LAS VEGAS, Nev. – The PBR has a habit of starting their events off with a bang, and Halloween night was no different as the Professional Bull Riders kicked off round one of the 2008 PBR World Finals.
The only difference was that the explosions kept coming all night, in the form of crowd-thrilling qualified rides. Of the 49 bull riders that nodded their heads to open the gate, 33 – a new PBR record – lasted to the 8 second mark.
In a World Finals where the ultimate outcome seems to be pretty apparent, even before the first bull of the first round, the incredibly high number of qualified rides – including 4 that broke the 90-point mark – in the kick off round is helping to build the excitement level that could otherwise be missing.
But in a night that was dedicated to veterans returning and veterans retiring, it was a North Carolina hot-shot that set the bar where no other rider could reach. Several came close, but no one was able to catch J.B. Mauney, who rode Ricky Bobby (HD Page/Bill & Betty Morrison) for 92.25 points. It was the second time this year that Mauney broke the 90-point barrier on Ricky Bobby, which could have been a key determining factor as to why Mauney chose the bull in the round one draft, held Thursday night.
But before and after Mauney’s round-winner, it was a night full of rides that kept the crowd cheering.
Ben Seeds, who qualified for the first weekend of the PBR Finals as the representative of PBR Australia, started the night off right, with an 84.5 pointer on Deviled Egg (Jeff Robinson Bucking Bulls). After that the scores just kept on coming, including a string of six qualified rides in a row in section three, and an amazing section four that saw every single rider in it put up a score of 86 or better. Seeds’ solid score left him in 33rd place by the end of the night.
Also helping to kick up the energy in the kick off of the PBR World Finals was the return of several veterans long-missing from the tour. Australia’s Brendon Clark took his first bull ride in about four months, aboard Wrangler’s Rock Star (Brathewaite & Dansey) but was unable to turn his ride into a score.
Two time world champion Chris Shivers also returned to the bull riding arena, but his first attempt to get out on Carrillo Cartel (4 C’s/James Sills) saw Shivers buck off when the bull fouled coming out of the gate. Instead of taking a reride bull, Shivers asked that Carrillo Cartel be run back into the chutes, and this time Shivers turned it on for a blazing 89.75 point ride.
Mighty Mike White also made his tour return, and tied Shivers when he scored an 89.75 pointer on Splat Kat (Danny Lemmons). It is the third time White and Splat Kat have matched up, according to arena commentators, and each time it has been for the identical score. White and Shivers split 5th and 6th place in the round.
Retiring world champs Adriano Moraes and Justin McBride each gave the crowd what they wanted, putting scores up. McBride scored 88 points on Hot Stuff (Diamond S). He was immediately followed by Moraes who, despite a broken finger on his riding hand scored that left his appearance at the finals in question, put up 87.5 solid points on Black Smoke (Page & Teague). At most events, those scores would have them planted securely near the top of the round standings, but not Friday night. McBride’s 88 left him tied for 13th through 17th place, splitting it with Kolt Donaldson, Brian Canter and Ryan McConnel, on Red Devil (Circle T Ranch), Shane (Hebert Bucking Bulls) and Splatter (Don Kish Bucking Bulls) respectively. The half-point difference left Moraes splitting 22nd and 23rd place with Aaron Roy, who rode Big Iron (Diamond S).
The big question of the night – and probably the whole event – is if Guilherme Marchi will hold on to his number one spot and, after three years as runner-up, finally win his world champion gold buckle.
Marchi was determined to hold onto his points lead, riding Scaredy Kat (Chad Berger/Denny Hawks) for 90.25 in the last ride of the night. That had him splitting 3rd and 4th place with the Colorado kid nipping at his heels, as Kody Lostroh, who seems to always have a great finals, rode Cat Man Do (#10 Bucking Bulls). Lostroh’s score gave him the points to jump over Brazil’s Valdiron de Oliveira, who bucked off Lightning McQueen (Boyd/Floyd Bull Company). Lostroh now sits in second in the world title points race, 3,676 points behind Marchi.
Beating both of them, to claim the number two spot in round one was Brazil’s Renato Nunes. Nunes scored a 92.0 on a blazing ride on Nasty Mike (Diamond S).
The only injury of the night was to Colby Yates, who suffered a concussion after taking a hoof to his head after riding Slow Ride (Hart Cattle Cco/Rafter D Rodeo). Yates scored 87.0 points on the ride, putting him in a three-way split of 25th to 27th place, and is expected to ride in Saturday’s round two.
It would be a surprise to see the same number of qualified rides in Saturday night’s round two in the Thomas & Mack Center. Always a fan favorite, Saturday night is the first out for the “rank pen.”
The draft for round two was to take place Saturday morning at the Fan Zone at Mandalay Bay. Riders, based on their order of finish, will pick the bulls they will face in the round that night.
With a draft being held for each round, all the way through the championship short-go on Nov. 9, it could become a choice between picking a bull you can more likely ride, or going for the big scores for some of the riders. The first year of the draft, strategy in bull choices could become as important as making the qualified rides on the way to winning the World Finals itself.
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