With the 2010 PBR World Cup Final in the books, I would like to give some closing thoughts from the Team Captains for each country. All the men spoke during the press conference on Sunday afternoon, and they each had something to say, albeit some quite a bit more than others.
But there was one thing that some of the men commented on, and the impression was the same for each – the bull power that was brought into this event. Never before has there been such a who’s who of livestock at the same place. Each bull was a short-go bull, no doubt about it. There was not a creampuffs to be found in the pens this weekend.
Team Brazil – Captain Adriano Moraes
Ty Murray asked Adriano what his overview was for the weekend. “My overview for this whole weekend is how much these guys have matured from last year to this year. I think they approached this with a very different point of view. They were much more of a team, and they welcomed the two newcomers, the two rookies, extremely well, encouraged them. These guys now are much better riders and athletes than they were last year.
“I really believe that these bulls were the rankest bulls we have ever seen in a World Cup. The bulls in Brazil are great, but man, they can’t compare to the power of the bulls up here. But I think by having the rankest bulls, it makes the better riders. In Brazil, not just the draw, but whoever had the strongest bulls had a disadvantage, because all the other bulls were pretty good, but not as good as here. I really believe here that everybody, every single team here, had a big challenge ahead of them. We got Airwolf, and he bucked off Silvano and Renato, one of the best bull riders right now, so I believe that when the bulls are rank, that’s when you’ve got to rise to the occasion.
“Picking a team is a process. I think we have the privilege to keep watching these guys and see who are the best riders at that moment. OK, having J.B. healthy and riding well, and Kody Lostroh riding well I’m sure would have helped the American team. But if I had Valdiron, it would have helped too. But nobody else could pick the riders. J. Dubb picked his best, I believe that he got his best, because the other two are not healthy. We take the heat for what we do, but that’s our job.”
Moraes was asked about Australia’s third place finish. “They were third? Alright! I really believe every country has the capability and the talent to be first. Troy Dunn is one of the best riders I believe in the whole industry. I think he is one of the best that ever lived. So it shows that he has quality. The Australian guys that come here, they have the heart, and they have the talent. The country just does not have as many good riders as other countries do. But their good riders are good enough.
“You seethe Mexicans now. Before they wouldn’t even start the bulls out. Now they make five seconds, seven seconds, they make some scores, put some scores on the board, and they rode rank bulls. I really believe that PBR puts together in every single country, so much money and so many good bulls, that it makes good riders.”
Guilherme Marchi was named the Most Valuable Player and said a few words. “I just have to say thanks to Adriano for having me be part of his team. I got on good bulls this week. I just came back from my injury with my hand, it feels better but I’m not 100% yet, but I kept going and gave it my best this week to help my friends, my brothers.”
Renato Nunes rode the bull Sooner Shaker that clinched the win for Team Brazil. He had ridden the bull twice before for 90+ points. “When I had him today I was sure I was going to ride him. I said to J. Dubb, ‘It’s over!’”
Team U.S.A. – Captain J.W. Hart
“You’re always disappointed when you don’t win, but I couldn’t be more proud of the guys that we picked. If we had to start over tomorrow and start this competition over, I’d bring the same five guys. I’d like to have Lostroh here, I’d like to have J.B. Mauney here, of course, but if we started over tomorrow I put 100% faith in the five guys sitting on each side of me.
“It’s bull riding. You can get the very best guys and put them on the very best bulls and some guys are going to get bucked off and others are going to make the whistle. Our guys got bucked off a couple of key match-ups, it happens, that’s the way it goes. But if nothing else, our guys stood up and showed the world that the Red, White and Blue won’t lay down and roll over for anybody. They knew they probably couldn’t win today, but they went out and gave it their best effort, put big scores on the board, and I think if you’ll look at the average points, when we rode, we beat them. All we need to do is make the whistle, because we can beat them.”
Team member Austin Meier was asked if he thought this experience would draw the team members closer. “It definitely makes us closer, I don’t see how it could make us farther apart. It’s a bonding experience. This is one of the only events that you can truly root for your buddies. You could be sitting at a table with a couple of guys who are right behind you in the World Standings, yeah you want them to do good, but you sure don’t want them to do as good as you. But at this event you want them to do just as good or better than you, so it draws you closer.
