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.

Sad News in the Bull Riding World

Effective immediately following this year's finals, Justin McBride, two time World Champion, fan favorite, and just generally all around great guy, will be retired. He said he didn't really feel like coming back to ride following his surgery earlier this season, and has decided he'd rather stay home with his family and run the ranch. You can read more at www.pbrnow.com.

While this news saddens me, as I have always loved McBride, I have to admit I'm not sorry or surprised. He just hasn't been the same guy since he returned a few months ago. Something was missing in his style, and I guess that was the heart. I told Mom just Friday I had a feeling he was going to leave and not ride anymore after this finals. He has been injury prone over the last several years, and while he is still "young enough" and healthy enough, I'd rather he retire while he is healthy, and still "able" and at the top of his game. He got his World title, which I always hoped for. He'll still be one of my favorites. And he is planning to do some commentating and stuff, so he won't be gone completely.

Enjoy retirement Justin, you've certainly earned the rest!

Ednei Caminhas Retiring!!!

We're losing a lot of our favorite Brazilians to retirement this year. First Adriano, now Ednei. He announced his retirement yesterday. While I will miss him, I am very glad I got to see him compete live when I and Mom went to the Albany Invitational back in January. Good bye Ednei you will be greatly missed!

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!

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.

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!

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.

Jim Shoulders Dead at 79

The rodeo world has lost a legend and super star with the passing of Oklahoma cowboy Jim Shoulders. The PBR's website says that the 79 year old passed away at his home in Henryetta early this morning. A former 16 time World Champion, he is to this day the winningest cowboy of all time with seven championships in bull riding. He is also the only cowboy to ever be inducted into the Madison Square Garden Hall of Fame. Rest in peace Mr Shoulders, you will be greatly missed.

'But I've heard it said that ol' cowboys don't die:

They get put out to pasture way up the sky.

So if God's got a Heaven for old cowboy legends,

I hope the grass is greener on the other side,

An' he's got good horses to ride.'

Trent Willmon

"Good Horses To Ride"

Another Win For McBride

Justin McBride has won another one, and is well on his way to a second world title. He put up some stellar rides this weekend, and is also our Foremost Ride leader with his 93.0 score from this weekend. But watch out, cause despite riding with an injured leg and shoulder, JB Mauney is still putting up the points, and riding like the future World Champ he is.

McBride Tops the Standings Again

Last weekend, the cowboys of the PBR stopped off in Omaha Nebraska, for the Cabela's Shoot Out, and Justin McBride walked off with his FIFTH win of the season. McBride is dominating this years race for the title. He's extended his lead to nearly a thousand points, put up the most 90+ point rides, and is consistently riding just about everything they run through the chutes at him. Overall this was a pretty good weekend for all the PBR's cowboys. Chris Shivers came back, but now has a concussion so we may not be seeing him this weekend. Tony Mendes, who was absent for quite a while, put up some good attempts though he got no scores for the weekend. And there were four 90+ point rides. Good job to all the cowboys, and good luck this weekend in Albuquerque.

Challenger Champion

As the lights faded in the Oklahoma City arena Sunday night, a new name was becoming famous, very quickly. Carthage, Texas has plenty of reason to celebrate, as young Clayton Williams took first in the Challenger finals, and was the only man to cover all four of his bulls. With all of the money he earned this weekend, following the next cut on the BFTS, we should be seeing him riding in the big leagues. You can read more about this event on the PBR's Home Page.

To Go Out, That is the Question.

Or maybe the question should be, to not go out. It is snowing really hard here, and the wind is drifiting the snow that is already on the ground into massive piles. We brought the heifers in from the hills, but getting back and forth to the barns is a bit of an issue. The snow is up over my waist. Yes little brother and sister, I know, it is only because I am so short. The dogs could easily get lost in the deep piles. And we are calving cows in right now. One, a Holstein heifer named Egrec, is already overdue to have her baby. And Sequioa and Ricky Bailey are rapidly approaching their expected due dates. If this keeps up...Ewww! On top of that, in less than two days, college has been closed more than in the whole three years I have been there. Classes were cancled today, and are also shut down tomorrow. I've got a feeling noboyd will be getting in on Friday either. Yuck.

On the bull riding side of things, Australian bull rider Greg Potter won his third title in Anaheim in four years. Very impressive. Brian Canter took second, with Kody Lostroh, Sean Willingham, Luke Snyder, Justin McBride, and J.B. Mauney following him. Out of the top 45, 37 rode at least one bull. One of the better rider friendly events we have had so far this season. On a sad note, Mike Lee suffered yet another concussion, plus a probable broken jaw, torn up ear, and other various injuries and lacerations, when his head was stepped on. Thank GOD for that helmet he wears. I don't even want to think about what his injuries would be like if he hadn't had it on.

