ARLINGTON, Texas (February 18, 2010) - It’s not until the end of a bull rider’s career that he can really understand what he’ll miss about the sport.
“We all miss the challenge of being able to turn it on and give everything you (have), all at one time,” said PBR Livestock Director Cody Lambert.
“No matter how successful you are, or what else you ever do in life, that’s the thing (about) bull riding that most people don’t get, because they don’t get to the level where they can be calm at one tenth of a second and then as determined and trying as hard as they can at something the next tenth of a second.”
“There’s just something you don’t get anymore,” he explained in his weekly Podcast. “There’s nothing you’re ever going to do that’s ever going to allow you to turn it on like that.”
Now imagine “turning it on” like that four or five times in one night, against some of the rankest bulls in the world.
It’s an experience of a lifetime for 24 of the top riders in the world, who will compete Saturday night in the Iron Cowboy Invitational at Cowboys Stadium.
“Somebody will go away with a lot of money,” said Lambert, who paused to recollect his thoughts, “The title will have a different meaning on the inside, for them, than it will for everyone else.”
How rank is Saturday’s pen? The semifinal rounds feature Big Tex and Voodoo Child, and the final round, reigning World Champion Bull Code Blue.
“I’ve been proven wrong about two out of three of these bulls,” Lambert said.
During his weekly “In the Bull Pen” interview, Lambert talked about all three.
Big Tex: If this bull ever had a weakness, it was back when he was 3 years old, and that’s only because he bucked the riders off so quickly as an ABBI Classic bull. Big Tex didn’t win much then, and therefore was overlooked until Chad Berger finally purchased him before last season.
Lambert always thought Big Tex was strong out of the chute, but wasn’t sure he would ever spin. In fact, when Berger bought him for about $50,000, Lambert thought the North Dakota contractor had “wasted his money.”
In hindsight, Lambert said, “Turns out it might have been the bargain of the century, because that bull is a lot better than I thought he was. Chad told me that when he bought him. He said, ‘I think he’s better than you think he is.’”
He’s been ridden one time in his past 10 outs, by Ryan McConnel for 91.5 points in Baltimore. Guilherme Marchi rode him last year for 94 points. He’s bucked off everyone else, from J.B. Mauney, who would have to get on Big Tex in order to qualify for the final round this weeekend, to Mike Lee, Renato Nunes and host of others.
Voodoo Child: The first time Lambert ever saw Voodoo Child was at an ABBI Classic event hosted by J.W. Hart. In his one out at that he event, he sent Greg Potter to the dirt in about 3 seconds. Afterward, Lambert said, “I could see he had all the tools.”
He’s been unridden in his past 10 outs, and has been ridden just one time in 40 total PBR outs – by two-time World Champion Justin McBride in 2008. McBride bucked off Voodoo Child the next time they met up, during the 2008 PBR World Finals.
Not only has Voodoo Child been used exclusively on the Built Ford Tough Series for a little over a year, but he’s only used in the short rounds, where he’s matched up against the best riders on any given weekend.
“He just looks like he has it all,” said Lambert, “and what’s made him even better is he’s in the short go at the Built Ford Tough Series, so he’s challenging a great rider every time. It’s more than going a year undefeated. It’s like going a year undefeated when every game is like the playoffs.”
Code Blue: Whichever two riders win their way through the bracket will have an opportunity to get on the reigning World Champion Bull.
Lambert said that like the riders, the bulls at this level either give up or step up. In only his second year on the BFTS, Code Blue “is a champion.”
“His owners thought he was great,” said Lambert, “but I don’t know if they thought he was that great. I don’t know if they knew he could stand all the miles and all the challenges—because it’s a challenge.”
Code Blue has been ridden once in 27 outs at PBR events. His average bull score has been 45.41 points, and the Sunday afternoon in New York when Mauney finally made the whistle, Code Bull was 45.75 points.
In fact, only three times – Mauney twice and Renato Nunes once – has anyone ever gotten past 7 seconds. No one else in this weekend’s Iron Cowboy event, including Austin Meier, Robson Palermo, Skeeter Kingsolver, Sean Willingham, Ryan McConnel, Valdiron de Oliveira, has even come close to making the whistle.
“When you get Renato Nunes picking him or J.B. Mauney or Austin Meier or any of those guys picking him, they think they can ride him,” Lambert said, “and then they get on and they give it all they got, and they haven’t been able to ride him.
“J.B. did hang on at New York, and he was out of control, but he didn’t let go, and that kind of guts and that kind of determination will win $260,000 this Saturday.”
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.
This week, in addition to the Thursday night broadcast, PBR NOW is televising a special one-hour edition Saturday at 5 p.m. ET. The guys will be broadcasting live from their RFD stage located in the Fan Zone area outside of Cowboys Stadium, and fans are encouraged to come by for the taping.
Event Center: Follow all the action from Cowboys Stadium, 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.
