ST. LOUIS (March 1, 2010) - A man is only as good as his word.
And as much as Jody Newberry would have liked to select Voodoo Child in the short go Sunday afternoon, he had made a promise to his wife Amanda. In the event that he got into the final round of the Enterprise Rent-a-Car Invitational with the first pick, he had told her and his father Terry that he’d make a more suitable choice.
He went with RFD-TV, made the 8-second whistle for 90.5 points, and won his first Built Ford Tough Series event since 2006.
“It was a businessman’s decision,” Newberry said afterward. “Nobody’s ever going to remember that I rode RFD necessarily, and if I ride Voodoo Child they’ll probably never forget it. The fact is, it pays a lot of money to win one of these events, and coming in leading the deal, it was the smart choice.
“The reality is that I’ll make plenty more short rounds and be lower in that draft, and I’ll have my chance at Voodoo Child.”
With his wife standing at his side, Newberry added that had he chosen the spotted nightmare, he would likely have been in trouble at home.
“We discussed it, my wife and I, and even over the phone with my dad, and they said, ‘Please don’t. Just get a good one and then try to ride that other one somewhere else,’” he recalled.
Newberry would like to add Voodoo Child to a list that already includes Little Yellow Jacket, Unforgiven, High Tide and Kid Rock.
“There’s a long list of bulls that I’ve ridden that other people didn’t ride or very few people rode,” Newberry said, “and I’d like to add him to that list just for bragging rights, I guess. But today wasn’t the day. There’s a time for everything, and today wasn’t the time.”
Sunday was about reclaiming his status as a top-rated professional bull rider for the first time in three years.
His current success – in four BFTS events this year, he has three Top 10 finishes – comes on the heels of competing in lower-level bull riding events after being cut from the BFTS early in the 2007 season.
“I felt like I could come back and win,” he said, “and that is the reason why I made an effort to come back on tour. But to actually go ahead and do what you said you wanted to do, or said you still could do, is just kind of proving to myself that I still can ride at this level. It’s a pretty good moment for me right now—just to feel that.
“There wasn’t any doubt, but there’s something to be said for following through, and that’s what I feel like I did here today.”
Sunday afternoon, Newberry rode Hippy Music for 87.5 points to maintain his lead in the average before selecting RFD-TV. He had already ridden Hypnotized for 86.75 points in the opening round, and then confidently selected Flashpoint with the third pick in the bull draft for Round 2. It was there that he claimed the lead in the average with an 87.5-point effort.
It’s the fifth career event win for Newberry, who was Rookie of the Year in 2003, the same season he was the PBR World Finals event winner. Newberry last won a BFTS event four years ago in Oklahoma City.
“I was on tour before, and for four years I was in the Top 10 and I considered myself a Top 10 kind of guy,” Newberry said. “I didn’t want to come back and do any less than that. I mean, I kind of have a standard to live up to, and so far, so good.
“In my mind I know I’m a Top 10 guy, so it’s a matter of opinion. I don’t know what anybody else thinks, but I’ll have my chance to prove or disprove it. I just feel like I am, and I’m going to continue to strive to achieve that.”
NEWS and NOTES
Standings reshuffled: While Newberry was the only rider to cover all four bulls this weekend, five riders covered three and finished within 3.75 points of one another – Ryan McConnel, 263; McKennon Wimberly, 261.25; Sean Willingham, 260.75; Valdiron de Oliveira, 259.50 and L.J. Jenkins, 259.25.
With both J.B. Mauney and Travis Briscoe failing to earn any points this weekend, Oliveira is now atop the world standings. Wimberly is seventh in the world, and McConnel is ninth in the standings. Mauney dropped to second, while Briscoe dropped to third.
This is the second time this season that Mauney has let the top spot slip away. A year ago, Kody Lostroh took control of the No. 1 position and never relinquished it en route to his first world title.
Aches and pains: Dr. Tandy Freeman confirmed that Guilherme Marchi does not have any fractures in his wrist or riding hand. The official diagnosis is that he has a sprained wrist, but he was unable to finish the weekend. When approached Sunday afternoon, Marchi said he’ll likely miss the next two weeks.
Unlike Marchi, reigning champion Lostroh has two fractures in the elbow of his riding arm. While he said he felt fine, Lostroh was unable to compete in the short round this weekend. No word at this time on whether he’ll compete next weekend in Kansas City.
Opportunity knocks: Travis Briscoe was disappointed that he was unable to capitalize on the fact that Mauney came down from three bulls this weekend. Briscoe separated a rib and tore some cartilage in his chest during a wreck in Round 2 with Skyhawk Cut-a-Rug, and didn’t finish the event. He’s hopeful that he’ll be able to compete next week in Kansas City.
The secret’s out: Dusty Ephrom injured his right groin back in Winston-Salem, N.C., but knowing that he was competing as an alternate and needed to maximize his opportunities on the BFTS, he didn’t say anything. After aggravating it on Saturday night, he said he’ll likely sit out for four the next four weeks, and hopes the injury is not further complicated by a sports hernia.
The waiting is the hardest part: After watching Jordan Hupp win in Oklahoma City, some fans wondered why he wasn’t competing in St. Louis this weekend. The short answer is that he’s still an alternate until after the Kansas City event. Because so many injured riders returned in St. Louis – Chris Shivers and Mike White among them – Hupp wasn’t among the Top 3 alternates in the draw.
With numerous injuries incurred this week, a few more alternate spots should open back up, and Hupp could make the draw this weekend. He’s currently ranked 22nd in the world standings, and after next week’s cut will be guaranteed a spot in the BFTS draw beginning in Glendale, Ariz. – assuming he remains in the Top 30.
The Amazing Race: For the second week in a row, Cord and Jet McCoy won the latest leg of the race around the world. “The cowboys” again made it look easy on the hit CBS series, which airs every Sunday at 8 p.m. ET.