The race for the championship is really heating up. 2005 World Champion Justin McBride sits in first in the standings, followed by just a hair over 200 points by JB Mauney. The top five is rounded out by Mike Lee, Brian Canter, and Kasey Hayes. Not to be forgotten sitting in seventh position, is Brazil's Guilherme Marchi. He's hungry for a world title, and isn't going to rest until he's got one. And our reigning and three time world champ, Adriano Moraes is only back in twelfth. He has plenty of time to catch up.

Oh, and the cow is no longer in the kitchen.

February 2, 2007- Stop Number Six

This weekend will find our favorite cowboys battling the bulls in Tampa Florida on February 2, and then they will hop up to Atlanta Georgia for another single day event on February 3. Draws for round one, as well as the short go bulls have been posted for the Southern Ford Dealers Invitational. One of our newer additions, Ryan McConnel will take on one of the best veteran bulls still bucking, Gator out of the pens of Boyd/Floyd/ Paradise Farms. This big old bull has only been covered 10 times in his career. If Ryan can stay up and look good doing it he should have a score from the mid to high eighties. With the way the last two events have gone this could be a go round winner. Our winner from last weekend, Silvanei Dias, will take on another bull from the Boyd/ Floyd/ Paradise Farms pens, Vigilante. A younger bull, he has been coverd once in five trips, by 2005 World Champion Justin McBride. Dias is ridding well, so this could be a good match-up. However, McBride's score on this bull was in the low 80's, so it will probably only put Dias in the middle of the standings for the weekend, and with only one long go round of competition might not give him enough to make it back for a second bull. McBride has drawn Texas Two Step, another bull from this same contractor. This bull was ridden once last season, and has bucked off his last five riders. However, McBride is riding like the champion he is, so he should be able to get a score. Our current world number one, 2004 World Champion Mike Lee, has drawn Grim Reaper from Tony Sharp. He's a new bull so it will be hard to know what we will see from him, or if the change of setting will have any effect on his performance. Paulo Crimber has a second Sharp bull, Taz. Taz has been unridden in his three career trips, so it will be interesting to see if Crimber, who limped from the arena last weekend after landing badly, will have a shot on this animal. Diamond S Bucking Bulls has brought in several bucking veterans, including Stray Cat, Blizzard, Panama Red, and Black Willy, for long go round competition. While these bulls, as older, more seasoned individuals will have been seen by their riders, many of them have very low riding percentages. Panama Red, who will face Scott Schiffner, has one of the higher percentages, with seven rides in 15 outs. Blizzard, whose going to get taken on by my favorite, Cord McCoy, has never been ridden in 10 attempts, even bucking off two time World Champion Chris Shivers (still out on injury with that broken leg and ankle). Cord is going to have his hands full, but he did gain a little momentum when he covered Chain Reaction last weekend for a go round win. Maybe he can carry some of that over to this weekend and become the first man to ride this bull. Tater Porter will pull his rope on Stray Cat, who has been covered 20% of the time, with an average score of 85.0. Robson Palermo just covered this bull last weekend in NC, so maybe we will see a successful ride. Black Willy gets ridden about 45% of the time, with an average ride score just above 85. Leandro Mattos is going to try to get it done on him this weekend. We'll have to see how this turns out, I really don't have a strong feeling towards either individual in this match up. Leandro is incredibly talented, but so is Black Willy, so it could go either way. Robson Palermo is going to take a new bull from Rickey West, Mr Wiggles.

The short go round is going to be jam packed with stunning bulls for this event. Boyd/ Floyd and Paradise Farms are bringing us Big Show (formerly known as Fronteir Justice), Player, Paleface, and younger bulls Hondo, and Lost In Paradise. These bulls combine for easily over 100 total outs. And include buck-offs of such greats as Justin McBride, Mike Lee, Adriano Moraes, Guilherme Marchi, Ednei Caminhas, the iron man JW Hart, and the retired Michael Gaffney just to name a few. Big Show's career alone stretches from mid 2003 to now, with over 60 total outs and only eleven successful trips. Diamond S Bucking Bulls has brought us another five stellar individuals. They range from young Smash Hit to older bulls Okeechobee Spots and Cat Daddy, as well as Avalanche and Shanghai. These bulls bring together a similar level of power as the previous pen. They also add in buck offs of Chris Shivers, and Sean Willingham. Keep in mind that Cord McCoy covered Okeechobee Spots for 93.0 back at the challenger tour in Denver, so we know this bull can provide an opportunity for massive scores. The final five short go bulls come from various contractors. One bull who I am interested to see how he got into the short go draw is Slim Slam from Robinson and Tedesco. He is new, never bucked on the Built Ford Tough Series. It will be interesting to see what it was the officials saw in this young bull to include him in this weekend's first championship round.

