WORCESTER, Mass. (May 1, 2009) – The PBR kicked off the U.S. Air Force Invitational on Friday, May 1 in grand style, with 16 riders putting qualified scores on the books in round one of the three-day event.
In the 12th trip to Worcester, the top three riders at the event each managed to make a qualified ride. It was riders lower in the standings, however, that managed to gain ground, taking most of the top slots in the round.
Worcester – which has always been one of the first stops on the Built Ford Tough Series tour each year – shifted from its traditional January date to May and, as happens by this point in the BFTS season, some of the top riders are home nursing injuries and looking forward to the summer break to heal up.
That didn’t mean, however, that this event, the 20th stop on the 2009 schedule, didn’t offer the enthusiastic fans some great rides on awesome bulls. It definitely did. Some of the rides, however, were made by riders with names that aren’t well known yet.
When the dust settled in round one, it was Clayton Baethge, of Johnson City, Texas, that made the most of the opportunity, winning the round with an 87.25 pointer on “Fully Loaded” (Dakota Rodeo/Clay Struve). That winning ride puts money in Baethge’s pocket, inches him up in the standing and gives him the all-important first pick in the bull draft for round two on Saturday morning.
As with all three-day events, round two bulls are picked by the riders in a bull-draft, based on the order of finish in round one. Asked after his win, Baethge said he hadn’t looked at what bull he might take in round two, but that he would be looking for one of the top-ranked bulls.
Second and third in the round were split between a Canadian and a Brazilian. Aaron Roy put up 87.0 points early in round one, riding “Silent Image” (Silverado Rodeo Co.). Late in the round, Robson Palermo matched that score, riding “Black Gold” (Silverado).
Three riders in need of points also tied with 86.75 points, locking up fourth through sixth places. Rocky McDonald, of Juarez, Mexico, posted the first qualified ride of the night, covering “Monkey Wrench” (Silverado). Midway through the round, McKennon Wimberly, of Cool, Texas, tied that mark aboard “Bird Creek” (Jeff Robinson/Bar None/Leon Frakes.
His ride was immediately followed by Beau Hill, of West Glacier, Mont., on “SkyHawk Cut-A-Rug” (Jeff Robinson/Broken N-N/Kenny Jack).
Two time world champ Chris Shivers, of Jonesville, La., set himself up for a good draft pick by finishing seventh in the round, with 86.25 points on “Legacy” (Silverado).
Cody Campbell, of Summerville, Oregon, didn’t get much from “Nine Ball” (Jeff Robinson Bucking Bulls), but made the most of his re-ride option, finishing in the round with 85.75 points on “Bad Medicine” (Dakota Rodeo/Clay Struve). He split 8th and 9th place with Brazilian Valdiron de Oliveira, who rode “Spotlight” (Silverado) late in the round.
Rounding out the top ten was Brian Herman, of Victoria, Texas. Herman scored 85.0 on “Creation” (5G Farms Bucking Bulls).
Other qualified rides in the round were:
Nick Landreneau, 84.25 points on “Roger Dodger” (5G Farms);
Reigning world champion Guilherme Marchi, 83.5 points on “Bloody Sunday” (Mark Reed);
A back-flip from Renato Nunes, after he posted 83.25 points on “Alabama” (Silverado);
Three event winner Zack Brown, with 83.0 points on “Gator Broke” (McKee Bar-M Ranch). Brown hooked his spur in Gator Broke’s flank strap at the end of the ride, but the bull came to a stop and bull fighter Frank Newsom was able to unhook Brown quickly.
J.B. Mauney scored 82.5 points on “Captain Jack” (McKee Bar-M Ranch);
Austin Meier, with 79.0 points aboard “The Mouse” (Jeff Robinson). Adding insult, but avoiding injury, on the buck right after the buzzer, The Mouse landed on its side, taking Meier with it. Meier managed to walk away, and while the 79-pointer wasn’t high enough to win Meier any money, it will leave him in good standing for Saturday morning’s draft.
The unenviable position of being last in the draft goes to Brian Canter of Randleman, N.C. Canter was jerked down and slapped “May Day” (5G Farms) at the 1.7 second mark, the shortest ride of the night.
Preceding him in the pick will be Dustin Elliott (2.0 seconds), Michael Manes (2.4 seconds), Cody Nance (2.6 seconds) and Cody Ford (2.8 seconds).
In other round news:
Sean Willingham, in the “Enterprise Ride with the Best,” was unable to successfully ride “Scaredy Cat” (Dakota Ranch/Denny Hawks). Willingham lost his seat at the 7.4 second mark, and the $5,000 check went to the contractors.
Dakota Ranch is the new name for Chad Berger Bucking Bulls.
Fan favorite and Ring of Honor inductee later this month, J.W. Hart was out of the announcer’s booth, and was the arena’s Pike safety man for much of the round, after safety man James DeBord was hung up by a flight delay. To the amusement of the crowd, Hart got plenty of practice in when, early in the round, “Skinny” (Silverado Ranch) didn’t want to leave after bucking off Josh Koschel, and really put J.W. to work. DeBord arrived halfway through the round, and he and JW finished working the round together.
“Micro Burst” (Sonny Williams) owes bull fighter Frank Newsom some shoes. After bucking off Pete Farley, Micro Burst decided to have some fun with Newsom, and managed to rip the shoe off of Newsom’s foot … ripping the side of the shoe in the process. Newsom spent the rest of the night with the shoe securely taped up, snugly on his foot. He wasn’t injured in the run-in.
The loudest cheers of the night came when entertainer Flint Rasmussen was introduced at the start of the round. Rasmussen, who recently returned to the arena after suffering a heart attack in March, thoroughly entertained the crowd and has found a great deal of humor in his medical condition, working it well into his act.
