Kody Lostroh Gets his Third Event Win in the 2009 Season

By Barbara Pinnella
Posted Tuesday, April 7, 2009

Last week in Albuquerque, New Mexico, Zack Brown won his third event of he season. Not to be outdone, Kody Lostroh grabbed his third event win, this time in Nampa, Idaho at the Nampa Invitational. Lostroh was able to ride all four of his bulls, scoring more than 90 on two of those four.

Brown stayed on a roll, winning round one. He covered the Jeff Robinson Bucking Bull, Big Coyote, for an 89.25. Aaron Roy was second with an 88.25 on Wrangler Big Rig, owned by Jeff Robinson/Broken N-N/C&D Bulls/SkyHawk Rugs. Third was Lostroh. He rode Mean Machine to an 87.5. Chad Berger/Clay Struve/Julie Rosen own Mean Machine.

Round two found Lostroh on top of the heap. He picked a great bull, SoulJa Boy, and was awarded a 92.5 for his efforts. Priest Creek Ranch owns that super bull. Second was J.B. Mauney. He jumped in the deep end and picked the Diamond G bull, White Magic. When the dust cleared Mauney was on for the eight, and scored 90 points. Third was Valdiron de Oliveira. He rode Why Not Minot, owned by Chad Berger/Roger Ward to an 89.25.

Oregon’s Cody Campbell won the third round. He scored an 89.25 on Live Wire, owned by Chad Berger/Clay Struve. Chris Shivers was second when he rode Hell Sakes to an 88.75. Flying Diamond Rodeo Company owns Hell Sakes. Third went to de Oliveira. He got an 86.5 on the Chad Berger/Denny Hawks bull, Scaredy Cat.

Another weekend of super bulls, as once again the top 15 chosen for the Championship Round were spectacular. This was made more obvious in the fact that only three men rode, and all scored over 90. Last years’ World Champion Guilherme Marchi reached in and grabbed the unridden Big Tex. The bull went into the round 0-8, but came away eight seconds later with a big “one” in the ridden column. Marchi made a spectacular ride on the Chad Berger/Clay Struve bull, and was given a huge 94 points to further prove the ride was great.

Lostroh chose a bull he has had before and likes, North Star. Well, I’m sure he likes that Corey & Horst/The Western Group bull even more now, as he covered North Star for a score of 91.25. That gave him second in the Championship Round.

Third, and the only other man to ride was young McKennon Wimberly. He rode Banana Basin to a 90.5. Banana Basin is owned by Red Knection K Bulls.

The Salem NationaLease Bull of the Event went to the great Chicken on a Chain, owned by Robinson/Tedesco/Larry the Cable Guy/Broken N-N. Chicken was given a big bull score of 47.

There was one significant injury in Nampa. Rookie Skeeter Kingsolver broke his right ankle when he was stepped on, and is scheduled for surgery this week. He will miss six to eight weeks of competition. Kingsolver was holding a slight lead over Pete Farley for Rookie of the Year honors, so this is particularly bad timing.

The overall event standings found Lostroh on top, followed by Marchi, de Oliveira, Wimberly, and Sean Willingham.

As far as the World Standings are concerned, we have Lostroh still holding onto his lead, with Marchi second, Mauney third, Wiley Petersen fourth, Brown fifth, Palermo sixth, Ryan McConnel seventh, Renato Nunes eighth, de Oliveira ninth, and Austin Meier tenth. McConnel and Nunes swapped places from last week, and de Oliveira made it into the top ten. Ryan Dirteater dropped off, but he is out with a broken femur. Hopefully he will be able to still make it to the Finals.

The draft has been discussed a lot of late, with most people agreeing that they like the format, but perhaps it should not be done every time. Right now, if the events have three rounds plus the Championship Round, the men can choose their bulls for rounds two and the short-go. If it is only a three round event, they pick their bull for that Championship Round. It is interesting that there have been an increase in 90+ rides when the men pick their own bull to ride, whether it is round two or the short-go. Such was the case the past two weeks. That does make sense, of course.

I have my own opinion – I love the draft, but also feel that the luck of the draw should apply at some events. I’d like to hear your views. Feel free to drop me a line and let me know what other bull riding fans think, and I will discuss your opinions next time. You can email me at coyotemoon8@yahoo.com.

The BFTS has a weekend off, and then they pick it back up in Billings, Montana.

Kody Lostroh on his way to the Nampa event win.

Guilherme Marchi rides the "unrideable" Big Tex

Andy Watson/Bull Stock Media photos

Be safe and God Bless,

Viva La Raza,

Barb.