You can catch the Southern Ford Dealers Invitational Saturday, February 3 at 8:00pm EST on Versus.

Two Stops This Weekend

The PBR's Built Ford Tough Series will blast through not one, but two cities in California this weekend. The top forty-five riders in the world will spend one day in Fresno (January 19), for The Table Mountain Casino Invitational with two rounds of competition (one long and the short go round). Then they will hop over to Sacramento, for stop number four on the 2007 season, to compete in the Sacramento Classic. Sacramento will involve three go rounds: two long and then the championship for the top fifteen riders of the two night event. The draws, and available short go bulls are up for the Fresno event.

J.B. Mauney, current world number one after two events, last year's Rookie of the Year, and the only man in the top forty five to cover all eight of his previous bulls, has drawn Outkast, from Flying U/ Moreno Bucking Bulls. Outkast is brand new to the BFTS, but with the way the young North Carolina cowboy has been riding, he shouldn't pose to much of a challenge.

Three time, and reigning World Champion Adriano Moraes, will try to get it done aboard Hellfire, out of Corey and Horst Rodeo Co. Inc.'s pens. This is yet another new bull, but as Adriano is one of the most talented, and is definitely the most seasoned rider on tour, he should be able to handle whatever the bull should choose to throw his way.

Oklahoma cowboy Cord McCoy, whose family is putting on a production sale this weekend, will take on one of the older bulls in the pens, Kaycee Simpson's Red Alert. Red Alert will certainly not be a night off for Cord. He's been ridden just fourteen times in over 30 career outs, with an average score of 88 points. Cord did manage to stay up on, I believe it was, Okeechobee Spots for 93.0 at a challenger event in Denver. It is hard to determine if this is the right bull, as only BFTS outs are recorded on the bull's bucking page. Hopefully this will give him some much needed momentum to get a ride this weekend.

Dusty LaBeth, who recently returned from injury, will tie himself in aboard Josey Wales from Sis & Stan Bucking Bulls. It's been two years since we have seen this bull on the BFTS, so it will be interesting to see what made the PBR bring him back to the top tour. His last out involved the recently retired Gilbert Carrillo, who bucked off back in Jacksonville during the 2005 season. Josey Wales had a modest bull rating of 20.2, not great, but not the worst. It is apparent why he is in the long go round, but maybe the two years we haven't seen him will have put a little more power into his bucking.

One bull who I am shocked to see in the long go round as opposed to the short go, where you would normally expect to find him, is Page and Teague Bucking Bulls super star, Lefty. Lefty has bucked off all but 16 of the riders to attempt him. He has put past world champions like Mike Lee, Chris Shivers, and Justin McBride in the dirt long before the 8 second whistle blew. And he is the bull, who, during the Mossy Oak Shoot Out Ride in Grand Rapids, Michigan, broke Justin McBride's leg, and effectively killed his World Champion dreams for that season. Though McBride did do remarkable well considering his injuries during the World Finals Event. This weekend, Canadian representative Rob Bell will take on Lefty, hoping not just to stay on for eight, but to avoid the injuries that this bull has a strange ability to deal out when it is the worst thing for your season.

Last year's number two man, Guilherme Marchi, will take on the Page /Buck/ Watts bull, Big Deal. Though Big Deal has only been ridden three out of thirteen outs, his last showing, versus Marchi's fellow Brazilian Paulo Crimber, only scored 76.8, with a bull rating of 18.8. It will be interesting to see if the bull who provided Matt Bohon with a 91.3 point score shows up and he just had a rough day on that last out, or find out that Big Deal has lost a major step in his bucking career.

Speaking of Crimber, he has drawn Rice Ranch's Akin for 8. He is yet ANOTHER new bull for this weekend. Man, there sure are a lot of rookie bulls floating through the pens.

One piece of irony, though it is a painful one, is that, with his brother, Cory Rasch, out for the next few months, Evan Rasch, has secured at least a temporary position on the BFTS roster. He will take on another bull provided by Kaycee Simpson, White Lightning. Ridden four out of 12 trips, he will likely be a handful for the lesser known Rasch brother. However, Evan is well enough liked to have, through fan voting, previously secured a spot on the Hawiian invitational's cowboy listing.

