LAS VEGAS (October 22, 2010) - Ragin J.T. went up for sale last December, only one man bid on him.
Jerry Tuttle’s faith in the bull paid off handsomely when Ragin J.T. won the ABBI Futurity Finals for 2-year-old bulls on Friday morning. Tuttle and his partners, the Jaynes Gang, won $100,000.
Ragin J.T. received a total of 22.75 points to edge Black Betty (Paul Daniel) and Sham-Wow (Jimmy Crowther, Johnny Monger) by a quarter-point. Bad Mama Jama (Two Pair Bucking Bulls, The Jaynes Gang) placed fourth (22.25) and Duty Calls (Torres Brothers Bucking Bulls) was fifth (22).
Held at the Hard Rock Hotel PBR Fan Zone outdoor arena, the competition featured the Top 35 bulls from a qualifier in Stephenville, Texas, on Oct. 1-2. Bulls bucked for 4 seconds with 25-pound dummies on their backs. They were judged by five men, each looking for a different element: buck, kick, spin, difficulty and intensity. Points were awarded 1 through 5.
Ragin J.T. received 4.75 points on kick and intensity, 4.5 on buck and difficulty and 4.25 on spin. The fourth bull out of the gate, he jumped out and spun to the left with a lot of hind kick. Tuttle said his trip was similar to what he nailed when he won the Stephenville qualifier with the same score.
“He’s just gotten better and better,” Tuttle said. “His last eight events, he has not finished worst than fourth. So that’s pretty consistent.”
After the seventh bull went out, it started raining, which sent ABBI personnel scrambling for cover under a tent. The few hundred fans in attendance weren’t so lucky. Most of them either stayed in their seats and got soaking wet or retreated to a viewing area under a nearby parking garage.
Ragin J.T. was born and bred on PBR superstar Mike White’s ranch in Louisiana and sold to Chad Ducey. Tuttle bought him from Ducey for $6,500.
“The bull was actually for sale a couple times and nobody even wanted him,” Tuttle said. “I saw a video of him, and I was the only person who bid on the calf.”
So what did you see in him?
“When they put him in the chute, he had the intensity in there,” Tuttle said. “He was a little rough to handle to start with, but when they opened the gate, he would turn just right out of the gate. I mean, he didn’t have a whole lot of kick and stuff, but you could tell there was something about him that he really wanted to do good.
“He just went from that to boom, boom, boom, improving every time.”
Ragin J.T. was named after Tuttle.
“I got that name when I was playing baseball; I was a little hot-headed,” he said. “There used to be a wrestler named Manny Fernandez – the Raging Bull – and my teammates started calling me Ragin J.T. I thought that would be a good name for a bull.”
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