The 21st stop on the PBR tour, and the last one before a three-week break, saw many surprising moments, which ultimately provided no change in the order of the BFTS standings. This Cheeseburger Island Style Invitational was held in Glendale, Arizona. Robson Palermo grabbed his second win in a month, as he was able to hold off all comers by being the only competitor to cover all three of his bulls.
But the event was not without controversy and injuries. Round one saw Tony Mendes call for his bull Sharp Shooter, only to immediately start yelling “No” as the bull turned around and came out backwards. He said he declared himself and expected a re-ride, but judge Cody Custer shot down that request. No harm, no foul, according to Custer. The normally mild-mannered Mendes was HOT! The next night he bucked off Mud Duck. Must mention here though, that Tony had just lost his grandfather, a person who was very important in his life. My thoughts go out to my friend.
Round one also gave us the injury of the man in the lead in the BFTS, Justin McBride. McBride was on the bull Wintwister when he got cracked in the head. He was basically out at that point, but things weren’t over quite yet. As Justin fell underneath Wintwister he received a foot to his throat and immediately his whole body stiffened. This was a very scary thing to watch, but amazingly McBride walked, with assistance, out of the arena. He suffered a concussion and some pretty good bruising to his face and neck, but otherwise came out unscathed. He even sat in the announcers’ booth the next night to provide some commentary. Can you spell T-O-U-G-H?
Not so lucky was Valdiron de Oliviera. His bull Boogie Board smashed him hard in the face. De Oliviera suffered a concussion, broken jaw, and a severe cut to his chin that required stitches. The eventual winner Palermo separated his right shoulder, Clayton Williams experienced a cut chin and a bruised left deltoid, Ednei Caminhas pulled a muscle in his leg, and Adriano Moraes did not even come to the event due to a reported recurring back injury. Yikes! It is a good thing that this break in here!
So let’s get to the good stuff. The round one winner was the young Harve Stewart. He scored a huge 90 on the good bull Mud Flap, owned by Gene Owens Bucking Bulls. These 90 points was the highest score of the event by a rider to watch, for sure. Second was Paulo Crimber on the Boyd/Floyd/Paradise Farms’ bull Missfire. He was awarded an 89 for his efforts.
The next three were closer together in points. Wiley Petersen was third on Blaze with an 87.75. Rafter 7R owns that bull. Fourth went to another young gun Tyler Smith, after he rode the Double R Bucking Bull Medicine Man to an 87.50. Fifth was the popular Guilherme Marchi, with an 87 score on Busta Move, owned by American Bucking Bull.
If we had a contest between bulls against bull riders for round two, the bull riders would lose, hands down. Only seven, that’s right, SEVEN, riders were able to stay on their bulls. That is, I believe, the lowest number of riders to cover bulls the PBR has seen. Eventual winner Palermo grabbed the top spot as he did the job here, riding Herbert Bucking Bulls’ Semi Automatic to an 87.
Tyler Smith hit the board again, this time on Runnin Round. He received an 86.75 for his efforts here. Salt River Rodeo hauls Runnin Round. Third was Colby Yates with an 86.50. He rode one of my favorite bulls, Crossfire Hurricane, who is owned by Page and Teague Bucking Bulls.
Fourth and fifth were split by LJ Jenkins and JB Mauney. Both scored an 83.25, Jenkins on Scary Deal and Mauney on Jeopardy. Diamond S Bucking Bulls and Boyd/Floyd/Paradise Farms own the bulls respectively.
Championship Round time, and four riders stayed on to get a score. Palermo sealed his fate when he rode the Double R Bucking Bull Cadillac Man to an 89.25 score. The bridesmaid was Stewart. He received an 88.25 when he was able to stay on Cajun King, owned by Herbert/Fournier Bucking Bulls. It is fun for me to see a David Fournier bull, as I had a great time interviewing him earlier this year. Those men have a good bull here.
Marchi covered Blizzard for an 88 score. This was a historic ride in that this was the first time in 24 outs that this bull has been ridden, so congratulations to Marchi. Diamond S Bucking Bulls own Blizzard. The last man to ride was Petersen. He rode the veteran Werewolf Snuff for an 86.50. Werewolf has been on the tour since 2002. This is just an example of longevity that these bulls enjoy. Flying U/Moreno Bucking Bulls owns this super bull.
Speaking of good bulls, Cat Daddy was the highest scored bull of this event with a 46 rating. Diamond S Bucking Bulls owns Cat Daddy. Even though I probably don’t need to point this out, Diamond S has a great stable of bulls.
Palermo’s three rides gave him the average win. Stewart was second, Marchi third, and Smith and Petersen tied for fourth.
As I mentioned earlier, the standings for the BFTS have not changed, even though the points did. McBride is still on top, with Mauney, Sean Willingham, Marchi, Brian Canter, Crimber, Palermo, Petersen, Matt Bohon, and Kasey Hayes rounding out the top ten.
The boys now have until July 20th through the 22nd before the next event, and then get another full month off before the Chihuahua Challenge in Mexico August 24th through 26th.
Both photos courtesy of Andy Watson
Be safe and God Bless,
Viva La Raza,
Barb.
