ST. LOUIS (February 25, 2010) - Through the first third of the 2010 season, Voodoo Child has proven himself to be the top bull in the PBR.
In fact, at five of the six Built Ford Tough Series events he’s bucked in, he’s been the top scoring bull of the event, and his lowest mark in seven outs this year was 45.5 points. His high mark was the first of two outs this past weekend in Arlington, when he was scored 46.75 points with Travis Briscoe on his back.
He also sent 2008 World Champion Guilherme Marchi to the dirt in 3.9 seconds last Saturday. In the weeks prior, Voodoo Child made quick work of Ednei Caminhas, Beau Hill, Mike Lee, Kody Lostroh and Wiley Petersen.
“It’s a long year,” said PBR Livestock Director Cody Lambert, “but he has dominated this first third of the year, and so if it was over right now, he would be the champ.
“But that doesn’t mean anything. Two years ago at this time, I hadn’t even heard of Bones. He had been bucked a few times, but I didn’t even know what he was. And then he came on so strong during the summer that he was the World Champion Bull by the end of the year.”
Lambert made that statement in his weekly Podcast posted at www.pbr.tv. “In the Bull Pen with Cody Lambert” is posted every Thursday prior to a BFTS event.
Voodoo’s been unridden this year, and went 0-for-15 last year. Throughout his entire career, only Justin McBride has covered him.
The two-time World Champion was 94.5 points on him in Tulsa, Okla., in 2008, but Voodoo Child got the better of him a few months later in the eighth round of the PBR World Finals. Each of those times the bull was marked 46.25, which were career highs for him at the time.
“He gives it everything he has and he tries to win every time,” said Lambert, who likened Voodoo Child’s competitiveness to some of the great bull riders.
This year, Voodoo Child’s typical trip is to take two jumps out of the chute before spinning to the left. But he has been known to change up his speed, timing and rhythm, and sometimes turns back to the right.
“He’s really developed a pattern this year,” Lambert said. “It’s like, OK, this is what I’m going to do, and see if you can keep up with me. And nobody has been able to keep up with him.”
Other top-ranked bulls joining Voodoo Child in St. Louis for the Enterprise Rent-a-Car Invitational are Big Tex, Chicken on a Chain, Major Payne, Yellow Jacket Jr., RFD-TV, Carrillo Cartel and Uncle Buck, another of the bulls Lambert said “has been great” throughout the first third of the season.
Lambert also has been impressed with this season’s ABBI Classic bulls, especially with Bushwhacker, Priceless and Minor Incident.
“There are quite a few in there that have shown they’re going to be bulls to contend with for a while,” Lambert said, “and they’re here right now and they’re tough, but they’re still 4-year-olds and they’re competing in the ABBI.”
To hear Lambert’s entire interview, log onto www.pbr.tv and select the Podcast tab on the left-hand column.
NEWS and NOTES
PBR NOW on RFD-TV: Hosted by J.W. Hart and Justin McBride, “PBR NOW” is a weekly live one-hour TV series that airs every Thursday on RFD-TV at 10 p.m. ET. Fans are encouraged to call in with questions at 866-547-9696, or email them to pbr@rfdtv.com.
Event Center: Follow all the action from this week’s BFTS event in St. Louis by logging on to www.pbr.com and entering the “Event Center,” which is accessible from the tab located at the top of the main Web page. The Event Center provides live scoring, live blogging and event-related Podcasts and interviews.