“It meant a lot to be a part of this team and to do as well as I did this weekend. Last year I was the weakest link on the team and I felt like I really let J. Dubb down even though we won. This weekend I thought we had probably the toughest pen of bulls total and we did what we could with them. Like J. Dubb said, when we rode them, we made it work. So it makes us tight, when you can root for your countrymen.”
Team Australia – Captain Troy Dunn
“Well, I take my hat off to Brazil. They typify what bull riding’s all about. They’re always tough, they got the result, and congratulations to them.
“I think with my fellows, I was pretty happy with them, they put in a big effort. As far as how they finished up, I was really proud of my fellows and the way they went about it. They tried their guts out. When my guys are out there each weekend on the Built Ford Tough I tell them to stick together and pull together.
“We had a lot seven-plus second rides. We got a little unlucky a couple of times I thought. We could have had a lot more scores on the board, and could have taken over the U.S., but or course it didn’t happen. But I just want to say that I’m proud of my fellows, they really stepped up and I’m feeling pretty good right now. They gave their all and that’s all I can ask of them.”
Team Mexico – Captain Gerardo Venegas
“My guys, they ride real good, but they felt a little pressure. One was riding with a separated shoulder (Nile LaBaron). That happened Friday night in the first round. The bulls were really, really hard. Some of the guys, they’re not used to bulls like that. But next year, we should be there.”
Team Canada – Captain Cody Snyder
“The pen of bulls was absolutely outstanding. Cody Lambert did an outstanding job of bringing this pen of bulls here. I don’t know if the people understand what they saw. We had our best guys, and those bulls were absolutely phenomenal. I’ve never seen so many 23, 23.5 marked bulls. I’ve judged the PBR Finals five or six times, and to see these bulls buck that hard, that many of them, it’s really something. And to see Brazil ride that many of those rank bulls, I mean, those guys stepped and got it done. Adriano did a great job of bringing guys together, and whatever he did, I think I’m going to try to do that next year.
“Our guys, from the Canadian point of view, ride better than they rode here. That’s the way it goes. We didn’t get the momentum. But Brazil really stepped up and got things done here. My hat’s off to Adriano and his team. Hopefully we can get this going in Canada next year, looking forward to it, and maybe we can be the first team to win it on our home soil.
“We got out-classed. The Brazilians stepped up, and we just didn’t get it done. We don’t have the numbers like Brazil does. We have 50 or 60 Canadian members of the PBR, we don’t have a lot of numbers. But, the guys we’ve got, they didn’t ride to their potential here this weekend. We got out-rode. But if you’re going to show up at these deals, and if we want to compete and have a chance at being the World Cup Champions, you’ve got to ride this kind of rank bull. There is no other way. Got to figure out how to get it done. But I can’t stress enough about this pen of bulls. They were good! Next years’ a new year.”
When asked if he could repeat what he said to his team before the final day, Cody gave a quick no. But Snyder had some other interesting words. “Everybody here, we grew up dreaming about riding bulls and being cowboys, and to have an opportunity to come here and compete for your country…the money’s not the thing of this, it’s the opportunity to come here and compete. So quickly this is done. At 35, 30, 28 years of age you’re old. Enjoy what you’ve got. Understand what you’ve got. Understand the opportunity that the PBR has given you to be a professional athlete and make more money than you’ve ever made and be something bigger than you’ve ever been.”
I just want to make a closing statement. Why so many people chose to miss this event I’m not sure. Perhaps it is the economy, or too many trips to Las Vegas. And that is a real shame. For if you are a true bull riding fan, this was the best event ever, both in terms of bull power and the effort put out by the riders. I doubt if we will see another pen of bull super stars like these all together in one place for a very long time. Congratulations to Cody Lambert for his selections.
The victorious Team Brazil
Brazil Captain Adriano Moraes
U.S.A. Captain J.W. Hart
Australia Captain Troy Dunn
Mexico Captain Gerardo Venegas
Canada Captain Cody Snyder
All photos by Linda Peterson
Be safe and God Bless,
Viva La Raza,
Barb.
