Before I start talking about the Birmingham, Alabama event, I must send out best wishes to that second-to-none PBR entertainer, Flint Rasmussen. Flint suffered a mild heart attack this past Wednesday while at his home in Choteau, Montana. While it was deemed that there was no permanent damage to his heart, it was found that he had two severely blocked arteries. He is expected to make a full recovery. You might have noticed that most of the men who competed this past weekend wore stickers with green ribbons and Flint’s name across it in honor of Rasmussen. I can’t wait to see Flint back in action, HEALTHY, of course!
The big talk was all about two bovine athletes; Bones and Big Tex. Their owners, Tom Teague and Chad Berger respectively, had a friendly little $50,000 wager as to which bull would earn the highest score. Understandably, both of these bulls were in the Championship Round, so it would remain a secret as to who their riders would be until then.
But first, moving on to the results of the 14th stop on the tour, it was young Ryan McConnel who rode all of his bulls, won the Championship Round, won the event, and placed his name on that prestigious top 10 list for the PBR World Title race. That was quite a big weekend for the Oklahoma native.
The first round was split between three men, Chris Shivers, Mike Lee, and Pete Farley. All three scored an 88.25. Shivers rode Flash Point, owned by Teague Bucking Bulls, LLC, Lee covered a bull from Circle T Ranch & Rodeo, Outa Da Blue, and Farley rode the #10 Bucking Bull, Cat Man Do. Shane Proctor was fourth after riding the K & K Bucking Bull Ryan’s Express to an 87.5 score.
Round two saw Brazil’s Renato Nunes score an impressive 90.5 on the Chad Berger/Winston Loe bull, Walk the Line. McConnel was second after riding Scaredy Cat to an 88.75 score. Chad Berger/Denny Hawks own that bull. Third went to Travis Briscoe. He was awarded an 88.5 on Booger Butt, owned by Robinson/Tesdesco/Larry the Cable Guy/Broken N-N. Fourth went to Zack Brown. He rode the Chad Berger/Clay Struve bull Fully Loaded to an 88.25.
Time for the Championship Round, and McConnel found himself on top after riding Say I Won’t Gunner to a 90.5 score. Chad Berger/Clay Struve owns Gunner. There was a bit of a question as to Ryan’s decision to pick Gunner. Originally he had said that if he ever had the chance, he would pick Big Tex. He even told Berger that before the short-go. But Chad told him that, even though he would love for Ryan to score big on his bull, the last time McConnel got on him the bull drew the lowest score he had ever had. Ryan decided to let Big Tex go until another day. He had always wanted to get on Gunner, and chose him instead. That proved to be a very profitable decision.
Second to McConnel was Wiley Petersen. He was given an 89.25 after riding Big Iron, owned by Diamond S Bucking Bulls. When Petersen made his pick in the draft, he fooled some by stalling after the “Big” in Big Iron’s name, making some think that he was choosing Big Tex. But no, and this also ended up being another good choice.
Splitting third and fourth was Wimberly and Josh Koshel with scores of 89. McKennon rode Big Coyote, owned by Jeff Robinson Bucking Bulls, while Koshel covered Chance, hauled by Teague Bucking Bulls, LLC.
One would have to question whether or not Nunes has added something else to his repertoire. He is known for climbing to the top railing of the arena after an eight-second ride and doing a back flip to the dirt. After bucking off his bull in the short-go, Nunes proceeded to throw his hat on the ground and then fling himself down several times. One of the announcers referred to it as “The Flounder”. Whatever it was, I wonder if that will become another ritual for Renato. Quite an odd one, if that’s the case. I love Renato, and I can’t wait to ask him about that little reaction when I see him next.
In the much-publicized face-off between Big Tex and Bones, these two bulls were passed over by several cowboys in the draft before they were chosen. Brown took Big Tex, while it was Mike Lee who grabbed Bones. Lee lasted only 2.5 seconds on the Teague bull. Brown almost doubled that, staying on Berger’s bull for 4.7. Whether or not the length of time the bulls had riders on them had anything to do with the scores is anyone’s guess, but when the dust cleared it was Chad Berger who was lining his pockets with Tom Teague’s money. Big Tex was given a bull score of 45.75, while Bones had a score of 45.5. Close to be sure, but on this night it was Tex who stole the show.
Brown showed obvious disappointment after bucking off Tex. He said he had been hoping for a score of 94. He had been stepped on in the prior round, and said that when he was feeling better he would like to take him on again.
The results of the Pike Electric Invitational had McConnel in first, followed by Wimberly, Petersen, Koshel, and Nunes.
The bull that won the Salem NationaLease Bull of the Event was All In, a bull owned by Berger/Naccarato/ Struve. The bulls’ score was 46.5.
Thankfully, there were no injuries to report on this last weekend.
Though neither man made it to the Championship Round, Kody Lostroh held on to his lead over J.B. Mauney in the Built Ford Tough World Standings. But look out, because Petersen made a big move into third, just 36.5 points away from Mauney. Guilherme Marchi is in fourth, Robson Palermo fifth, Austin Meier sixth, Ryan Dirteater seventh, Brown in eighth, McConnel ninth, and Nunes rounds out the top 10.
Ryan McConnel on his way to his first victory.
Big Tex wins the bull challenge.
Andy Watson/Bull Media photos
Be safe and God Bless,
Viva La Raza,
Barb.
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