PUEBLO, Colo. (July 29, 2010) - Four Top 10 bull riders who were out with injuries two weeks ago – Travis Briscoe, Guilherme Marchi, Robson Palermo and Ryan McConnel – are all in the draw for this week’s Built Ford Tough Series event in San Antonio.
But one of the top World Champion Bull contenders won’t be there.
Code Blue is being held out of the U.S. Air Force Invitational because of an injury to his back. The reigning champ has been out of competition since the injury was discovered in Bismarck, N.D., earlier this summer.
“I’m just not going to buck him until the vet signs off on him and tells me he’s OK to buck,” said PBR Livestock Director Cody Lambert in his weekly Podcast. “Because when you get a champion like that there [are] only bad things that can happen.”
Lambert records “In the Bull Pen” every Thursday prior to a Built Ford Tough Series event.
He said he spoke with Rick Wagoner, one of Code Blue’s owners, and was told “he’s doing really well and he’s feeling good.” Wagoner told Lambert that as far as he can tell, Code Blue is ready. But he has yet to take his prized possession to be examined by a veterinarian.
Lambert said that Code Blue is still a contender for this year’s title, but that he’s holding out the bull for his own good.
According to Wagoner, the plan is to have the bull examined this week. While he won’t be in San Antonio, the hope is that he’ll be cleared to compete two weeks later in Nashville, Tenn.
Lambert likened his call to Dr. Tandy Freeman’s decision to withhold McConnel from competition in Tulsa, Okla., two weeks ago.
“We take chances on bull riders getting hurt all the time,” Lambert explained, “but Tandy stepped in and wouldn’t let Ryan McConnel ride in Tulsa because he had a neck injury. Until he was convinced that he didn’t have a broken neck, he wasn’t going to OK him, so [McConnel] had to have an MRI and have several other doctors look at it.”
“Same thing with Code Blue. I want the best vet in the world – and I don’t mean a bull chiropractor, I mean a real vet – to look at him and tell me that he’s OK.”
Lambert’s entire 10-minute interview can be heard here. He also reviewed the recent Touring Pro event earlier this week in Cheyenne, Wyo., and looked ahead to the task of assembling the bull pen for the upcoming PBR World Finals in Las Vegas.
Lambert added, “We’re going to know [about Code Blue’s health], and Rick wants to know just as bad as I do.”
—by Keith Ryan Cartwright
Listen to In the Bull Pen with Cody Lambert
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