GREENVILLE, S.C. (September 10, 2010) - Anticipation was high for the first of five bonus rounds for the Top 10 riders in the world, however, no one in the Bi-Lo Center could have imagined it would play out the way it did Friday night.
For the first time in PBR history, a rider – Renato Nunes – challenged the qualified score of another – Ryan McConnel. And after being reviewed by the replay judge, it was determined that McConnel had slapped Real Moody seconds into what would have been the fifth qualified ride of the round.
Afterward, a disappointed and frustrated McConnel tried confronting the top-ranked rider in the world, only to be kept away by fellow riders.
“I don’t want to fight (anybody),” said McConnel, who added that despite the fact that he slapped his bull, Nunes didn’t hold up to the cowboy way of conducting himself. “I would never do that. I thought he failed in that way.”
McConnel was the third man up out of 10, and spent the rest of the round on the far set of chutes, waiting for Nunes’ turn in the lineup.
According to McConnel, he’s not mad at Nunes as much as he is confused by his actions in challenging the call. McConnel said he wanted an opportunity to talk with Nunes one-on-one – without anyone else involved. Listen to the post-event interview with McConnel here.
Nunes, who was booed as he readied himself in the bucking chutes – and cheered after coming down off Very Smart Remedy in 3.8 seconds – twice refused to comment to PBR.com, before leaving the arena without speaking to anyone.
There is no indication whether Nunes made the decision to push the button because he clearly wanted to protect his lead at all costs, or whether it was in response to two unfavorable calls involving Brazilians.
In Round 1, Silvano Alves had a score taken off the board after being called for a slap. Later in the round, Valdiron de Oliveira was disqualified for taking too long in the bucking chutes. Oliveira contended that Fire Ant was leaning back and prevented him from getting a clean shot out of the chute.
J.B. Mauney, who came into the weekend ranked third in the world, won the first Final Five Showdown with an 86.5-point effort on Red Devil, while Pistol Robinson quietly won the opening round of the Greenville Invitational with an 89.5-point ride on Iron Broke.
Robinson rode the same bull in New Orleans earlier this year en route to his first-ever Built Ford Tough Series event win.
Live Event Center: Follow all the action from this week’s BFTS event by logging on to the Live Event Center at www.pbr.com/live. The multimedia center provides live scoring, live photos, live blogging and event-related interviews.
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