Sunday night proved to be a big one for the PBR fans in Chihuahua, Mexico. Even though the bulls were tough, there were a lot of rides for those in attendance to cheer about. But probably the loudest the fans were all night was when Mexico’s Hugo Pedrero was given a re-ride and bucked off in 7.9 seconds. He took advantage of the replay challenge, but judge Cody Lambert held up the watch for all to see – 7.97 seconds. Wow, were those boos loud! I had to laugh, because earlier in the day Linda Peterson sat down with Lambert to discuss the unpopularity of the judges, and what a thankless job it is. There could not have been better proof than this.
Still, they gave it up pretty quickly, and did not seem to hold a grudge. Besides, there were several cowboys who had a chance to win the event, as the points were really spread out. This made it a lot of fun for the fans.
Guilherme Marchi won round three. He rode Red Carpet, owned by Diamond S Bucking Bulls, to an 89-point score, which also happened to be the high score of the weekend. This made him only one of two men to have ridden all three of their bulls. (The other was Harve Stewart, who tied for fifth and sixth in this round.) Tied for second and third were J.W. Hart and Mike Lee, sharing scores of 88. Hart rode Tino Martinez’s El Patron and Lee scored his points by riding Missfire, owned by Boyd/Floyd/ Paradise Farms. Matt Bohon was 87.50 on Sugar Ray, who is hauled by Performance Livestock/Gene Owen, to be fourth.
Championship Round time, and these bulls came to play. When he dust settled, only two cowboys were able to ride their bulls, and one of those came after another re-play challenge. Dustin Hall on Bearcat Bell was bucked off in 7.9, but pushed that button to ask for a re-play. In contrast to Pedrero, this decision went Hall’s way, and he ended up with an 85.50.
But this was not enough to take home the gold. Those honors went to Marchi when he rode Gnash, owned by Rafter 7R Bucking Bulls, to an 87.25 score. That made him four for four, and was just what it took to give him the Chihuahua Challenge Championship.
After losing the PBR Championship last year, Marchi has worked really hard to stay in shape. “I’ve been training a lot this summer to stay healthy and be injury-free. I attribute my win to my physical and mental health,” he said. “I’m going to keep my focus on claiming the (PBR) World Championship title this year.”
Three of the top five cowboys in the event were some of the young guns I have spoken about in the past. Coming behind Marchi to be second was Hall, with Stewart behind him for third. Fourth was Hart. I was glad to see that J.W. earned a spot in the top five. He has done so much for the sport. Fifth was round two winner Travis Briscoe.
Top honors for the bulls was split between two of them; Lost in Paradise, who is owned by Boyd/Floyd/Paradise Farms, and Diamond S Bucking Bulls’ Cat Daddy. Both were given a score of 46.25.
Besides Justin McBride, who we lost after the first round to a dislocated shoulder, both Sean Willingham and Brendon Clark had to sit out round three. Willingham suffered a pulled left groin, and is probable to compete in Reno in two weeks. Clark re-injured his thumb and is questionable for Reno. Greg Potter appeared to be stepped on by Dirty Dozen after being bucked off, and while he qualified for the short go, he did not ride.
McBride is still the leader of the pack in the run for the BFTS Championship, but some others can taste blood now. J.B. Mauney is stalking from his second position, as is Marchi in third. Willingham’s injury has slowed down his progress, but he is still in fourth, with Robson Palermo in fifth.
If you can find the time to get away next year, I highly recommend making the trip down to Chihuahua. The people are wonderful, the city is lovely, and this event rates up there as one of, if not the best one, that I have attended. I hope to finish up a day-by-day column on Chihuahua adventures no later than Tuesday – this was just a super trip!
Andy Watson photo
Be safe and God Bless,
Viva La Raza,
Barb.
