McBride claims round five at the Thomas and Mack

By Mary Rudloff
Posted Saturday, November 3, 2007

LAS VEGAS – When it comes to the right time to get on a hot streak, PBR bull rider Justin McBride sure can pick it.

After going scoreless in the first three rounds of the PBR World Finals last weekend, McBride has put up a pair of scores of 90 points or better in rounds four and five. Maybe it was the move from Mandalay Bay to the Thomas and Mack Arena – on the campus of his former college, UNLV – or seeing number 2 and 3 riders Guilherme Marchi and JB Mauney gaining ground or maybe it just came down to McBride giving himself time to bounce back from the recent diagnosis of viral meningitis.

Whatever the motivating factor is, it’s working.

In Friday night’s round five of the PBR World Finals, McBride not only showed he could ride with the best. He won the round and widened the points gap between himself, Marchi and Mauney. McBride got the round-topping 91.25 ride on Walk The Line (Chad Berger/Larry Ryken), as the last rider out of the chutes. While the $20,000 payday has to be nice, the points are what matter most right now, as McBride aims to repeat his 2005 World Champion title.

Nothing like letting the drama build until the very last moment, is there? His ride was immediately preceded by, in reverse order, the number 2, 3 and 4th place riders – Mauney, Marchi and Matt Bohon, respectively – putting up big points.

McBride’s win opened up his points lead over Mauney to 2048.5 points, and 2,359.5 over Marchi with four rounds to go. While it definitely isn’t impossible for either of the two to catch McBride, McBride’s round win just made it a little bit harder and promised to make an exciting finals for fans as the World Champion title will likely come down to the very last ride Sunday afternoon.

Bohon, of Cole Camp, Missouri, took third place in the round with 90 big points on Rompus (Andrews Rodeo Co.). Perennial PBR bridesmaid Marchi covered his fourth bull in five rounds, with an 86.5 on Barbosa (Robinson/Tedesco), while Mauney put his third qualified ride of the finals in the books with 84.75 points on Dodgin Calls (Frontier/Teague).

Second place honors in round five went to the veteran Tater Porter, of Kenansville, Fla. The soon-to-retire PBR vet wowed the crowd with a 90.25 score on Encore (Tommy Shrader/Anchor Bull Co.). Prior to arriving in Vegas, Porter announced this would be his last PBR Finals. At the end of September, Porter had a gruesome compound fracture of his free arm at the Mohegan Sun event in Uncasville, Conn., and has been riding with a cast-like brace on the arm.

Several riders put up their first scores of the finals on Friday night. Two time PBR World Champion Chris Shivers would no longer be denied, with 89.5 points on Shane (Herbert Bucking Bulls), which put him fourth in the round and landed a $7,500 check in his pocket.

Texas youngster McKennon Wimberly also put up his first Finals points, with 86.75 points aboard Snapshot (Davis/Wilson/Mayo/Hooker), although it wasn’t enough to land him in the money for the round.

Rodeo Attitude member and PBR rookie of the year Clayton Williams split fifth place with Tyler Smith, as Williams scored 88.5 on Fraggle Rock (Roy Carter), and each hit a $4,500 payday. Another Texan, Jason Bennett covered Blueberry Buckle for 86.25 points for his first ride of the Finals.

At the end of round five, no rider has managed to ride every bull run under him, but three riders have covered four of the five. Fort Hall, Idaho’s Wiley Petersen has wrestled sole ownership of the World Finals event standings lead away from Kody Lostroh, as Petersen has covered four bulls, including tonight’s Red Rooster (Lane Foltyn) and an event total of 354.75. Marchi is right behind him with 349.75 and, possibly the biggest surprise of the Finals, Galax Virginia’s Billy Robinson is holding down third place in the average with 345.50.

Eight riders will enter Saturday night’s Round Six with three qualified rides already in place. Bohon leads that crew, with 268.25 after Friday’s ride, followed by a tie between Lostroh and Brendon Clark. Clark got that third ride Friday night, with an 88-pointer on Mr. Bond (Flying U/Moreno), while Lostroh – who has held or shared the lead since round two – bucked off for the first time, as High Waters (Flying U/Moreno) sent him to the dirt.

Also with three rides are Brazil’s Renato Nunes (261), JB Mauney (260.75), Oregon’s Ross Coleman (260.5), Montana’s Beau Hill (258) and Brazilian Valdiron de Oliveira (255.25).

On the injury side of things, despite reports of a cracked vertebrae on Thursday, Aussie Jared Farley took his ride in round five but could not cover Frank The Tank. Colby Yates experienced Aches and Pains (Bailey Rodeo Co.) firsthand, when he bucked off and then had to crawl away. He had to be assisted in exiting the arena and is reported to have a left groin strain. Yates is considered doubtful for Saturday night’s round six.

Round six promises exciting action with match ups that include McBride aboard Bad Action (Chad Berger/Larry Ryken); Mauney on Rez Boy (Corey & Horst), and Marchi on Scentloc (Davis/Wilson/Mayo/Hooker). Saturday’s bull pen also includes Sir Patrick, Vertical Limit, Cheeseburger With an Attitude and the always popular Crossfire Hurricane.

Keep checking in with RodeoAttitude for the latest news and coverage of the last three rounds of the 2007 PBR World Finals.