Round two of the PBR Mohegan Sun event helps Guilherme Marchi extend his lead

By Mary Rudloff
Posted Saturday, October 18, 2008

UNCASVILLE, Conn. – Bull riders on the Built Ford Tough Series tour of the Professional Bull Riders (PBR) are going all out this weekend at the Mohegan Sun Casino, in an attempt to close the points gap between themselves and number one cowboy Guilherme Marchi.

With the PBR World Finals, in Las Vegas, only two weeks away, those near the top of the points standings are pulling out all the stops to try and inch even a little closer to Marchi, who is out in front of his fellow riders by 4,000 or more points.

That comfort zone he holds doesn’t mean Marchi is going to make it easier for them.

The Brazilian, who has finished second in the world for the past three seasons, showed how hungry he is to wear that “1” on the back of his riding vest as he turned on the power to win round two at Mohegan Sun, posting an 89.5 point ride. The last rider out that night, he grabbed the lead in the points and put himself high in the standings heading into Sunday’s round three and championship round.

Marchi scored his 89.5 points – and a 172.5 point cumulative score – aboard Bow Tech’s I-94 (John & Lacey Berger). That round win will help fight off any last minute surge from the number two and three riders, Valdiron de Oliveira and Kody Lostroh. Oliveria scored 87.75 on Gold Bell Wine (Chad Berger/Winston Loe) and Lostroh rode Why Not Minot (C Berger/Roger Ward) for 88.25 points. That sends both of them into round three on Sunday also with two scores in place.

Lostroh is leading in the average at the end of the second round, with 176.0 points, with Oliveira right behind him with 174.0. They, and Marchi, are three of 11 riders that have gone two-for-two so far this weekend. Marchi, with 172.5 points, is tied for 5th/6th place in the average.

Others that have yet to buck off at Mohegan Sun, the last stop of the BFTS before the finals, include Kasey Hayes, who is sitting in 3rd in the average with 173.5 points; Bryan Richardson trying to solidify his spot in the world finals with 173.25 points in 4th; Robson Palermo, who is tied in the average with Marchi; Billy Robinson in 8th with 172.25 points; Brazilian Pim Rosa in 5th with 172.75 points; Wiley Petersen in 9th with 171.25 points; and farther back but still with a lead over those with one score, JB Mauney with 145.5 and Leonil Santos with 157.25 points.

But in order to get to the lead positions in the average, there had to be a lot of strong bull riding in Saturday night’s round two. A total of 21 riders put up scores in round two, a round where the bulls were chosen by the riders in the “bull-draft” format, based on the riders’ finishes in round one.

Following Marchi in the round was Australian Jared Farley with 88.5 points on Denny Crane (C Berger/Clay Struve/Julie Rosen). He was followed by Kody Lostroh, Pim Rosa with 87.75 on Mule Train (Robinson/Tedesco); Valdiron de Oliveira; Missouri’s Travis Sellers with 87.5 points on Lights Out (C Berger/C Struve); Kasey Hayes with 87.25 points on Gappy Joe (Robinson/Larry the Cable Guy);

Other qualified rides in round two included:

Billy Robinson on Slim Biscuites (C Berger/C Struve) for 87.25 points;

Bryan Richardson on Puddle of Mud (J Robinson/Bar-X) for 87.0 points;

Ross Coleman on Rebound (Berger Bucking Bulls) for 86.75 points;

Beau Hill on Bo Alameda (C Berger/C Struve) for 86.5 points;

Wiley Petersen on The Breeze (C Berger/Denny Hawks) for 86.25 points;

Zack Brown rode Super Duty (Page/Teague/Trent West) for 85.75 points, which placed him 13th in the round. The ride was even more noteworthy because it was the final BFTS appearance for Super Duty, which is retiring.

A new bull to carry on the name of “Super Duty” will be named during the Mohegan Sun round three on Sunday.

The rides and buck-offs in Saturday’s round changed the potential qualifiers for the PBR World Finals with every ride.

The 2002 PBR World Champion Ednei Caminhas – entering this event at 13th in points, but at the same time only 46th in qualifier dollars – looks like he will make the finals, but odds are he should be wrapped in protective bubble wrap to do that. After getting a reride in Friday’s round one, after his bull fell down, Caminhas faced another reride Saturday night – this time on Cooter (C Berger/C Struve) in a rematch from earlier this year in Idaho – after Rockin Robin (Berger/Struve) bucked itself into a frenzy and ended up falling down in the arena … with Caminhas still on its back. Although he was able to capitalize on the reride Friday night, with 86.75 points, Cooter bucked Caminhas ooff in round two at the 3.8 second mark.

Everyone in the arena got a scare Saturday night when Edimundo Gomes was knocked out cold after bucking off Hammer Handle (C Berger/Denny Hawks) at the 7.5 second mark. Gomes was motionless in the arena for several minutes, and was carried out immobilized and secured to a backboard. Later reports were that Gomes suffered a concussion.

Sean Willingham had a brief 1.4 second ride that is destined for the “wrecks” highlight reel, when Tornado (C Berger/C Struve) turned the Georgia bullrider into a helicopter propeller while barely out of the chute.

Kolt Donaldson lost a challenge after judges marked him as off the bull Encore (J Robinson/Anchor Bull Co.) at the 7.7 mark. The challenge will cost Donaldson $500. The crowd rained boo’s and catcalls down on the judges after a judge’s review on a wild ride left Renato Nunes with no score. Nunes made it to the whistle on Eviction (Robinson/Tedesco), but a judge’s review showed that Nunes’ arm flung behind him and his elbow came in contact with the back of the bull, behind Nunes. That contact disqualified the ride.

The Mohegan Sun event will close out with round three and the championship round on Sunday, Oct. 19. The outcome of the event will set the final list of what bulls and riders will be heading to Las Vegas for the PBR World Finals, which begin on Halloween night.