PUEBLO, Colo. (June 28, 2010) - The man from Cool, Texas, has been just that in 2010.
After 20 of 30 Built Ford Tough Series events, McKennon Wimberly is enjoying a career year. Four times he’s finished in the Top 5, and he’s twice notched a Top 10 finish. He’s spent more time in the Top 10 of the world standings this year than he did in his three previous seasons combined.
But despite raising his career riding average by 6.5 percent, he’s yet to cover a 45-point bull at a BFTS event.
While he’s proven he can ride rank bulls – five times he’s covered them in the Touring Pro Division, including once this year in San Antonio and as far back as 2006 –he’ll have to do so at the BFTS level on a consistent basis if he intends to compete for a world title.
He’s made it a personal quest to ride Yellow Jacket Jr. In five of the bull’s past 10 outs, he’s had Wimberly on his back, including at the past three BFTS events. But Wimberly will have to show he can make the whistle the next time he chooses the bull in a short-round draft.
As calm, cool and collected as he’s been, the youngster still has room for improvement.
Riding percentage: 49.1 (2010), 42.6 (career); Influential ride from 2010: Pueblo, Round 4, Yellow Jacket Jr., 7.9 seconds; Most telling statistic of 2010: Finished second in his bracket at the Iron Cowboy Invitational.
In the first of a ten-part series, a panel of experts – Cody Lambert, Ty Murray, Justin McBride and Justin McKee – weigh in on the current Top 10 riders in the world, and what it will take for any one of them to win the 2010 PBR World Championship.
What the experts are saying:
Justin McBride: “He’s starting to get more consistent. The long-round type of bulls, he’s starting to get a lot more consistent on them and that’s the reason that he’s in the Top 10. … He needs to ride the short-round bulls and get to the whistle on some of those. Without that you can never be in the hunt for a world title.”
Ty Murray: “For me, this year, he’s riding to his potential. I expected big things from him when he came around, and I think some injuries set him back. He’s born a naturally gifted athlete who is built for bull riding, and then on top of it he works at it, and then on top of that it’s in his blood. … He’s come out to the ranch on several occasions, and I’ll put him on the bucking machine and we’ll check in on an injury or we’ll check in on where he’s at with stuff. … You have to have a lot of different elements, and he has several of the really important ones built in. I already said he has the gift of having the right body type, he stays in great shape, he works at it, and I think he loves it.”
Cody Lambert: “What I like best about him is when a bull is bucking underneath him and he’s in perfect position, he doesn’t move or flop around or anything. He doesn’t move himself out of position when he’s already there. If he’s in the middle, he stays in the middle, so I think he really knows how to ride.”
Justin McKee: “He has all the tools and he knows how to use them. We’ve seen guys move into the Top 10 and then that’s all they’re capable of, or they’re content. We’ve yet to see how much of those assets he’s bringing, but I’m as excited about the future of McKennon Wimberly as anybody in bull riding. … I hope we see the steady progression of his talent over the last two years, the improvement that we’ve seen, I hope that continues over the next several years, and if that’s the case, he’s going to win multiple World Championships.”
Chance of winning title in 2010:
McKee: “He won’t, because the only rank bull he can ride is Yellow Jacket Jr. He’s going to have to ride the 45-plus bulls, and to me, he has the potential to do that in a commanding fashion next year.”
McBride: “I think this will be a good learning year for him and show him that he definitely does belong in that category. Hopefully he can take some momentum off of this year and step it up next year and be better than he was this year.”
Murray: “I think it’s just a matter of maturing, for him. He’s been exposed to the rank bulls and he’s now been exposed to what it’s like to make a living at it. It’s one thing to be a hot-shot young guy and it’s another thing to be a professional at it and make a living. It’s time to see how he can play.”
Lambert: “He’s capable of winning a world title—not this year, though. He’s going to have to get more consistent and get to where he never leans back, because very few guys can get away with leaning back.”
