Top three riders within 1,000 points of each other with two events left before Finals
PORTLAND, Ore. (October 4, 2009) - It was not a rosy outcome for the Top 3 bull riders in the world.
Prior to this weekend, Kody Lostroh, Guilherme Marchi and J.B. Mauney had accounted for five of the past six Built Ford Tough Series event wins. But the GoDaddy.com Invitational in Portland, Ore., was about travel partners, countrymen and family.
Lostroh’s best friend and travel mate Josh Koschel won the opening round. But he couldn’t hold onto the lead Saturday night at the Rose Garden Arena. Marchi’s countryman Valdiron de Oliveira, who without winning an event this year could still factor into the race for the world title, gave a valiant effort in trying to win his first event since New York City in January of 2008.
But it was Mauney’s brother-in-law, Shane Proctor, who came out on top.
Proctor, who is originally from the Pacific Northwest, went three-for-three this weekend, and surprised the crowd by passing up Troubadour with the first pick in the championship round draft.
Four times this season that bull has been selected by the event winner with the first pick in the draft.
Instead, Proctor went with Okie Dokie.
“I made a business decision,” said Proctor, who in spite of wanting a shot at Troubadour, went with a bull he saw Mauney win a round on at the Calgary Stampede. “I figured if it worked for him it might as well work for me.”
The pick paid off big for the Washington native, who moved to the Southeast after marrying Mauney’s sister Jessi. He rode Okie Dokie for 87.75 points, which was enough to win the event by less than a point over Oliveira.
Proctor’s three-bull total was 261, while Oliveira finished second with 260.25. Ryan McConnel (258.5), Robson Palermo (178) and Billy Robinson (170) rounded out the Top 5 finishers for the weekend.
Proctor added that his first-ever BFTS win was “a long time coming” after being “off and on the tour for the last three-and-a-half years.”
As much as the 29th stop on the BFTS was about everyone other than the Top 3 – six other riders in the Top 10 made it back to the short go – the outcome had everything to do with the overall World Standings.
Lostroh was 0-for-2 and noticeably absent from the championship round for the first time since missing the event in Worcester, Mass., back in early May. More importantly, he saw his lead in the standings cut back to under 1,000 points with two events remaining before the World Finals.
Marchi missed the final round as well, but by virtue of his fifth place finish in Round 1, his 145.5 total points brought him to within 962 points of Lostroh. The same goes for Mauney, who was 1-for-3 but is only 972.5 points off Lostroh’s pace.
“Every single bull counts,” said nine-time World Champion Ty Murray, who was in the broadcast booth for the first time since Albuquerque. “This is a race that could come down to one bull.”
Broadcast partner Justin McKee agreed, going so far as to say, “It could come down to the difference between an 85 and a 90-point ride.”
Looking down the standings, Robinson may have been the most excited fifth-place finisher this season.
His weekend earnings of $4,623 moved him to him 37th in the Qualifier Standings as a handful of riders fight for an opportunity to be among the Top 40 money earners competing in Las Vegas beginning Oct. 30.
As it stands right now, last year’s Daisy Rookie of the Year Reese Cates is in the 40th spot, but with only $48,313.67, there are three other riders – Elliott Jacoby, Edvaldo Ferreira and Beau Hill – within $1,000 of him.
There are only five lower-level events remaining, all of which coincide with the two remaining BFTS events, all four will have to ride bulls in Columbus, Ohio, or Uncasville, Ct.; whereas riders like Brian Herman, 34, and Cord McCoy, 35, can earn money in Roswell, N.M., or in Texas in Pasadena, San Antonio or Victoria.
Next weekend, the BFTS will be in Columbus for the Cooper Tire Invitational presented by Copenhagen Bull Riding. The two-day event takes place Saturday night and Sunday afternoon at the Nationwide Arena.
The regular season then finishes the following weekend with a three-day affair in Uncasville at the Mohegan Sun Arena.
NEWS and NOTES
Calling Cowboy Nation: The Built Ford Tough Championship Round from this weekend's event will air on CBS today following NFL coverage. Please check your local listings for exact times in your area.
Road to Vegas: All roads are leading to Las Vegas! At this time of the season the PBR is all about the World Finals, which is Oct. 30 through Nov. 8. Call 866-PBR-SHOW for ticket information or log onto www.unlvtickets.com to order your tickets for what will be one of the tightest finishes for the world title.
Tweet, tweet: Be sure to follow the PBR on Twitter at www.twitter.com/teampbr.
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