LAS VEGAS, NEVADA (November 8, 2009) – Those PBR fans who were lucky enough to have tickets for seats at the Thomas and Mack Center on Championship Sunday found out those seats were little more than something to stand in front of, because with the energy level about to blow the roof off the arena, no one was sitting down.
The morning - who knew Las Vegas had mornings? – started off with the long-go, round 7 of the PBR World Championship. In that round, 17 riders stepped up to walk the walk, and show why they deserved to be there.
But the main focus was on JB Mauney and Kody Lostroh. Who would win the World Finals average? Who would get the most bonus points? Who would ride, and in the end, which of the two would be the new PBR World Champion.
The answer is both, depending on which question you asked.
But after some quick math at the end of the day, Lostroh, who had led the Built Ford Tough Series standings for the past 20 weeks, is the PBR’s newest world champion. The gold world champion buckle and the million dollar prize went to the Colorado cowboy, who rode seven of his eight bulls.
JB Mauney didn’t do so bad himself, securing his place in the PBR history books as the one and only man – thanks to the format change next year – who will ever have ridden all eight bulls in the PBR World Finals. Mauney took the World Finals average win, and for the third time in the four years he has competed in the World Finals, won the championship round as well. He will be leaving town with more than $250,000 in prize money.
Although he really wanted that gold buckle. Expect to see him in the running for it again next year.
The seventh round - which served as a powerhouse warm-up for the championship round that followed - saw Aaron Roy set himself up as the potential spoiler, taking the round win with a 91.75 pointer on Top Notch (Martinez Bucking Bulls).
What had everyone in the arena on the edge of their seats, however, were the rides by Kody Lostroh, JB Mauney and Valdiron de Oliveira.
Lostroh and Mauney had been battling it out through seven rounds and neither had bucked off a single bull. Neither had the other possible spoiler in the title race, de Oliveira.
In round seven, all three rode again. Lostroh took third in that round with a 90-pointer on “SoulJa Boy” (Priest Creek Ranch), while de Oliveira was part of the 6th through 8th place split, with 88.5 points on “Far West” (Martinez). Mauney took tenth in the round, scoring 86.75 on “Smack Down” (Dakota Rodeo/Clay Struve).
That set everything up for the championship round.
Heading into the short-go, television audiences knew Lostroh had sown up the World Champion title, but in the Thomas and Mack it was a deep, dark secret. That only ratcheted the energy up higher as the championship round bulls were loaded in.
The round opened with Pete Farley, who bucked off Big Tex (Dakota Rodeo/Struve) at the 3-second mark. He finished with a respectable pair of qualified rides in the finals.
McKennon Wimberly got the house a-rocking, riding “The Game” (Brandon Gasper Bucking Bulls) for 90 big points, his fourth score out of eight rides in the finals.
A string of buck offs followed, by Josh Koschel on “Major Payne” (3 qualified rides) in 1.0 second; Kasey Hayes on “Spit Fire” at 1.8 seconds (four scores in the Finals); a heart-breaking 7.3 second ride by Ross Coleman on the always electric “Chicken on a Chain” (four qualified rides); and Ednei Caminhas, who got on a hot streak in the finals, bucking off “Paycheck” at the 2.2 second mark (four scores).
Shane Proctor, who had been on fire in the Finals, rev’d everyone’s engines back up with his 90 points on “Necessary Evil,” (Don Kish), his fifth score in the 8 rounds.
Tension kept spiraling higher and higher, through another string of buck-offs, as the entire World Finals headed for the end of the closest contest in the organization’s history.
Caleb Sanderson, who showed himself to be a true BTFS rider at the Finals, bucked off “Crosswired” in a quick 1.5 seconds, but ended the weekend with four qualified rides. Dustin Elliott had five rides, but his trip on “Master Feeds Show Stopper” ended at 2.7 seconds.
Austin Meier, after finishing second in round 7, got a 6.5 second ride and an ugly hang up in the short go from “Code Blue,” the Bucking Bull of the Year. Meier had five qualified rides in the World Finals. The buck-offs kept coming, as Robson Palermo was unable to cover “Uncle Buck” (Teague) beyond the 2.5 second mark, and then de Oliveira’s riding streak stopped at seven, when he slapped “Unabomber” at the 4.7 second mark.
And then there were two.
Neither was ready to give up.
And no one in the Thomas and Mack Center was sitting down.
JB Mauney climbed into the chute and onto “Black Pearl,” (Ravenscroft/Boyd Floyd Bull Co.), and put on a show for the screaming sold-out crowd to the tune of 93.75 points. The building erupted, as fans of both Mauney and Lostroh wondered what that score – and the bonus points that went with it – might mean.
Then it was up to the Colorado kid, and Lostroh looked calm climbing into the chute to face off with “Voodoo Child” (Jeff Robinson/Beutler & Sons/Bar None/C&J McNeely).
The chute gate swung open, the crowd roared, the bull lunged and bucked and spun and, for about 7 seconds it looked like Lostroh was about to match Mauney’s history making 8-for-8 rides in the Finals.
Then, suddenly, a hush fell as fans saw Lostroh stretched out to his fingertips, and then losing his bull rope and hitting the dirt.
The clock read 7.5 seconds.
With $1 million on the line, Lostroh headed straight for the Pike Replay challenge button.
Who could blame him? The possible $500 charge, if he was wrong, was worth the risk if the difference would be a million dollars.
On review, however, the ride came in at 7.47 seconds. There would be no score.
The crowd waited, suddenly going from a raucous bunch to a hush, as they waited to hear: would it be JB as the World Champion, or would Kody’s two round wins be enough to hold onto the coveted title?
When arena announcer Brendon Bates called out Lostroh’s name as the new World Champion, the thunderous cheers started again.
Lostroh made his way to the end of the arena to lift the world champion trophy high above his head, and to accept the gold buckle that will forever show he is the 2009 PBR World Champion.
He can take a few days to bask in the glory of his victory. On Wednesday, he is scheduled for surgery to repair his damaged elbow. Recovery is, depending on the extent of the surgery done, as much as four months. In his post-win interview, Lostroh said he is hopeful the doctors can “just go in there and clean it up enough,” so that he won’t miss that much of the season, which starts again in Baltimore, Md. on New Year’s weekend.
Lostroh said he was happy to win, and also was happy for Mauney, for winning the average and setting the new PBR record of 8-for-8 rides. Asked about his plans for his new million dollars, Lostroh said he hadn’t thought about it, but might look for some bigger land in Colorado.
Mauney and Lostroh were both gracious in complimenting each other, and in sharing the victory at the World Finals. Asked if he hoped to be standing in Lostroh’s spot next year, Mauney joked that he wasn’t quite ready for retirement, and believes there is a gold world champion buckle in his future as well.
WORLD CUP: It was also announced during Sunday’s round that the PBR World Cup will be taking place in mid-April in Las Vegas. The event is aligning itself with the scheduled Academy of Country Music Awards, also in Las Vegas that weekend. Lostroh said he hopes to be recovered from surgery in time to make the U.S. team.
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