SPRINGFIELD, Mo. (September 19, 2010) - Saturday night, J.B. Mauney was in a hurry to get out of the chute on Chester.
He had ridden five bulls in a row, and knew it was “coming down to crunch time” if he planned to contend for the world title.
But all four judges threw out their re-ride flags before he even made the whistle. Chester’s flank strap was never secured properly while Mauney was readying himself in the chute during the Final Five Showdown.
“I didn’t quite let Curtis (Mendel) get the bull flanked the first time,” Mauney explained. “I’m pretty bad about getting in there and getting out as quick as I can, and he didn’t have him quite flanked. That was my mistake.
“I wish we would have got it right the first time, but it all worked out.”
Chester was run right back into the chute, and the second time around, Mauney made the 8-second whistle again. This time it was good for 87.75 points. He finished second in the bonus round behind Valdiron de Oliveira, and earned an additional 180 points in the world standings.
Had Mauney kept his first score on Chester, he would have finished fourth in the bonus round and actually lost ground in the standings, after Austin Meier made a qualified ride for 86.5 points on Insaniac.
Instead he gained 21.25 points on Meier, who finished third behind Mauney and Oliveira.
“I was going at him and just trying to spur at him,” said Mauney of his second effort on Chester. “It felt good. I’m being aggressive on those bulls. I’m not just sitting up there and trying to ride them. I’m trying to spur them and get as many points as I can.”
After a terrible stretch of events, the 23-year-old has finally run off a streak of Top 5 finishes.
He has four in a row, and is in position to make it five. If he holds on for the win this weekend, it will be his first since Sacramento, Calif., back in January.
Mauney started the season by qualifying for six of the first eight short rounds before an eight-event stretch in which he went 0-for-the-weekend five times and was left off the World Cup roster.
“I kind of messed around and didn’t do my job in the middle of the year, got hurt and then wasn’t riding very good,” he admitted.
Two events before the summer break, he suffered a partially collapsed lung in Wichita, Kan., and was forced to sit out numerous Touring Pro Division events.
But since returning in Tulsa, Okla., he’s covered 14 of 22 bulls, including 12 of his past 16. He’s now ridden six in a row to raise his season average to 52.63 percent, which is still five points below his career average.
“I have to make up some ground,” Mauney said, “and it’s time to do it.”
After two long rounds and a bonus round at the PFIwestern.com Invitational, Mauney is within 900 points of Meier. Mauney is first in the average, while Meier is 16th.
But Mauney is within 222.75 points of No. 2 Renato Nunes, who is 0-for-his-past-5 and has made the whistle just once in the past three BFTS events.
Mauney has drawn Hee Bee Gee Bee in Round 3, and plans to continue his aggressive style of drafting bulls when it comes to the short round.
“When I get in that chute, when I tie my hand in there, I’m nodding and we’re going at them,” Mauney said. “It’s a dog fight until the end.”
He might want to wait until the bull’s flanked next time, though.
