Andy Smith was the only bull rider to make the whistle on all four bulls at the Bullriders of America Finals giving him both the event win and enough points to gain him the 2008 Bullriders of America Championship. The $10,000 added money event was held August 1st and 2nd at the Tri-State Rodeo Arena, Fort Madison, Iowa. With each round Andy had closed the gap between himself and Jimmy Twedt who had came into the finals in the lead. As the final round ended Andy had managed to pass Jimmy, who ultimately finished the year as the Reserve Champion. The event pitted the top 25 riders of the BOA against the best bulls provided by the contractors of the BOA. This year that included the bulls of CC Bucking Bulls (Cory Check, WI), Double S Bull Company (Shad Smith, IA) and D Bar D Rodeo Company (Ty Daniel, MO). The format consisted of two rounds of bull riding competition each nigh along with one round of freestyle bullfighting competition by the Midwest Bullfighters Association each night. Friday night’s winners were Richard Smith in round one and Ryan Littau in round two. Saturday night’s winners were Cody Sierks in round three and Brad Check in round four. The winner of the bullfighting competition was Evan Allard.
Others that added to the overall success of the event were Waylon Perry, who provided all the special effects as well as Hannah Hillsabeck who was the flag carrier for the round flags.
Part of the weekend’s events was the annual meeting of the BOA membership. Among the business of the association was the election of officers for the upcoming year. Voted as the new president is Stacy Doss, Tipton, MO and the new Vice-president is Todd Crase, Winterset IA
Each night following the performance all the athletes and personnel held an autograph session presented by RodeoAttitude.com and sponsored by the Extreme Bullriding Tour. Many fans took advantage of this opportunity. (Photo courtesty of Howard Sears).
One of the highlights of each year’s finals is the announcement of the year end awards. This year for the second year in a row the members of the Extreme Bullriding Team were celebrating taking home all but one major award.
Year-end Awards:
2008 BOA Champion – Andy Smith
2008 BOA Reserve Champion – Jimmy Twedt
2008 3rd Place – Dusty Green
2008 4th Place – Ryan Littau
2008 5th Place – Curt Check
Producer of the Year – White Buffalo Productions, Todd and Tammy Crase, Winterset, IA and Ryan Skillet, Lincoln, NE
Stock Contractor of the Year – Double S Bull Company, Sidney, IA, Shad and Vicki Smith
Event of the Year – Fillmore County Fair Extreme Bullriding Tour, Geneva, NE
New Event of the Year – Lancaster Event Center Extreme Bullriding Tour, Lincoln, NE
Indoor Event of the Year – Lancaster Event Center Extreme Bullriding Tour, Lincoln, NE
Bull of the Year – 328 Sea Bass, Double S Bull Company, Sidney, IA
Bull of the Finals, - 37 Spearfish, CC Bucking Bulls, WI
High Point Ride of the Finals – Brad Check, 89.5 points on 37 Spearfish, Cory Check Bucking Bulls
Reuben Detweiler Award - Travis Van Laar
Rookie of the Year – Ty Redman
Announcer of the Finals – Troy Goodrich, Fort Scott, KS
Barrelman of the Finals – Allan Dessel, Hugo, OK
Bullfighters of the Finals - Bryon Buffington, Jeremy Muntz and Andy Thompson
Finals Judges – Justin Bane, Winterset, IA , Stacy Doss, Tipton, MO and Todd Crase, Winterset, IA
Finals Secretary – Hallie Dessel, Cherokee, IA
Complete Results:
Finals Average
1 Andy Smith 331/4 $1,608.75
2 Steven Lile 256.5/3 $1,218.75
3 Ryan Littau 246/3 $877.50
4 Cody Sierks 171/2 $585.00
5 Cody Schultz 169/2 $341.25
6 Jimmy Twedt 161/2 $243.75
Finals Round 4 - August 2, 2008
1 Brad Check 89.5 $787.88
2 Jason Sheldon 88 $596.88
3 Steven Lile 87 $429.75
4 Andy Smith 86.5 $286.50
5 Cody Schultz 85.5 $167.13
6 Jimmy Twedt 84 $119.38
Finals Round 3 - August 2, 2008
1 Cody Sierks 87.5 $787.88
2 Curt Check 86.5 $596.88
3 Andy Smith 85 $429.75
4 Ty Redman 84.5 $286.50
5 Steven Lile 84 $167.13
6 Cody Schultz 83.5 $119.38
Finals Round 2 - August 1, 2008
1 Ryan Littau 87 $804.38
2 Steven Lile 86 $609.38
3/4 Cody Sierks 83.5 $365.63
3/4 Jake Bode 83.5 $365.63
5 CJ Waller 82.5 $170.63
6 Andy Smith 78 $121.88
Finals Round 1 - August 1, 2008
1Richard Smith 85 $804.38
2 Andy Smith 81.5 $609.38
3 Ryan Littau 77.5 $438.75
4/5 Jake Bode 77 $231.56
4/5 Jimmy Twedt 77 $231.56
6 Henry Yoder 76 $121.88
Results from Bullfighting Competition:
1 – Evan Allard 83 points
2 – Brandon Lindsay 82 point
3 – Jeremy Muntz 81 points
4 - Curt Slyter 75 points