PBR Enterprise tour rolls into Trenton, N.J.

By Mary Rudloff
Posted Sunday, April 26, 2009

TRENTON, N.J. (April 25, 2009) – PBR bull riders and bulls went head to head in the Sovereign Center Arena, in Trenton, N.J.

While an early heat wave took its toll on the city, inside the arena, the bulls were bringing the heat to the riders. In the end, after two nights of the "Adriano Moraes Invitational" Enterprise event, more bulls won the battle.

One rider walked away with the event win, while several other riders were just happy to be able to walk away.

Eighteen riders each climbed on two head on Friday, April 24, and another 18 gave it their best efforts on Saturday. When the dust settled, it was Philip Columbetti, of Hudson Falls, N.Y., that took the event win. Columbetti got the better of SW531 (Sonny Williams) late in the second night, putting up 87.0 points. Columbetti had worse luck on his first bull, Jester (Mark Reed), bucking off at 7.1 seconds. Because no rider managed to ride two bulls, the 87-pointer was enough to give Columbetti the win.

Second place was shared between two riders, Clovis Crane and Kyle Hannon. Hannon, of East Berlin, Pa., earned 86.0 points on Friday night aboard Bloody Sunday (Mark Reed). Crane, of Lebanon, Pa., matched that mark late in Saturday’s round, bringing cheers covering "Because I Said So" (Sonny Williams). Crane was the local favorite, and in January set a PRCA Circuit record when he won the year-end title (First Frontier Circuit) in bull riding, saddle bronc and bareback. Crane has also been seen competing on "Toughest Cowboy" on television, competing in those three roughstock events.

Fourth place went to Josh Faircloth, of Randleman, N.C., who rode MM45 (Mike Miller) in Friday night’s round for 84.5 points. Rounding out the top five was Renato Lage, of Mexico, who rode "Rock Star" (Mark Reed) on Saturday for 84.0 points.

A total of 14 of the 36 riders managed to get a qualified ride in the books in Trenton. The other qualified rides were:

Kevin Thompson of Davenport, Iowa, 83 points on "Top Secret" (Sonny Williams);

Dusty Gailey of Archdale, N.C., 82 points on "Gringo" (Mark Reed);

Rodeoattitude rider Craig Sasse, of St. Peter, Ill., looking to return to the PBR’s BFTS tour, with an 82.0 on MM646 (Mike Miller);

Alton Witted, of White Post, Va., with 80.5 points on "Weeman" (Mark Reed);

Palmer Merritt, of King, N.C., 80.0 points on "Novacaine" (Sonny Williams);

Chance Roberts, of Jewett, Ill., 80 points on "GQ" (Mark Reed);

Carlos Garcia, of Hammondsport, Mass., 77 points on "Brutus" (Mark Reed);

Wilton Gonsalves, of Peabody, Mass., 75 points on "Fortune Cookie" (Sonny Williams);

Dan Welsh, of Watertown, Conn., 67 points on MM59 (Mike Miller). Welsh was offered but did not accept his re-ride option.

But it was a wreck, not a ride, that the crowd in the Sovereign Center on Saturday night will remember most. At almost the halfway point of the round, Clint Smith, of Albany, N.Y., had a horrific hang-up that turned into a bench-clearing, as the bull fighters, everyone else in the arena, every rider and several other PBR staffers jumped into the arena to help.

Smith bucked off "Extreme Machine" (Mark Reed), and found his spur catching in the flank strap of the bull.

Smith spent the next few minutes –as the crowd watched in horror – dragged behind and under the bull, as the bull ran around the arena. With every turn of the bull, Smith found his boot twisted tighter and tighter in the rope.

Adriano Moraes, who was riding as a safety man both nights, managed to rope the bull, but had to turn the rope loose as the crowd of bull fighters and riders tried to corner the bull and pull Smith free. At that point, Moraes jumped off his horse and joined the effort to free Smith.

After several horrifying minutes, someone got close enough with a knife, and was able to cut Smith free from the rope. At that point, "Extreme Machine" decided to turn the chase on a few of Smith’s rescuers, while Smith, his shirt torn off in the mêlée, lay motionless in the arena, red welts visible on his body from contact with the bull and his drag around the arena. The bull then left the arena on its own.

Smith was carried out of the arena on a backboard, as the crowd sat quiet, stunned by what they had just witnessed. It was less than an hour later that Smith, supported by Adriano, walked back into the arena, to tell the crowd he was alright, although sore. Moraes called it one of the worst hang-ups he ever witnessed in his bull riding career.

Bull rider Wes Thompson, of Marion, Indiana, was another casualty of the rank pen of bulls. On his first bull of the night, Shreck (Mark Reed), Thompson bucked off at the 4.7 second mark. He landed hard on his back, then rolled up onto his neck, and was out cold. Thompson left the arena strapped to a backboard and was transported to the hospital. No update on his injuries was available by the end of the event.

(All photos copyright Mary Rudloff 2009)