Robinson chats about his sidelined champ
PUEBLO, Colo. (July 29, 2008) - Chicken on a Chain, the Professional Bull Riders’ defending World Champion Bull, who weighs in the neighborhood of a ton and can spin faster than a carnival ride, is on the sidelines.
The 2007 champion, owned by Jeff Robinson, Mike Tedesco and Larry the Cable Guy, is being treated at the North Carolina-based Mills River Animal Hospital for urolithiasis – the forming of stones in the kidney, bladder and/or urinary tract.
The dark brown bull began showing signs of severe abdominal discomfort, dehydration, weight loss and high fever soon after being featured in the June 20 final round of the Built Ford Tough Series tour stop in Tulsa, Okla.
In the Tulsa final, Dustin Elliott turned in a score of 85.5 despite getting out of position near the end of the ride. Chicken on a Chain received a bull score of 44.25, at least a point lower than usual.
“He’s a big bull and you have plenty to get a hold of when you are riding him,” Elliott said. “He’s just so big, strong and athletic.”
Shortly after the Tulsa show, Robinson transported his prize bull to the veterinary medicine clinic, where Chicken on a Chain’s kidney stones were removed. He is continuing to receive treatment for dehydration and infection.
Chicken on a Chain’s highest bull score of the year was 48 in at the BFTS tour stop in Winston-Salem, N.C., and he made headlines when he helped Brazilian Renato Nunes turn in a final round score of 95.75 in St. Louis.
But in hindsight, Robinson said, the bull’s greatest effort was in Tulsa when Chicken on a Chain helped Elliott turn in an 85.5 despite his ailments.
“People ask me all of the time what’s his best out ever,” Robinson said. “Tulsa could have been his best out ever just to be honest. To be as sick as he was and still buck halfway decent is amazing.”
Robinson, a Mars Hill, N.C. stock contractor, answered questions about Chicken on a Chain’s illness, his phenomenal season and the challenges that a stock producer faces in an attempt to wrangle a World Champion Bull.
Question: Did it look like Chicken on a Chain wasn’t quite himself at the Tulsa tour stop?
Answer: When I got there, he looked sort of lackadaisical. He wasn’t bad, but he sure wasn’t himself. But had I realized that he was in that bad of shape, I would have brought him home.
Q. How did you discover that he was ailing?
A. I thought he was a little hot and cold. When I got him home, I noticed that he was real drawn and he had a really high temperature. So, I called the vet and he came out and ran tests.
Q. Ultimately, does it look like you put your finger on what was wrong?
A. I think so. We’re doing some alternative treatment on him now. We’ve changed his diet. We’ll just see if it works.
Q. Are you concerned about the bull’s overall health? Does it look like it’s all going to work out OK overall?
A. We’re hoping that it’s going to work out and we think that everything will be fine. But I’m still a little concerned about him being back at 100 percent this year.
Q. Looking back, do you think that it’s remarkable that he wasn’t 100 percent in Tulsa, but he still helped Dustin Elliott score above 85 points?
A. If Dustin would have ridden him correctly, he could have been 90. His bull score was still respectable (44.25). If all of my bulls would score around 44.5, I’d be really happy. Chicken on a Chain has been as high 48 points this year (at Winston-Salem, N.C.). To be honest, anytime he’s under 46 points, I’m a little disappointed.
Q. How do you feel about his year on the whole?
A. It’s been phenomenal. At the beginning of the year and around the time that he went to Winston-Salem, he probably was the rankest bull that I’ve ever seen. He was the bull of the event at five events in a row that he was taken to — Winston-Salem (a bull score of 48), St. Louis (46.5), Baltimore (46.5), Chicago (45.5), and Orlando (46.25).
Q. One of the many admirable things about Chicken of a Chain is he’s big and can move. What are your thoughts about that?
A. He’s a freak of nature. He’s a 2,000 pound bull who bucks like a 1,500 pound bull.
Q. Does he habitually buck in the same pattern?
A. He used to go to the right all of the time. But he started going to the left the more that we bucked him. He’ll switch it up every so often, but he now pretty much goes to the left.
Q. When guys draw him, what do you think goes through their minds?
A. I think they want to draw him. They know that they can be 95 or 96 him. When he was ridden last year and earlier this year, they were 93 (Justin McBride in April 2007 at Auburn Hills, Mich.) and 95.75 (Renato Nunes in February 2008 at St. Louis).
Q. He was the top bull last year after winning the title at the World Finals. What do you think that the judges saw in him?
A. I think he and Big Bucks ran neck and neck throughout the year. Chicken on a Chain had three consistent, strong trips at the World Finals.
Q. Not only do you have a great bull, you have one with a name that catches people’s attention. What are your thoughts about how Chicken on a Chain is perceived?
A. The name is impressive and the fact that’s he’s so big is impressive. I’m pretty partial to him, but I think there’s four of five bulls out there that are as good as anything that you want to look for. Bulls such as Troubadour, Voodoo Child, White Magic, Copperhead Slinger and Chicken on a Chain are kind of in a league of their own right now.
Q. How difficult is it to find a World Champion Bull such as Chicken on a Chain?
A. Once in a lifetime. That’s the case for me. We do this for a living and we don’t have millions of dollars to spend. It’s kind of like horse racing where there hasn’t been a Triple Crown winner in 30 years. It’s really hard to put an elite one together when there’s about 7,000 or 8,000 bulls that buck every year.
Q. How many bulls do you go through to find a champion?
A. Hundreds of them. And I may never have another one like Chicken on a Chain. It’s really a lot of trial and error.
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