RICHEST YOUTH BULL RIDING IN HISTORY KICKS OFF IN COWTOWN

By Leigh Ann Schroeder
Posted Thursday, August 6, 2009

Ft. Worth, Texas - - Presented by Championship Bull Riding, the "Biggest Youth Bull Riding in History" kicked off today at the Will Rogers Coliseum in Ft. Worth, Texas. 320 youth descended upon Cowtown to compete for a record $15,000 added money. Each category winner of round one received a Hy O Silver buckle and a check for their efforts.

Girl power from San Angelo, Texas started off the competition with Victoria Beaty posting a 70 point score in the Mutton Bustin. The 2009 Western Region Texas YBR Mutton Bustin Champion said "its fun" after her 8 second ride. Beaty was the only female in a lineup of over 40 boys. Victoria is no stranger to the bucking chutes. She is from a rodeo rich family. She is the daughter of bull fighter, Brannon Beatty and both of her brothers compete in the steer riding. "He ran straight down the middle", said the 6 year old who has been riding sheep since she was three years old. Victoria attends Grape Creek Elementary school.

Ty Pope of Garnett, KS scored 77 points to win first place in the Calf Riding. This is Ty's second year competing and he claims "winning" is the best part of coming to the YBRF. He practices with Oklahoma stock contractor in Locust Grove, Oklahoma David Berry who also owns Monster Bull. Ty definitely wants to be a bull rider when he grows up.

12 year old Samray Hooper, son of cutting horse trainer Kyle Hooper of Andrews, TX posted a 72.5 to win the opening round of the Sr. steer Riding. According to Samray "as soon as the chute gate opened his steer blew up hard and got me off my rope, I had to fight the entire ride to get back to the center (of the steer) to make the whistle".

Jr. Steer Riding winner on opening day was Trey Kimzey, son of legendary rodeo clown Ted Kimzey. According to this Strong City, OK native cowboy "he had a plan to ride four" and he moved one step closer to the final round today. He scored a 72.5 on a "running, jumping and big bucking Texas steer", said 10 year old Kimzey who learned how to ride attending Cody Custer's Camp of Champions.

Pee Wee Bulls, a category describing the riders not the bulls, was dominated by the livestock in the opening round. With only a handful of qualified rides out of a field of over 70 contestants, Merrick Brooks came out on top with 83 points on a Hayden Shaw Bucking Bull.

15 year old cowboy Merrick Brooks from Eastland, Texas said he got behind and spent the entire 8 seconds catching up and hanging on. “My bull moved back and flattened out”, he said, “which forced me to have to work hard to make the buzzer.” Pee Wee bull riders are between the ages of 13 - 16.

Open bull riding category kicked off with an 82 point score from Beaumont, TX cowboy Sean Palumbo. Palumbo attributes his first place finish to being prepared. Palumbo who practices at Frontier Rodeo headquarters in Winnie, Texas, says he gets to get on great bulls that help him get better. Palumbo described the bulls this year as “better than last year”. He likes the bulls challenging. “My bull took a big jump out of the chutes, turned back left, then back to the right, he was better than I expected”, the 19 year old cowboy said.

The YBR World finals is structured under the Texas Youth Bull Riders, Inc., a
Non-profit 501 c 3 organization based in Fort Worth, Texas. Since its inception in 2007, Andy Carter and Mike Vergari have managed the YBR World Finals. The YBR World Finals was founded on the belief that every child's dream can come true if only given something to believe in. It is a three round event with a championship “short go” performance on Saturday, August 8, 2009.

The Mission of the YBRF is to host the richest Youth Bull Riding in history, and crown the World Champion Youth Bull Riders. YBRF strives to bring awareness and fundraising efforts to children's health care issues. There are approximately 27-plus Youth Bull Riding associations across the United States. Unlike Little League Baseball and many other youth activities, there is not a legitimate governing body that brings these kids together to compete at a level such as the World Series. This is where the YBRWF comes into play. We bring the top athletes from around the country (ranging in age from 4 to 19-yrs) together to compete and when the dust settles at the Will Rogers Coliseum and the bulls are back in the pens, we all know who are the WORLD CHAMPIONS.