August 23 - Vermillion, SD

On August 23rd the 16th Annual Coyote Country Rodeo Club Bull-A-Rama hosted one of the largest crowds in its history. The standing-room only crowd was virtually shoulder-to-shoulder when the bulls from Double S Bull Company made their tenth appearance at the Vermillion, South Dakota event. On Friday night the bulls of Double S Bull Company, owned by Shad and Vicki Smith of Sidney, IA, ceremoniously arrived for the official “Unloading of the Bulls”. This event was highlighted by a barbeque and a meet and greet for all the sponsors and fans. Another big hit prior to the actual event was an autograph session held on Saturday from 11 AM to 2 PM at the Pump-N-Pack. Numerous fans stopped in to meet contestants and personnel and to take a close up look at Buck Cherry one of the top bulls in the Double S Bull Company’s “Attack Pack”. While there many of the younger generation enjoyed pony rides as well.

The opening for all Extreme Bullriding Tour events has a reputation for its pageantry. Vermillion fans were treated to Paige Smith, the 6-year-old daughter of Shad and Vicki Smith, singing the National Anthem as her 9-year-old brother, Cash Smith carried the American Flag. Once the introductions of riders and personnel were completed it was time for the riding to begin.

With the cut-off date for the Bullriders Of America (BOA) finals on Sunday the line-up of riders for the event read like the whose-who of this association. Mix in several top riders from the second sanctioning association, the National Federation of Professional Bullriders (NFPB) and the field of competitors was phenomenal. In the end it was Andy Smith with a 90-point ride that won him the event championship and the championship buckle along with a nice $928.13 paycheck. The closest man to Andy was Jake Bode with a score of 84 points for the 2nd place finish.

As always the bulls from the Double S Bull Company proved to be top competitors themselves giving many riders one-way tickets to the arena floor. The top bull of the event was 07 Blue Duck, who did his job bucking off Todd Flynn.

There were four special competitions to add flavor to the night’s activities. In the Double S Bull Company Junior Bull Riding it was Gumby Wren who captured the championship and $365 with his 85-point ride. There was also a Mutton Bustin’ were 15 riders names were pulled from the hat of those wishing to compete for the gold buckle prize. This event is always a highlight for family and friends of the young competitors. For those non-professional bullriders there was the open bull riding competition where one rider was awarded with a gold buckle. Of course these competitors were not riding the rank bulls of the Double S Bull Company. For the young riders not yet ready for the bulls in the junior bull riding there was the Junior Steer Riding Competition were one young rider also went home with a gold buckle.

The committee for this event had chosen to promote “Tough Enough To Wear Pink” and a lot of pink items where sold including bandanas, can cozies, along with visors and t-shirts to raise money for breast cancer awareness and research.

The night ended with fireworks provided by Fire Works Unlimited, INC from Vermillion, SD.