good job to all of the cowboys, and I will let you know about Mike as soon as information becomes available.

The Passing of a Legend

December 29, 2006 will be a day long remembered in the minds of bull riding fans as it marked the passing of one of the greatest bulls the PBR has ever seen. Herrington Cattle Company's legendary bull Red Wolf passed away at the ripe ole age of 18. The 2000 lb. red and white bull was ridden just 20 out of 47 trips with an average score of 92.5. The Herrington's retired Red Wolf back in 2000 at the age of 12 at the PBR World Finals, to a standing ovation.

Good bye old son. You will be missed.

For more on this incredible bull : PBR Mourns the Passing of Red Wolf