NEW YORK CITY, N.Y. (January 9, 2010) – Brian Canter was the first bull rider out of the chutes in round two of the Professional Bull Riders (PBR) New York City Invitational in Madison Square Garden.
Canter and “White Trash” (Teague Bucking Bulls) teamed up for an 89.0 point ride, that included Canter and bull fighter Joe Baumgartner each taking a nasty shot from the bull. The North Carolina bull rider would then have to wait more than two hours to find out if his score was enough to hold on for the round.
It was worth the wait. Although there were some solid rides, and some ugly ones as well, none were able to match up to Canter’s opening ride, and he claimed round two.
They certainly gave it their best shots, as a total of 22 riders, led by Canter, put scores on the board in the round, bringing cheers from the lively crowd in The Garden. The round also brought some high flying buck offs, a hang up or two and one helmet to chute crash loud enough to bring groans from the crowd.
A pair of young guns, Cody Campbell and Skeeter Kingsolver, split second and third in the round with 87.25 points. Kingsolver put his second score of the weekend up, riding “Larry the Cable Guy’s Smokey” (Jeff Robinson/Jeffrey Scott/Pinnacle Bull Group), while Campbell took on “Little Mr. T” (Jeff Robinson/Roy Carter), in back to back rides.
For Kingsolver, the ride helped him secure third place in the average, heading into Sunday’s round three and championship round. Campbell still has work to do, as he hovers at 14th in the average so far.
Shane Proctor, who set the scoreboard on fire Friday night with his 91.25 pointer on “Bones,” kept the momentum going, and split 4th through 6th place in round two with Reese Cates and McKennon Wimberly. Each of the riders scored 86.75 points Saturday night: Proctor on “Big Coyote” (Dakota Rodeo/Chad Berger/Walsh Farms); Wimberly aboard “Lacey Balls” (Dakota Rodeo/John & Lacey Berger/Clay Struve); and Cates scored early in the round on “Iron Broke” (Walton & Wagoner Bucking Bulls).
Proctor heads into Sunday’s rounds in first place in the average, a full four points ahead of the next closest rider. Cates, also with two scores, is currently in 8th in the average, and WImberly is tied for 4th and 5th in the average.
Aaron Roy tied up 7th place in round two, scoring 86.5 points on “Buckshot” (Walton & Wagoner). The most successful Canadian bull rider in history of the sport sits on the bubble of making the championship round, sitting in 15th in the average with that lone score. With nine riders already having two scores in the books, it’s likely that it will take no less than two scores to make the short-go Sunday afternoon.
Crowd favorite Cord McCoy made it onto the scoreboard Saturday night, with 86.25 points, for 8th in the round, on “Jeffrey Scott’s Buckle Man” (Jeff Robinson/Jeffrey Scott/Pinnacle).
Rounding out the top ten scores of Saturday’s round two were Dustin Elliott and Travis Briscoe, at 86.0 points. For each, it was the second score of the weekend, Elliott’s on “Coffee Bean” (Jeff Robinson) and Briscoe’s on “Walk the Line” (Dakota Rodeo/Chad Berger/Clay Struve).
Briscoe sits in second in the average, at 174.0, and Elliott goes into Sunday’s rounds tied for 4th and 5th in the average with 172.25.
Birthday boy JB Mauney got his second score of the weekend, an 85.5 pointer on “Legacy” (Jeff Robinson/Bryan Smith), finishing the round in 11th place. He sits sixth in the average after two rounds, with 170.5 points.
Veterans Ross Coleman and Luke Snyder, who is somewhere around the 270 mark on consecutive events, may not be setting the scoreboard on fire with their individual scores, but both have two scores in the books, setting them up for a spot in the championship round Sunday.
Coleman rode “Carolina Cat” (Walton & Wagoner) for 83.5 points, and Snyder scored 82.25 points on “Ambush” (Sonny Williams). Coleman sits 7th in the average after two rounds, while Snyder sits at 9th.
Pete Farley gambled and lost in round two, when he got a re-ride, after “Party Time” (Mark Reed) proved to be no party at all, with the bull never committing to a spin. Farley lasted only 4.0 seconds on his re-ride, and sits scoreless for the weekend.
Starting out section five on Saturday night, “Great White” (Red Bird Bucking Bulls) slammed Sean Willingham head-first into the cross bar in the chute. The slam of the helmet hitting the bar could be heard throughout the arena, eliciting groans from the crowd. Then to add insult to injury, “Great White” tried a few more tricks, which had Willingham being pulled out of the chute by his fellow riders. Seven riders later, Willingham climbed back onto “Great White,” but lasted only 2.1 seconds.
Mike Lee, who took third in Friday’s round, had no luck Saturday, coming off and hanging up on “Tahonta’s Shadow” (Jeff Robinson) at the 3.5 second mark. Lee was dragged around a bit by “Tahonta’s Shadow” before Lee’s hand finally popped loose of the bull rope.
Ryan McConnel bucked off “The Iceman” (Dakota Rodeo/Chad Berger/Denny Hawks) at the 2.6 second mark, but the judges awarded a re-ride because of how the bull came out of the chute. McConnel chose to take the same bull on its re-ride, and “The Iceman” was run back in. That time the pair combined for 84.25 points, 16th in the round, and McConnel’s first score of the weekend.
L.J. Jenkins looked poised to land a spot in the standings, riding “Land Shark” (Walton & Wagoner) barely to the 8-second mark, but a judge’s review showed Jenkins was off at 7.94 seconds, and he is still scoreless this weekend.
Other qualified rides in round two were:
Josh Koschel, 85.25 points on “Gappy Joe” (Jeff Robinson/Larry the Cable Guy);
Bryan Richardson, 85.0 points on “Swamp Dog” (Jeff Robinson);
Rocky McDonald, 84.25 points on “Double S Little A” (Williams/Mucherino);
Valdiron de Oliveira, last week’s winner in Baltimore, with 84.25 points on “Frank the Tank” (Dakota Rodeo/John & Lacey Berger/Clay Struve), his first score of the weekend;
2008 world champion Guilherme Marchi, who broke his streak of riding every single bull with a buck off Friday night, scoring 84 points on “Wolf” (Dakota Rodeo/Chad Berger/Clay Struve);
Wiley Petersen, 83.75 points on “How We Done It” (Walton & Wagoner);
Brendon Clark, 83.5 points on “Wakina” (Dakota Rodeo/Chad Berger/Clay Struve);
Austin Meier, 81.75 points on “Hillbilly” (Jeff Robinson).
Surprisingly among the scoreless on the weekend so far, and riding Sunday for round money, points and pride, are 2009 world champ Kody Lostroh, number 5 man Robson Palermo (who missed the draft Saturday morning due to illness, and therefore got “Shine Down,” the last bull standing); veteran Mike White (who battled a misbehaving “Cut Loose” in the chutes Saturday night); and two time world champ Chris Shivers.
Round three, and then the championship short-go, will take place Sunday afternoon in Madison Square Garden, as the other 39 riders try their best to catch the hot-riding Shane Proctor, while Proctor does his best to prove he really IS Mr. January (check your “PBR’s Hottest Cowboys” calendar, ladies!), and tie up a victory in what is probably the most famous arena in the country.
©2010 Mary Rudloff
