It was the second week of the Professional Bull Riders World Finals and all eyes have been on the race. For those of you tuned in, you know what race I'm referring to: the World Champion title and the one million dollar bonus. The top 40 bullriders in the world faced off with 20 of the top contenders of the ABBI Classic 4-year olds on night number four.
This is the week to be on your game!!!
The Thomas and Mack Center, on the campus of UNLV, was buzzing with fans long before the first bull rope was pulled. If you're a bull riding fan, this is the week to be in Sin City! The opening feature some past world champions and the retirement of Pandora's Box. This week will be his last ride in Las Vegas and they offered a salute to the champions in the much talked about opening of the PBR BFTS tour.
Section one started with 2002 world champion Ednei Caminhas, who suffered a previous round injury last week, riding Splat Kat (Danny Lemmons) for 84.75 but did not cash a check. This would be the only ride through the first two sections, as Ben Jones would post a 80.75 on For Real but would earn a re-ride opportunity and would come down early on his re-ride bull. Jones' score would not stay on the board, as he didn't come here to the Finals to earn last place. He had to go for the win, but unfortunately it wasn't going to work for him tonight.
Floridian Caleb Sanderson finally would break the ice for his first Finals ride, for an 87 point marking on Neon Ghost of Jeff Robinson, and finished 5th which was good enough for the $5000 dollar pay window that came with it. This would last exactly one ride, until Canadian, Aaron Roy, would snatch the go-round lead with his ride for 87.50 on Migraine (Silverado Rodeo) to finish in the 4th position.
The 2004 world champion Milke Lee would put together an 83.75 aboard Bahada of K & K Cattle Co and finish in dead last for qualified rides, at 10th place. We may look back on this trip and it might be good enough to get him into the short round on Sunday, as he has now entered into the top 15 contenders in the average.
RodeoAttitude.com has always been a fan of member Dustin Elliott, of North Platte Neb. Tonight shouldn't be any different. Elliott spurred his bull to 86 championship points and submitted his name into the eschelon of cowboys who have ridden three bulls. His ride tonight came aboard Derringer of Lufkin Ranch/ K&K Cattle and he finished 7th for the evening and also finds himself 7th in the event average.
Robson Palermo, who won round three last Sunday afternoon, would Ride With the Best for the Enterprise bonus after an 8 second ride ... so we thought. The official on the back of the chutes called for a replay of the ride and it was determined that Palermo slapped the bull with his free hand, which is a no-no in the rule book. No score and no $5000 dollar bonus.
Austin Meier of Kinta, Okla., would call for the gate on his bull Perfect Poison, and it wasn't going to go in Meier's favor. As he called for the gate, the bull fell down and never regained its balance. The officials threw their red flags on the arena floor, indicating a reride would be awarded. Meier would later ride another bull, Flashpoint of Teague Bucking Bulls, for 86.75 and finish just a quarter-point out of the money window, in 6th place.
The New Mexico connections, Travis Briscoe and LJ Jenkins, came down early, and then it was time for the top ten contenders of the PBR world title race. I understand it may only be a 3-man race right now, but it's all about the back number for next season for seven of these guys. Chris Shivers, Sean Willingham, Wiley Peterson, Renato Nunes and Zack Brown wouldn't make the 8 seconds needed on their trips out of the Priefert chutes tonight. If you would have told me on Friday afternoon before the PBR Finals started that those five would not have ridden a bull after four rounds, I WOULD NEVER HAVE BELIEVED YOU!!! True Story!
Those cowboys have not had a good Finals to date but then again, they could be the sleepers in the next three rounds of competition, because they have all showed us in their careers they can ride with the best of them. Look for one of them to win a round in the next three.
After the shock and awe of that caliber of talent coming down early, it was time to see the top five riders. I understand that two of them can not possibly overcome the points deficit to strap that World Champion buckle on their belt but these two guys are the ones that can be the spoilers as well.
Ryan McConnel - we are no longer talking just about his near fatal accident and rollover that he made it through last week getting here. We are now talking about his riding ability and why he is here. He has been one that had ridden two of three last week and will be looking to make a deposit at his local banking institution come Monday ... A Big One! The New Mexico talent turned Oklahoman put 85.75 points on the leaderboard, yet it wasn't enough to make the deposit on tonight's round. The ride has moved him into contention for a much bigger payday in the average. He finds himself 5th in the average. If we stopped tonight, his payday would be a little over $50,000 for the average placing. Not a bad day at the office for riding bulls.
