NASHVILLE, TENN. – Fans of the Professional Bull Riders (PBR) that were hoping to see more rides in the second round of the “Jack Daniels Invitational” at the Sommet Center on Aug. 16 got what they wanted – sort of.
With a powerhouse championship round that saw eight of the 15 cowboys put up qualified rides…. And plenty of 90-plus pointers to make the confetti cannons fire of … the Jack Daniels Invitational definitely ended with a bang.
Thankfully, the ending left most fans feeling satisfied, despite the second long-go on Sunday that made Saturday night’s 13 qualified rides look good.
And when the dust settled, it was Cody Ford who walked away with the event win, making good on his self-proclaimed goal of proving he was more than a one-round wonder.
The win didn’t come easy for Ford, who in Sunday’s long-round alone got on three bulls. The first, “Rabid Wolf” (Teague Bucking Bulls) fell over on its side with Ford still tied on at the 2.5 second mark, just outside the chute gate. “Rabid Wolf” was obviously hurting, not willing to stand back up and, once on its feet, being led, limping out of the arena. (No report on the bull’s condition was provided by the end of the event).
That meant Ford would face off with a re-ride bull, and “Mobster” was run into the chutes. Ford climbed aboard and pulled his rope, but “Mobster” was obviously not in the mood to buck. After several attempts to get out aboard the bull, Ford surrendered, with the chute gate having never swung open.
Time for another re-ride bull.
This one was “Buffalo Hump,” and the bull made Ford’s wait well worth it. Ford covered the bull without a problem, for an 86.5 point score. That earned Ford the “Enterprise Ride with the Best” bonus, based on his round one win Saturday night. More importantly, it sent Ford into the championship round – and the bull draft for the round – in the number one position.
Ford made the most of that opportunity, and chose “Carrillo Cartel” (HD Page/Bill & Betty Morrison). The 88.75 point score on the ride wasn’t enough to win the round, but it did give Ford the event win.
Nashville was the 20-year old’s second event win of the year, having won $60,000 in Glendale, Arizona earlier this year. Payday this time was $38,932.
The championship round saw a lead change every time a bull was ridden, keeping fans on the edge of their seats until the very last ride.
But first they had to get to the short go
Sunday’s Round Two
After 13 rides in round one on Saturday, hopes were high for more rides on Sunday. It took until the fourth rider – JB Mauney – to put the first score up in the round. Mauney put up 86.25 points on Git-R-Done (Jeff Robinson/Larry the Cable Guy) which, after a scoreless round one was enough to get him into the short-go in 12th place.
That had to hold the crowd for a while, as the next eight riders bucked off – most in under 4 seconds – and that ended the weekend for all eight of them, as seven were scoreless in round one and Caleb Sanderson’s 77-pointer from Saturday wasn’t enough to keep him in the short-go.
The PBR’s current number one guy, Kody Lostroh, showed his winning form and brought life back to the crowd, riding “Fire & Flame” (Frontier Rodeo) for 87.25 points. The bull earned the same score for Sean Willingham the night before. The score sent Lostroh into the championship round in third place.
Brazilian newcomer Edvaldo Ferreira kept the crowd going aboard “Carolina Cat” (Walton & Wagner) for 87.5 points, which also gave him a spot in the line-up for the championship round.
Then the round fell back into a hot mess of buck-offs with ten more riders failing to cover their bulls. For seven of them, the weekend ended scoreless. Ednei Caminhas bucked off “Crazy Train” (D&H Cattle Co) at about the 3-second mark, but his round one 85.75 was enough to take him into the championship round in 13th place. Valdiron de Oliveira bucked off “Hot Pistol” (Boyd Floyd), a bull he’d previously ridden twice, but his round one score got him a seat in the final round as well.
Kasey Hayes bucked off “Smooth Criminal” (Boyd Floyd Bull Co.) with the clock reading 7.8 seconds, but after being scoreless Saturday night, took the risk and challenged the time. On the review, he still fell short, and ended his weekend on his birthday without a qualified ride.
A qualified ride from the reigning world champ Guilherme Marchi, in a rematch with “The Game” (Brandon Gasper Bucking Bulls), a bull he rode in Kansas City, brought the crowd back into the mix. Sunday’s ride didn’t quite match the previous pairing, scoring 89.25 (previous score 91) but it sent him into the short go with two scores, sitting in second place, and gave him the win in round two.
Dustin Elliott – the 31st rider to climb into the chutes on Sunday – put up only the fifth qualified ride of the afternoon, an 84.25 pointer on “Party Time” (Hebert Bucking Bulls/Georgia Akers), which was just enough to steal the final spot in the short-go. Elliott fought for that spot, as he got off-center but hung on for the 8-second mark.
