COLUMBUS, Ohio (October 9, 2010) - Going into the first round of the last regular-season event, none of the Top 5 riders seem to have an edge in tonight’s draw.
Austin Meier’s bull is unridden in only three outs, J.B. Mauney and Ryan McConnel have debut bulls with no history, Renato Nunes may have the best shot at success, and Valdiron de Oliveira has the best bull in the round, but one who will be difficult for him to ride.
Round 1
Cody Nance on 590 Felix:
Felix is a bull who’s been around the PBR for two years now. He first appeared at a Touring Pro Division event in September of 2008, but since then, he’s only appeared 14 times total. That makes him one of the least hard-working bulls in the PBR. When he has appeared, left-handed riders have had their way with him. Look for Nance to make the whistle here, but only for around 86 points.
Sean Willingham on K47 Nasty Town:
Willingham has been on Nasty Town twice – last week in Uncasville, Conn., and last October in Portland, Ore. He bucked off both times, but I would never bet on this bull bucking off any Top 40 PBR rider. This is the kind of bull these guys make money on. Does that mean he is easy? No. The riders at this level are just that good.
If you look at the stats that bulls put up only on the Built Ford Tough Series level, they can be extremely misleading. Nasty Town is a good example of this. In terms of average marking, or average bull score, there are literally 1,000 or more bulls in the United States and Canada right now who are just about as good. However, the huge majority of these bulls have earned their reputations at smaller events and against lesser riders, and more importantly, they have been seen in pens of lesser bulls more often. These bulls often get a chance on the Built Ford Tough Series and come up short. Nasty Town has not. He’s been rock-solid against the best riders in the world. He is ridden about half the time, but again, he’s faced stiff competition.
In any given year, around 1,700 riders try their hands riding bulls at some level of the PBR or professional rodeo. The riders at the top of the BFTS standings got there because when they draw a bull like this, they ride him pretty often. These guys can make great bulls look like good ones, and good bulls look bad.
Kody Lostroh on 13 Party Time:
This is another journeyman PBR bull who has spent his entire career in the PBR going against the top-level riders. He’s got 63 career outs, and has only been ridden 16 times. Party Time is a little bit special in that he spins to the right most of the time. Of all the bulls in North America, there are more who spin to the left, which is why there are a lot of left-handed bull riders. It’s a little easier to ride a bull going into your hand. However, you don’t get to be PBR World Champion by getting lucky in the draw – you have to be able to ride bulls who go in both directions. Lostroh bucked off Party Time back in 2008, but he is a better rider now than he was then. This will be a pretty even match.
Silvano Alves on 456 Navajo Rug:
All talk of the Top 10 riders and the world standings aside, at this moment, Alves is the best rider in the PBR. The odds are against his being able to maintain his numbers for several years in a row, but right now his career riding percentage is 72 percent. Guilherme Marchi, Oliveira, and Mauney are all around 60 percent in career riding percentage. This means Alves should be favored against any bull he draws.
Douglas Duncan on 549 Ray Charles:
Ray Charles has been ridden three out of five times in PBR competition, and three of three times at the Built Ford Tough Series Level. Duncan hasn’t been on a roll lately, but he has been on a lot of bulls this year. He should get this one ridden.
Chris Shivers on 518 Moebandy.com:
Shivers has a good chance at the round win here. This bull has been off-and-on this year. He’s always very good, and he’s not easy to ride, but at times he’s been a 44-plus-point bull, and at other times he’s been 41 points. If he has a good day here, Shivers could be 90 points. Shivers has a way of making every bull he gets on look better, and this has been the case since he was 16 years old riding in high school rodeos.
Zack Brown on 42 Bird Creek:
Bird Creek has a weakness, and it’s left-handed riders. His buckoff percentage is 39 percent against them. It’s 93 percent against right-handed riders. Any bull with those kind of stats is not going to be a nice, easy spinner. He’s a cut above most long-round bulls. If a bull of this quality gets smart enough to use direction against riders, he could potentially be a very difficult bull to ride for anyone.
Valdiron de Oliveira on 10-5 Crosswired:
This is the matchup of the night. Crosswired has been out of action since having a subpar outing in New Orleans back in April. However, this is the 64th highest marked bull in PBR history. They met last September in Reno, Nev., and Oliveira was tossed handily in 1.8 seconds. Among currently active bulls, Crosswired is among the Top 20 highest marked, and is always a thrill to watch.
Travis Sellers on 01 Big Stuff:
Big Stuff has been around quite a bit this season. He’s appeared on the Built Ford Tough Series 11 times, but he’s had 26 PBR outs overall this year. His buckoff average is around 77 percent, but one of the guys who has ridden him successfully is Sellers. They met in Thief River Falls, Minn., back in July, where Sellers recorded 89 points.
Cord McCoy on 517 Kool & Sexy:
McCoy is one of the most likeable riders in the PBR, but he hasn’t done all that well at the Built Ford Tough Series level lately. This bull is a good draw for him, having been much easier for left-handed riders, and good enough to place high in the round at times.
Jordan Hupp on 528 Mountain Cat:
To me this is an interesting match, because I am unsure of who this bull is. He came here on David Bailey Jr.’s truck. If he is the same 528 Mountain Cat that Dan Russell (Western Rodeos) has been hauling for two years, then he has never appeared on the Built Ford Tough Series, and rarely in any PBR event, but when he has appeared in the PBR, he’s been worth 44 points. He has been hauled all over the country, has faced 22 riders, and is unridden as far as I can tell.
Renato Nunes on 32S Hot Tamale:
Among the Top 5 riders, Nunes really has the best proven draw of the bunch. The downside is this bull can go either way, is very fast, and will throw most guys out the back. That is not the best type of bull for Renato’s style, but he has been able to make it work. If this bull goes left, I think Nunes rides him, but if he goes right, I don’t think he has a chance.
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