This past weekend the 28th stop on the PBR tour was held in Ontario, California at the new Citizen’s Business Bank Arena. A nice venue, and a fun bull riding event, made better of course, by the fact that I could attend it in person, along with photographer Linda Peterson.
The eventual winner was the man who is leading the race to be the PBR World Champion, Kody Lostroh. This was Lostroh’s fifth win this season, and he did it in style. Coming in on top and getting that important first pick in the draft, Kody teased that he would take Major Payne, but went with the bull that everyone else would have probably picked, Troubadour. This would be the third match-up and third win for Lostroh on this super Julio Moreno bull, and he won with conviction, scoring a huge 91.75.
Starting back at the beginning however, the first round went to young Elliot Jacoby. In only his fourth BFTS event, Jacoby rode the Holman Bucking Bull Shotgun Willie to a score of 88.75 to be the best in round one. Just behind him with a score of 88.5 was Dustin Elliot. He covered Tighty Whitey, owned by Simpson and Dennis Bucking Bulls. The name Elliot proved to be good luck in round one, it seemed. Kasey Hayes was third, after his ride on Monkey Shine gave him a score of 87. 4C’s Bucking Bulls own Monkey Shine. The reigning World Champion Guilherme Marchi was fourth on another 4C’s bull, Hank, with a score of 86.5.
Eventual winner Lostroh grabbed the second round. He rode 4C’s Bucking Bulls/Marvin Nixon’s Devil’s Night to a score of 88. Cody Nance was second after riding Class 6 Kat to an 87. Julio Moreno Bucking Bulls owns Class 6 Kat. Ross Coleman was third with an 86.75 after his ride on Tighty Whitey. Good showing for this Simpson and Dennis Bucking Bull, as he put his riders on the leader board in both rounds. Fourth was Shane Proctor. He covered the Isbel/Leffew/Sweeney bull Red Bull for an 86.5.
Five men rode the bulls they chose for the Championship Round. Second behind winner Lostroh and the great score of 91.75 that he posted was Austin Meier. He rode Little Bo, owned by 4C’s/Sills/Barker to a score of 88.25. Third in the short-go was L.J. Jenkins, who was given a score of 87.75 after covering Bring It, a bull owned by Flying U/Cindy Rosser Bucking Bulls. Fourth in the Championship Round was Renato Nunes. Nunes rode Charlie Bullware to an 87. Julio Moreno/Chadwick own that good bull. The final man to ride was Marchi. He picked the bull Chili, another athlete owned by Flying U/Cinder Rosser Bucking Bulls, and was given an 86.75 for his efforts.
The event standings saw Lostroh on top, followed by Marchi, Jenkins, Meier, and Nunes.
The Salem NationaLease Bull of the Event from Ontario was Lone Star, who was awarded a big 86 points. Jeff Robinson Bucking Bulls/Bar None are the owners of this bull and took home the $1250 that is awarded each week to the owners of the highest scoring bull by the judges in each event.
The short-go gave round one winner Jacoby a taste of the real PBR. He took a shot from the 4C’s Bucking Bull/James Sills bull Carrillo Cartel and suffered a concussion, but he rode on Sunday. Elliot was not the only casualty in Ontario. Travis Sellers broke his thumb on Saturday but was also able to compete Sunday.
The Cherokee Kid, Ryan Dirteater, was not so lucky. He broke his jaw and suffered a concussion after a hard hit by a horn in round one and was unable to ride the next day. It looks as if he will undergo surgery early this week. This personable young man has had his share of bad luck this season. Some of you might remember that earlier in the year he broke his femur and has worked hard to come back from that. Now, as so often happens in bull riding, another injury for Ryan.
Have to give huge props to NFL football linebacker Junior Seau, who tried his hand at bull fighting at Saturday’s performance. Everyone who knows football knows he is tough on the field, but he proved he can take on a bull, too. After Renato Nunes was thrown from his bull, Seau jumped in front of the aptly-named Kick Butt and got run over. He was up and alright in a hurry, but the fact that he stayed in mix rather than hanging out on the fence for the entire night earned him extra respect from many of those who witnessed it.
Also, it was so good to see one of the most entertaining men I have ever watched and listened to, Flint Rasmussen, dancing and running up and down like he used to. OK, maybe not QUITE as frenzied, but hey, it was only back in March when he suffered a heart attack, an event he alludes as he fills in the lag time during television commercial breaks. I only wish that the TV audience would get to see some of his work – he is super. Since this is the first time I have seen him since his heart attack, welcome back, Flint!
With just over a month until the PBR Finals, Lostroh keeps his hold on the lead in the BFTS standings. Kody suffered a sprained shoulder last week in Missouri, but as in the norm for all of these men, he just continues to forge ahead. Marchi moved into second on his quest to be the first man to win back-to-back World titles. J.B. Mauney did not have a good showing in Ontario and slid into third. Zack Brown is in fourth place, Valdiron de Oliveira is in fifth, Nunes sixth, Sean Willingham seventh, Ryan McConnel eighth, Wiley Petersen ninth, and Robson Palermo rounds out the top ten.
There are three events in as many weekends, then a week off, then the start of the Finals. This is almost certainly going to end up being the closest Finals race yet, and I can’t wait for all the action!
Photos: Linda Peterson
Be safe and God Bless,
Viva La Raza
Barb.
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