Kody Lostroh did not find himself extending his lead in the BFTS. Neither Guilherme Marchi or J.B. Mauney could make up ground on the leader, either. No, it was Mauney’s brother-in-law, Shane Proctor, who stood the tallest when it counted. Questioned perhaps for getting that important first pick in the draft for the short-go and choosing Okie Dokie rather than Troubadour, Proctor stated, “I’m a Washington cowboy and he’s a Washington bull.” He made believers when he got just the number of points he needed, 87.75, on his Corey & Horst Rodeo Co., Inc. partner to win the GoDaddy.com Invitational in Portland, Oregon. And just to make things a bit sweeter for him, this was his first BFTS victory.
“It’s a great confidence booster going into the Finals and gives me much needed points. This feels great – it’s been a long time coming and means the world to me this close to the Finals.
Lostroh bucked off both of his bulls in Portland. Marchi took a small run at him when he rode his bull Boomtown, another Corey & Horst bull, to an 85.5 and a fifth place finish. But he could not capitalize on that, bucking off in round two and just missing getting into the short-go. But Guilherme is on a mission, to be the first man to win back-to-back World Championships. “I’m still hungry,” he said.
Mauney had the same opportunity, but could only ride his second round bull No Glory, owned by Don Kish Bucking Bulls, to tie for third. Still, he made it into the Championship round and picked the tough Dakota Rodeo/Clay Struve bull, Copperhead Slinger. His efforts fell short however, as he bucked off Slinger.
Josh Koschel won the first round after he received a score of 87.75 on Frank the Tank, owned by Dakota Rodeo/John and Lacey Berger/Clay Struve. Austin Meier won round two with 88 points on Strong Heart II, owned by Dakota Rodeo/Clay Struve.
The Championship Round went to Robson Palermo. He rode the 4C’s/Sills/Vaughn bull Tahonta’s Shadow to a big 90.5. Second in that round went to Valdiron de Oliveira, who was thrilled to have the second pick in the draft and find Troubadour still available. He was 89.5 on this Julio Moreno star. Ryan McConnel was third. He chose the Red Knection K Bull Smack Down, and rode him for 89.25. Proctor and Okie Dokie finished fourth.
The bull that scored the highest number of points and therefore the winner of the Salem NationaLease Bull of the Event was the Dakota Rodeo/Clay Struve bull, Copperhead Slinger. He was given a score of 45.75.
The top five cowboys in the overall event standings were Proctor, de Oliveira, McConnel, Palermo, and Billy Robinson.
There were no major injuries, thank God, but Mike White took another mauling, definitely not what he needed since he has just recently returned. White has stated that he no longer craves bull riding and is just riding now to make the money and make it into the Finals. As everyone knows, this sport is way too dangerous to have that attitude, and on a personal note, I hope that Mike looks deep inside himself and makes the right decision. At the very least, stay safe.
Brendon Clark is also riding injured and pressing forward. It is so difficult to ride with a hurt shoulder. Brendon’s is on his free arm, and he can’t even lift the arm up enough to do any countermoves at all. He too is planning on riding in the Finals.
Lostroh is also not without some pain, as he has a bad shoulder as well, and landed on it hard in Portland. In fact, he has hit that shoulder in the last four events, but he blocks it out. He doesn’t look back, only forward, and that vision is what is taking him into Las Vegas.
With just two events remaining before the start of the PBR World Finals the race for the Championship is closer than ever before. Mathematically, anyone in the top ten could win. Realistically, that is almost impossible, but there is so much money and points available during the World Finals that things can change quickly. It seems relatively certain that injuries will play some part, to what degree remains to be seen.
Marchi trails Lostroh by a mere 962 points. Mauney is behind Marchi by only 10.5 points – 972.50 behind Guilherme! Amazing! Fourth is de Oliveira, trailing Kody by 3518.5. After Valdiron comes Zack Brown, some 3876.25 behind. Riders six through 10 go from being behind Kody by 4276.75 to 4645.75. I don’t think any bull riding fan will want to miss the next two events and the Finals. This will culminate into an incredible season!
Photo of Shane Proctor by Andy Watson/ Bull Stock Media
Be safe and God Bless,
Viva La Raza,
Barb.
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