PUEBLO, Colo. (June 7, 2010) - Jeff Robinson, one of Voodoo Child’s owners, was asked which PBR bull is most similar to his.
Robinson, a thoughtful man of few — but direct — words, paused.
“That’s really not easy,” he said. “Voodoo’s really one of a kind.”
A few moments passed, and it came. “The Express.”
The Express? Don’t remember that bull.
“I can’t compare him to a bull,” Robinson said. “I’m talking about the great Nolan Ryan. The Express.”
Oh yes, that Express. Hall of Fame pitcher. Played for the Mets, Angels, Astros and Rangers. Flamethrower. Struck out more batters — 5,714 — than any pitcher in Major League history. Regularly threw pitches above 100 mph, even past the age of 40. Seven no-hitters, also most in history. Currently president and part-owner of the Texas Rangers.
But how does any of that jibe with Voodoo Child, who is arguably the best bull going down the road and who has been ridden twice in more than 80 career trips (more than 35 in the PBR)?
“I was reading Nolan Ryan’s autobiography,” Robinson said, “and I learned that for the first 10 years of his career, all Nolan threw was fastballs. His attitude was, ‘Here it comes. Hit it if you can.’
“That’s exactly what Voodoo does. Everyone in the arena knows exactly what he’s going to do, his exact trip. Ride him if you can.”
To date, only Justin McBride and L.J. Jenkins have hit Voodoo’s fastball: The two-time World Champion did it first, scoring 94.5 points on Voodoo July 20, 2008, in Tulsa, Okla.
“You would have liked the unridden streak to continue,” said Rhett Beutler, who along with his father Bennie raised Voodoo Child and is still part-owner with Robinson and Jason McNeely. “But it makes you feel good that he was almost 95 points. He bucked for 8 seconds and didn’t let up. He didn’t weaken any.
“Now, to be honest, I’ve seen the bull ranker when he slings guys right out of there, but Justin got tapped off, made that first corner that finishes most guys, and once he made the first two rounds he was still in the middle. You could tell he had him.”
Though Robinson didn’t become a Voodoo owner until after the 2008 PBR World Finals, he saw the McBride ride live.
“What I love about Voodoo is he is very powerful and he’s a little faster and a little stronger every round he makes,” Robinson said. “Justin can ride anything. It took the greatest bull rider of his generation to ride him. I’m OK with that.”
Robinson also wouldn’t have minded had 2009 World Champion Kody Lostroh ridden Voodoo Child another half-second in the PBR World Finals’ championship round last November.
“I thought it was going to be a new record, maybe 97 points,” Robinson said. “I would have been OK with that, too.”
Lostroh, who has bucked off Voodoo Child three times, craves another shot.
“He’s such a challenge. He’s difficult to warm up, let alone ride,” Lostroh said. “He doesn’t get off the ground real high, but he kicks hard and he’s hard as a rock. It’s like sitting on a boulder and trying to grab on with spurs. It’s just not going to happen.”
Lostroh’s hand popped out 7.5 seconds into the Finals ride; Voodoo was marked 47.5 points, which sent him from fourth to second in the final World Champion Bull standings, just three-quarters of a point behind 2009 king Code Blue.
“I thought he was similar in all three outs (at the Finals),” Robinson said. “But Kody showed him better because his other two rides were pretty quick. The judges didn’t have a whole lot to look at in those first two trips.”
Judges marked Voodoo 46 points in each of this first two Finals sorties.
“He might have been second last year, but I don’t think there’s any question that he’s the best bull this year so far,” Lostroh said. “He’s still bucking as hard, if not harder, than ever, and he’s consistent about it. Guys know what he’s gonna do and they still can’t ride him. He cuts the same tracks every time. The next time he’s available in a draft, I’m grabbing him.”
Voodoo Child’s buckoff list reads like a PBR who’s who: World Champions Lostroh (three times), Guilherme Marchi (twice), Justin McBride, Ednei Caminhas, Chris Shivers and Mike Lee, in addition to J.B. Mauney (twice), Travis Briscoe (twice), Wiley Peterson and Brian Canter, among others.
In March of 2010, lightning struck for a second time when L.J. Jenkins became only the second man to cover the bull. In Glendale, Ariz., Jenkins posted a season-high 94 points, leapfrogged four other riders to win the event, and found himself in the Top 10 overall.
“That’s the thing people don’t really understand,” Robinson said. “He’s not getting any nights off. He has 13 to 15 outs a year, and every one of them is against the best 15 bull riders at those events, the best in the world. Same with Chicken on a Chain. They’re partners, and they live the life of Riley.”
Beutler didn’t have a clue what he had when he acquired Voodoo Child at age 3.
“We were just trading some bulls around and he was in one of those deals you make several times a year,” Beutler said. “We bucked him when he turned 4 and we really couldn’t tell how he was gonna be. The more we bucked him, the better he got.”
He competed in several ABBI Classics, but never placed higher than seventh. When he turned 5, Voodoo Child found the right medicine.
“Ninety-five percent of the time, he’ll hit the ground, kick over his head, and hit it around to the left,” Beutler said. “Bull riders have told me it’s not fair for a bull to be so big and so strong and so fast. He’s big and stout and bucks like a rank bull, but he’s so fast that when he turns back to the left that speed just throws them off.”
The 8-year-old, 1,650-pound, white black-spotted Voodoo Child doesn’t fuss in the chute.
“Bull riders love him because he is extremely rider-friendly,” Beutler said. “They know they better bear down and cock their hammer, but he’s everything you could ever ask for in a bucking bull, from both a stock contractor’s and a cowboy’s standpoint.”
Bryan Richardson drew Voodoo Child in Billings in 2008 when he was still unridden.
“I’d love to get on him again, and I hope I’m in position to pick him because I’ll pick him first,” he said. “He bucked me off, so I have a grudge against him. I gave it my best but he was better that day. We’ll meet again.
“For a bull being that predictable, nonetheless, we can’t compete. You know it’s coming, but you can’t do anything about it. When he turns back, there’s movement in his front shoulders. You never feel like you have him gathered up, because that movement, well, it’s almost like riding on water. One bobble on your part, you’ll feel the power and speed and you’ll be gone.
“Any of the top guys can ride him on the right day, but it’ll take someone who is 100-percent healthy and who has his best day.
Voodoo Child is a two-time PRCA bull of the year. If he becomes the PBR World Champion Bull, he’ll be the first to earn both titles.
He made his PBR debut at the 2007 World Finals, and dumped Harve Stewart and Scott Schiffner, then Tater Porter in the eighth round in about two seconds.
“That turned out to be the last ride of Tater’s career,’ Beutler said. “He came up to me afterward, laughed and said, ‘Thanks for spoiling my finale.’”
While Voodoo Child, a three-time PBR World Finals selection, is still in his prime, Robinson spends a lot of time thinking about future plans.
“We have never sold semen on this bull,” he said. “We are holding it back, seeing what kind of results we get.
“People keep asking me, ‘How are you going to replace Chicken and Voodoo?’ The answer is I don’t think you do. Everybody hopes to own a bull like one of them once in their lives, so it’s a special time to have them both, and we need to just enjoy it. What these two bulls have achieved, it’s extremely rare. We take special care of them, and that’s a big reason for their longevity.
“As far as someone riding Voodoo again, I think it’ll happen. There are too many talented bull riders out there for it not to happen, especially since they know exactly what he’s gonna do.”
Maybe then Voodoo Child will have to develop a curveball, just like The Express did.
[This story originally appeared in the April/May issue of Pro Bull Rider magazine. To subscribe and receive this kind of in-depth reporting every two months, visit TeamPBR.com today.]