The short go round is filled with big, bad, mean tempered bulls, just waiting to show their dominance over the PBR's top fifteen riders for the event. The bull lineup includes such heavy hitters as Flying U/ Moreno Bucking Bulls stars Werewolf Snuff, who has been ridden 12 out of over 40 trips, and Reindeer Dippin', a legendary bad boy, who was unridden throughout the 2006 season. Reindeer has only been ridden twice. The last time way back in Laughlin 2005, by LJ Jenkins, who is unfortunatly still out on injury. The two powerhouses combined for a tremendous score of 93.0. Joining these two will be several big names from Page and Teague Bucking bulls. Certainly one of the best known will be Crossfire Hurricane. This legendary copper colored cross breed bull has been covered just seven times in a career that is entering its fifth year. He's thrown off a large number of the worlds greatest cowboys, but the ones who stayed on have very widely varying scores. It will be interesting to see who draws this impressive bull, and to see how they fair against his powerful, and nasty lunges.

Sadly for us fans, and the cowboys involved, the PBR's Injury Page is rapidly filling up with big names. Young Travis Brisoe has joined Ross Coleman, Cory Rasch, Chris Shivers, and LJ Jenkins on the list of cowboys sitting out as a result of their run-ins with the best, or depending on how you look at it worst, bulls the world has to offer. Also out is Chad Denton, who suffered a possible broken knee cap in a challenger event Pueblo, CO. We're also going to be missing Michael Riggs, Australian Jared Farley, and Brazilian Allan Moraes. And to these men, you can add guys like Australian Brendon Clark, the mighty one Mike White, Sevi Torturo, Shane Proctor, and more, all of which are competing with other various injuries. These injuries range from sprained necks, wrists, thumbs and knees, to banged up and bruised legs. Not a whole lot of fun.

If I missed anyone's favorite cowboys, you can check out http://www.pbrnow.com/competition/bfts/eventDrawLoad.cfm?ID=07-103 to learn more about this weekend's first event's draws.

From 2006 Rookie of the Year TO...

Maybe the next World Champion? It is what every young bull rider wants, that world champion buckle. And if early showings of true talent mean anything, then young North Carolina cowboy J.B. Mauney is certainly on the right, and fast, track. With two events in the books, he has taken home the top spot two times. And is way out in the lead for qualifier standings, and has a point standing lead of nearly three hundred points over the number two man, 2004 World Champion, Mike Lee. Mauney has also managed to maintain a perfect riding score (100%). Granted there is probably no way he could physically maintain that type of average, but it is certainly the way to start out a season right. The more bulls he stays on top of, the better his chances of putting together winning scores. We may very well be looking at the youngest champion the PBR has ever seen. (He would take that honor away from Mike Lee, who was just barely over 21 when he snagged his. Mauney will still only be 20 when we hit Vegas this fall). This past weekend, Mike took third, and second overall place went to last year's number two overall individual, Brazilian Guilherme Marchi. Guilherme is proving that he doesn't like being shut out of the top spot. Marchi is showing the world that just because he didn't fair so well at the World Finals, doesn't mean we can count him out just yet. Marchi is ranked third in the current standings for the world title race, having stayed up on 7 out of his 8 bulls. The only reason he is ranked behind Lee is that he hasn't put up big scores yet. But watch out Mauney, this guy is gonna ride your tail until he pushes past you for that number one spot. Guess that is one reason to maybe not want to be in the top spot. You've got every other one of the top riders in the world breathing down your neck, wanting to knock you down into second place and take over the lead.

History Books Re-Written

November 5, 2006 will go down in rodeo history books. Brazilian Adriano Moraes, the oldest professional bull rider, took his third world title, making him the first man ever to do so. At 36, he was the oldest man at the world finals, and snatched the gold buckle away from fellow Brazilian Guilherme Marchi, who had lead the race for the majority of the year. Also taking home a good share of the glory was Texico, NM rider L.J. Jenkins, who was just the opposite of Moraes, being the youngest rider of the event. Jenkins won the actual World Finals Event, and took home the $225,000.00 purse. Pretty good pay day for a 19 year old. Congrats to all of the riders, bulls, personell, and stock contractors who make these events possible. On a piece of irony, two years in a row, the world champion race has come down to whether or not the last rider of the week could ride his last bull. Last year, it was Justin McBride hanging on to Camo for 8-seconds. This year, it came down to Kody Lostroh, who bucked off of THE SAME BULL!!! Had he ridden he only needed about 7 points to win the aggregate for the weekend, which likely would have taken the title from Moraes and handed it to Marchi. Unfortunately for Lostroh he came off, but a better effort probably couldn't have been made considering how awful Camo was in the chute. Riders are given 3 chances to get out on their bull, and it took Lostroh all of that.

What a close, close race this year was. Hopefully next year will be just as exciting.