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 HabanerofromMichael 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.
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 manKody 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.
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'sCrossfire 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'sLivin' 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!
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 Lostrohhas 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 championGuilherme 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.
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.
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!!!
I'm a cow person, a farmer, a wife a mother, and a caretaker of the barns. Journey with us and all our stock!
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