Only four more rides went on the board before the short go – Ford’s 86.5 on “Buffalo Hump” (Hebert), an 85.0 by Rocky McDonald aboard “Nite Scene” (Teague), Ryan McConnel with his second score of the weekend, an 86 point ride on “Rusty Zipper” (Teague), and two time world champion Chris Shivers on a reride bull, “Skyhawk,” after “Skat Jacket” refused to move when the chute gate opened. “Skyhawk” came through with an 88.75 point ride, bringing cheers from the crowd as Shivers headed for the championship round.
CHAMPIONSHIP SUNDAY
Finally, when the short-go started, and the toughest bulls were loaded into the chutes, the cowboys turned up the heat, with eight of the 15 putting up scores, including five over the 90-point mark.
First out was Dustin Elliott who, by the choices made by the 14 other riders, had “Spitfire” (Boyd Floyd). Elliott took on the bull, noting he figured “Spitfire” was the bull that would be left for him. “Spitfire” won the match-up, as Elliott lost his seat at the 3.3 second mark.
Rocky McDonald, who admitted he had the bull “Showtime” (D&H) because he chose around “Spitfire,” ended up in the dirt at the 5.1 second mark.
At this point, the crowd was getting restless to see a qualified ride, and Ednei Caminhas came through aboard “Tahonta’s Shadow” (4Cs/Sills/Vaughn), setting off the confetti cannons with 90.5 points. He was fourth in the round and finished 7th in the event.
The confetti was reloaded quickly, as the combination of JB Mauney and “SkyHawk Cut-a-Rug” (Robinson/Bar None/McNeely/Broken N-N/Kenny Jack) sent another round of it flying with 90.25 points. Mauney was 6th in the event.
“VooDoo Child” (Robinson/Beutler/Bar Non/Hyland/McNeely/Broken N-N) and “Code Blue” (Walton & Wagoner/Berger & Struve) made quick work of fan favorite Cord McCoy and rookie of the year leader Skeeter Kingsolver respectively.
That left it to Sean Willingham to fire up the crowd again and he did … with family members watching from the cage in the center of the arena. They were treated to a great showdown between Willingham and “Hot Stuff” (D&H Cattle), for 91.5 points and more confetti. Willingham finished the event in fifth place.
Brazilians Oliveira and Ferreira both saw their championship round hopes fall short, bucking off “Bones” (Teague) and “I’m a Gangster” (Teague). During the ride, Oliveira and Bones went horn to face, and the rider hit the dirt hard and stayed put. When he finally got up, assisted, and walked out of the arena, the crowd gave him a standing ovation.
It was back to ride time as Zack Brown wanted a rematch with “Chicken on a Chain,” (Robinson/ Tedesco/ Larry the Cable Guy /Bar None), a bull he scored big on earlier this season. The match proved the right pick for Brown, who matched the 92-point score he had at Albuquerque in Nashville. The ride was enough to win the round for Brown.
When he took his seat on the cage in the center of the arena, Brown was still reacting to the ride. “To ride that bull one time is awesome,” he told the crowd. “To get to do it twice, is, wow…”
Brown, fifth in the points race for the PBR World Champion title, said he was trying to keep his focus. “I’m trying to not lose sight of the short term goals, and ride the bull I have right now.” He was fourth in the Nashville event average.
Chris Shivers kept the 90-point party going, with a 91.75 on the always tough “Deja Blue” (Teague), a choice the fans helped him make. He finished second in the short-go, and ninth in the event average.
Not to be outdone, Kody Lostroh kept a tight grip on his place in the season’s points standing, riding “Chance” (Robinson/ Tedesco/ Larry the Cable Guy /Bar None) for 89.5 points, finishing the weekend in third place. He was one of only three riders to cover all three of their bulls.
Ryan McConnel tried to keep it going aboard “Ricky Bobby” (D&H Cattle), a bull he previously had the opportunity to take on but had passed. This match-up went to the bull, bucking McCOnnell off at 2.4 seconds.
Closing the gap between himself and Lostroh slightly, and leap-frogging over JB Mauney into the number two spot – in the event and year end standings – was Guilherme Marchi, who rode “Pearl Snap” (Boyd Floyd) for 88.5 points. Marchi had to wait for the score, after a judge called for a review. Marchi had lost his rope and bucked off right at the 8-second mark, and the official wanted a replay. The score stood, as Marchi made it to 8.1 seconds before losing the tail of his rope.
That left it up to Cody Ford to find the follow through he said had been missing in previous events, and take the win for himself. Having had his choice of the full slate of short-go bulls, Ford went for the win on “Carrillo Cartel” (4Cs/James Sills), and got what he needed, squeaking by Marchi with an 88.75 point ride for the win.
In an event where 22 of the 40 bull riders went scoreless for the entire weekend, Cody Ford’s winning ride put a solid exclamation point on a weekend of hit or miss bull riding in Nashville.
Copyright 1996 - 2008 Rodeo Attitude, LLC., All rights reserved.