Mr Consistent, Valdiron de Oliveira, stuck it on Copp Hou (Lightning C Cattle Co) for a go round best 88.25 to that point, and was looking to win his first round, but he had to wait it out for the best guys in the world: the three Musketeers of Guillherme Marchi, JB Mauney and Kody Lostroh.
Oliveira's Brazilian friend Guillherme Marchi would suffer his first ever 0-4 Finals ever. For those of you that recall before his World Champion title last year, this kid came to America in 2004, qualified for the Finals that year and in the last three - 2005,2006 and 2007 - Marchi would finsih with the number 2 back number. Justin McBride would win two of those titles and Adriano Moraes, who is responsible for bringing Marchi to the U.S., would win his third world title, snatching it away from Marchi. The 2008 World Champion has been nothing but stellar the last four years at the Finals but this year is a different story. They say it's harder to repeat as world champion than to win just one. It must be true because Marchi has not ridden a bull yet, and that might be the story of the Finals: the previous five guys that I mentioned and Guillherme Marchi going 0 for 24 outs. WOW!
But because there are two American bull riders throwing it down, that has become the story of the 2009 BFTS season. There has never been a former Rookie of the Year win a world title. That is sure to change this year with these two cowboys, one from Tar Heel country and the other from the Rocky Mountain High state.
JB Mauney, 2006 Daisy Rookie of the Year, would strike first, as his effort tonight on Fire Plug (K & K Cattle Co) would move the leaderboard to 89 points and possibly another go round buckle for him and his family that is here. A cool $25,000 night would push his finals earnings over $63,000 for 24 seconds worth of try, over $450,000 on the year and with the million dollar bonus - well over $1.5 million in 2009. More importantly, the average points would earn him the world title and the million dollar Built Ford Tough bonus. PERIOD.
However, a young talented cowboy, and 2005 Daisy Rookie of the Year, and I do mean Cowboy from the front range of Colorado, has something to say. Kody Lostroh came in number one in the season and he's fixing to leave in that spot. The pressure, lights, music and all the surroundings aren't enough to distract this youngster. He grew up riding calves and steers and has thought of this storybook ending for quite some time.
"The time is now" to win it, he said. He has never been in a better spot to secure his first world championship and the gold buckle. Tonight, he slid onto the back of Mission Accomplished (4L /Diamond S Rodeo Co) and need I say any more? His 8 seconds of fury would send the confetti to the rafters of the T & M and would garner Lostroh 90.25 points and re-position himself in the average race right behind JB Mauney. In the last 3 rounds Lostroh has made up ground on JB in the average and now sits at number 2. A slim 4 1/2 points away from the number 1 average spot, which pays out more than $225,000.
Let's do the math tonight if Kody Lostroh is to pull this off, after being hurt in the middle of April and wasn't supposed to hang on this long for the title. He has won $43,000 at the Finals so far, could win $225,000 for the average. If he was to win it, $400,000 on the year so far, with 4 rounds left and a million dollar bonus...a whopping $1,625,000 and some change for the year and a gold buckle. Wowser, that's a perfect season!
I don't want to be the one that jinx him, so we will leave it at that and continue this saga for tomorrow night. The press room in the Thomas and Mack is empty and I'm headed to the 5th round draft party at the Joint at the Hard Rock Hotel this evening.
The Worlds Greatest Rodeo Fan James Phillips has showed up in Vegas, for his first trip ever to the PBR World Finals and I'm making my 16th trip, which by the way is every one of them since the PBR's inception. It's about James this weekend and his time at the Finals. He should be over there at the draft party as we speak and he will be reporting to you on the sights and sounds of Las Vegas during the second week of the PBR World Finals. I welcome him to our team of reporters and hope he has the time of his life here in Las Vegas.
Until next time, have a great day and we'll have round five tomorrow night.
JW Kinder
Professional Rodeo Announcer
Casper Wyoming
(Photos by Mary Rudloff)
