Just got back from round five of the PBR World Finals, and it is safe to say that still, nothing is for certain. Those men that needed to ride did so, and while Justin McBride extended his lead on the World Championship a bit, those close to him did not let him run away too far.
McBride had a good young bull owned by Chad Berger/Larry Ryken named Walk the Line, and he made the best of it. When the whistle blew, Justin was still right there, and got a great score of 91.25. That ride won the round for him and moved him closer to that second world title. Walk the Line was awarded a strong score of 45 for his efforts.
Justin was asked about how he had felt after the first three performances when he bucked off all of his bulls. “It was tough to sleep at night. I’m probably my worst critic. When you take something that you have done all your life and you mess up at it, it’s hard to swallow.
“The last two nights I’ve had really good bulls,” he said. “and been virtually mistake-free. I might have made a few mistakes on each one of them, but they weren’t major mistakes that would cost you an eight second ride.”
But he assured us that his work wasn’t finished. “There are no more breaks. The bulls are only going to get ranker and ranker.” He explained that the round six bulls will probably be a lot like those in tonight, and Sunday will bring a bit of a mix of livestock – some that guys can score 90 on, others that are 86-point bulls. “But you don’t see any mediocre bulls at the PBR Finals. Even in the so-called ‘nice’ pen of bulls you’ll still see 90 point rides.”
What about those 15 short-go bulls? “The final 15 will be the best 15 bulls in the world, and probably the best 15 that I’ve seen in my career to this point.”
While not in the title picture, it was wonderful to see Tater Porter jump in there to be second with a score of 90.25. Encore was the bull that took Porter to the pay window. Tommy Schrader/Anchor Bull Company owns Encore. Let me remind you that Tater has announced that this event will be his last, and that he is retiring at the end of these Finals. Also, he is riding with a broken arm – a compound fracture in fact. So this showing by Porter is special.
Third was Matt Bohon, who also broke in with the elite with his 90-point score. He gave a super ride on an Andrews Rodeo Company bull named Rompus.
Fourth went to a big fan favorite Chris Shivers, after he was able to tame Shane. Shivers got an 89.50 on this nice Herbert Bucking Bull.
Guilherme Marchi rode his bull as well, but did not receive a score high enough to win him any money. Still, he was 86.50 on the Robinson/Tedesco bull, Barbosa. J.B. Mauney suffered the same fate, as he rode Dodgin Calls to an 84.75, too low to help out in the money department. Frontier/Teague Bucking Bulls owns Dodgin Calls.
Travis Briscoe had a good ride on Jack Hammer, but was called for a slap at 3.8. He challenged that, but to no avail. Still, it was a great effort by this young cowboy.
Colby Yates had to be helped out of the arena for the second night in a row and is doubtful for Saturday’s performance. He is suffering from a left groin strain.
The event standings after five rounds sees Wiley Petersen on top all alone with 354.75. Marchi is second to Petersen with 349.75. Billy Robinson has jumped up to third and has 345.50. fourth is Matt Bohon with 268.25. There is a tie for fifth place between Kody Lostroh and Brendon Clark. They both have 266.75. Lostroh had the lead to himself, but has bucked off two in a row.
As far as the Built Ford Tough Series standings, nothing new here. It is still McBride, Mauney, Marchi, Bohon, and Peterson.
Tomorrow will we have an answer to the question of “Who will be the 2007 BFTS World Champion?” Perhaps we will have to wait until Sunday afternoon. Time will tell, but one thing is for sure – there will be some good bull riding to enjoy along the way.
Andy Watson photo.
Be safe and God Bless,
Viva La Raza,
Barb.
