In a contest that came down to the wire, Justin McBride won his second Built Ford Tough Series World Title, the first coming in 2005. Ironically, McBride won the short go riding the same bull both years, the great Camo, owned by Boyd/Floyd/Paradise Farms. He was definitely happy to get on Camo again. When asked the difference between this years’ ride and the one in 2005, Justin cracked, “I stayed more in the middle on this ride!” (The first time, McBride rode several seconds on the side of the bull – he had to stay on to win, and that’s just what he did.) He sure was more in the middle, and was awarded a 92.25 score to prove it.
He did describe the first three days of the Finals when he bucked off the first three bulls as, “Horrible.” But he said he remembered what the great Ty Murray had once told him; “Quit trying not to lose and start trying to win.”
It is amazing to realize that McBride has won more money this year than Murray won his entire career. “That’s unbelievable, because he did a whole lot of winning in his career. My hat is off to Randy (Bernard) and all the guys who started the PBR, and to our new partner Spire, who’s going to take us to another level. I was telling Randy that I pretty much paid for my 3200-acre ranch tonight. In two years I’ve paid for something that most people work all their lives trying to pay for and never get to. I owe everything that I have to the guys that started this sport.”
McBride will now be taking a break, as he is having surgery on his shoulder in the very near future. Dr. Tandy Freeman will do the surgery in Dallas, and Justin will be out a minimum of six months, with a lot of rehab during that time.
Guilherme Marchi was once again a bridesmaid as he was second to McBride for the BFTS World Championship. He rode five out of seven bulls, and stuck it on Page & Buck’s Savage Shaker for 90.50, and third place in the short go.
Young J.B. Mauney was third. It was great that he was able to ride at all, as he was stepped on the previous night and had a badly bruised armpit. While he kept his arm at his side when walking around, when it came time to ride, he was ready to go. He placed in round seven, and won the short round with a super score of 92.75. He rode Copperhead Slinger, owned by Chad Berger/Ryken/Larson.
Wiley Petersen was fourth in the BFTS World Championship, with Robson Palermo in fifth.
And mentioning Wiley, he got a championship of his own, as he finished on top for the BFTS World Finals Event Standings. He had a great Finals, riding six of eight bulls and tying for first twice, finishing with a total score of 531.25 points. He tied for the win in round seven with Jared Farley. Both men received a 90.50.
Petersen joked about the bull he had in that round. “Booger Butt had an awesome name,” he quipped. About his ride, he said, “I think he went to the left pretty fast, felt pretty cool, and I was excited to stay with him, and that it worked out well. I've felt good all week. I’m not hurting, I’m not sore, and I’m in good shape. I’m just having fun. When bull riding’s going good there’s nothing better, but when you’re bucking off everything it’s miserable. This is one of those times when things pulled together. Again, I’ve got to give praise to God for that.”
Marchi was second in the event standings, giving him two of those reserve awards, as it were. Kody Lostroh was third after a good Finals. He placed second in three go-rounds. Unfortunately, from what I understand, Lostroh suffered a broken ankle after being bucked off and stepped on in the short go.
Mauney was fourth, and McBride fifth.
The 2007 Rookie of the Year was Clayton Williams.
The bull that was named the 2007 PBR World Champion Bull was Chicken on a Chain. This great athlete is owned by Robinson/Tedesco/Larry the Cable Guy.
The ABBI Bucking Bull Classic Champion was Troubadour. He is owned by Julio and Cindy Moreno. This super young bull was also the high score bull in the short round, scoring a big 47 points, and bucking off Petersen in the process.
Before the event I had a chance to catch up with Adriano Moraes in the locker room. As I’m sure you all know, Moraes did not have a good year following his third World Title – far from it. I wanted to talk with him about that, and also wondered if he had thoughts of retirement.
“I’m not retiring for now. I’m going to keep on trying until I see that I can or cannot make it. For now, my retirement’s on hold.
Earlier this year he had told me that it was hard for him to get excited for each event. Was that still the problem?
“I get my excitement up. The problem is not getting excited, the problem is my riding. I need to fix that. My reflexes are way too slow. I am a little overweight. I’m not fat, but a little overweight. So there are some problems that I have to fix, and I’m going to try to fix them. That’s why I say my retirement’s on hold. If I can fix the problems I’ll continue to ride, if I cannot fix them then I’ll quit.”
He has 34 cows that are pregnant right now, and was smiling when he told me that hopefully in a couple of years he’ll be playing the ABBI game. He said that his sons will also be involved. Retiring or not, I know we have not seen the last of Adriano.
A huge congratulations to our new 2007 World Champion Justin McBride, and to Wiley Petersen for his big event win.
Andy Watson photos.
Be safe and God Bless,
Viva La Raza,
Barb.
