WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. – Welcome to the Built Ford Tough Series tour, Skeeter Kingsolver!
Kingsolver, of Mclouth, Kansas, made his BFTS debut in round one of the PBR’s Winston-Salem event on Jan. 30.
Kingsolver faced off against Black Cuervo (Torres Brothers) in the third section of the event, hanging on to the 8-second mark as Black Cuervo had a less-than-spectacular trip.
No sign of first-ride nerves! When the reride flags flew into the arena, Kingsolver didn’t appear to give it even a second thought, taking his 74.25 pointer off the board and asking for another bull.
What a reride he got!
Eight riders further into the event, Kingsolver was back in the chute, this time aboard Big Iron.
Forget first night nerves; Big Iron never stood a chance against this kid!
Kingsolver won the round with 90.5 points, the only rider to break the 90-point barrier all night.
Now that’s an introduction. Like I said earlier, welcome to the BFTS, Skeeter.
Although shown up by the new kid, 23 other PBR bull riders joined him in posting qualified rides for the round. Home-grown favorite, J.B. Mauney, of Mooresville, N.C., gave the crowd plenty worth cheering about, finishing second in the round. Mauney, who currently stands in first place in the BFTS points race to a world title, scored 89.75 on Big Coyote (Jeff Robinson Bucking Bulls), to close out the night’s round.
With the first cut of the season having just taken place, quite a few of the riders seemed to put out that little bit of extra effort, wanting to make sure they stay on tour. Right behind Mauney was Austin Meier, taking third in the round with 89 points on Flashpoint (Teague Bucking Bulls, LLC), one of quite a few Teague bulls showing off in their hometown.
Fourth and fifth in the round was shared by Matt Bohon, who definitely appears to be past last season’s slump, riding Hot Stuff (Diamond S Bucking Bulls) and Jared Farley, on Chief of Staff (Chad Berger/Julie Rosen), each posting 88.25 points.
Nebraska’s Dustin Elliott split 6th and 7th in the round with Wiley Petersen, with 88.0 points. Elliott earned his early in the night aboard Brother Love (Robinson/Elrod), while it took two bulls for Petersen to get a ride worth keeping. After Undertaker (Top Notch Bucking Bulls) failed to perform, Petersen took a reride on Crazy Eddie (Diamond S), which definitely paid off.
Victoria Texas’s Brian Herman – the oldest rider on the BFTS tour at age 38, a fact he’s probably tired of hearing announced – thrilled the crowd with a ride on Booker T (Teague) for 87.5 points, sharing 8th and 9th in the round with Ryan McConnel, who rode Foolish Pride (Diamond S). Herman also picked up an additional $5,000, as his was the “Enterprise Ride With the Best,” based on his round win in Dallas last weekend.
10th and 11th places were also shared, at 87 points, by tour veterans Chris Shivers and Ross Coleman. Coleman took on Boogie Bear (Teague), and Shivers, who rode just before Coleman, rode another Teague bucker, Barn Stormer.
All of the riders hope to cover three bulls this weekend in Winston-Salem. Beau Hill, of West Glacier, Montana, did it in one night. Hill started his night on an unimpressive Boston Blackie (Top Notch), and was awarded a reride. Nine rides later, Hill was back, this time on Brass Cat (Diamond S), where he scored 81.75 points and another reride option. So the points came down, and Beau headed back to the chutes. Just 13 riders later, he was back, on another Diamond S bull, Rock Star. While Rock Star and Hill combined for only 83.5 points, it wasn’t for a lack of effort on Hill’s part. He finished 20th in the round.
Other qualified rides in the round were:
Travis Briscoe, 86.75 points on Drill Baby Drill (Chad Berger/Winston Loe);
Josh Koschel, 86.75 points on Gappy Joe (Robinson/Larry the Cable Guy);
Renato Nunes, 86.5 points on James (Jerome Davis);
Guilherme Marchi, 86.25 points on Booger Butt (Robinson/Tedesco/Larry the Cable Guy/Broken N);
McKennon WImberly, 85.75 points on Radical (Davis/Ellis/Hiatt);
Sean Willingham, 85.5 points on Lacey Balls (Lacey Berger/Clay Struve);
Aaron Roy, 84.75 points on Hill Street (Torres Brothers), a reride bull after he received an option and a 78.25 point score on Blue Boy (Chad Berger/Roger Ward);
L.J. Jenkins, 84.25 points on Double Deuce (Top Notch);
Brian Canter, another home-state favorite, with 82 points on Eviction (Robinson/Tedesco);
Kolt Donaldson, 81.75 points on Black Ghost (Torres Brothers);
Shane Proctor, 81.75 points on Be Prepared (Torres Brothers);
Kasey Hayes, 80.75 points on Bad Brad (Jerome Davis);
Injury report:
Action in the arena came to a screeching halt late in the round when Zack Brown was injured after bucking off Sir Patrick (C Berger/C Struve/J Rosen). From the replays show in the arena, Brown appeared to suffer the injury when he landed on his back, after bucking off the bull. No direct contact with the bull was seen in the replays shown.
Once he came in contact with the ground, Brown did not move. His arms and legs appeared frozen in the positions they were when he hit the dirt. Camera angles showed that he was conscious. He was put in a neck brace, moved onto and secured to a back board and carried from the arena.
By the end of the event, the only update available was that Brown suffered a slight concussion and “was doing as well as expected.” No details of any other injuries were given by the end of the night.
