NASHVILLE – As the final round of the PBR’s Nashville event got underway on a hot and steamy Sunday afternoon, everyone seemed ready for a wild afternoon. As crowds hope for, it came down to the last rides of the day before Brazilian Robson Palermo would leave the arena with his first BFTS win.
Bulls in bad moods
Some – namely the bulls – were thinking a little more “wild” than the riders and crowd, as more than a handful of the bulls experienced “bad chute behavior day,” bringing several re-rides Sunday afternoon.
Tater Porter did his best to get super bull Super Duty (Page/Teague/Toone) out of the chute as cleanly as possible but the bull’s out was anything but super on Sunday, giving Porter a re-ride on Git-R-Done. Neither ride had the outcome Porter wanted.
Atta Boy (Jeff Robinson) evidently didn’t read the buckle of the rider when Adriano Moraes climbed onto his back … or maybe he did, and that’s why Atta Boy decided lying down in the chute was a better idea. So determined was Atta Boy not to buck on Sunday that, when the chute gate finally opened, he rolled onto his side.
The chute gate was closed and, figuring that Moraes wasn’t going to go away, Atta Boy stood up and managed to buck the reigning world champ off in 3.0 seconds.
Cory Melton got absolutely battered around in the chutes by Scaredy Cat (Chad Berger/Ryken/Hawks) before the bull cooperated enough to get out of the chute. Adding insult to injury after a rough in-chute ride, Scaredy Cat sent Melton to the dirt in 5.3 seconds.
Deuces Wild (Diamond S) lived up to the wild part, taking Kody Lostroh on a trip that brought Lostroh a re-ride and left bull-fighter Shorty Gorham going full contact with one of Versus’ cameras. Both the camera and Gorham appeared to survive the run-in unscathed. Lostroh was one of the few riders to improve his score on his re-ride, as his 75 from Deuces Wild became an 88.25 pointer on Palace Station Deuces Wild.
Bulls on best behavior
Not all of the bulls were uncooperative, and it didn’t take long to get the first score on the board. Wiley Petersen was the second rider out, and posted an 88.25 on Team Equine’s CowPix (Frontier/Teague). The score would hold on to secure him a spot in the short-go later Sunday afternoon.
Brian Herman followed with a 77.0 on the interestingly named Elise’s Banana (Frontier), and chose to hold the score and decline the re-ride offered. Matt Bohon became the first rider to post a pair for the weekend, with an 86.5 on Three Alarm (Frontier), sending him into the short go in second place for the weekend. A series of scores followed but it was Mighty Mike White – always a fan favorite - who took the round win with an 89.25 pointer on Wintwister (Page & Teague).
Short Go
When the short-go got underway, JB Mauney fired the first shot, posting an 88.75 on the always tough Walk This Way (Bad Company Rodeo). Adriano followed, spurring the heck out of Scene of the Crash (Frontier/Teague/White), but crash landing in the dirt at 6.7 seconds, ending what would have likely been a top score of the weekend.
Season leader Justin McBride, who made the short-go with his round one win Saturday night, got the confetti cannons firing with his 91.25 pointer on Crown of Thorns (Chad Berger/Struve).
Mike White, riding the momentum of his round two win, turned in a blazing ride on Cat Daddy (Diamond S) and had the crowd cheering for what looked to be an event-leading score. The crowd’s – and White’s – excitement was short-lived when the replay judge called for a review of the ride, however. The review showed that, although White remained on the bull for the full eight seconds, he lost his bullrope almost a full second before the buzzer and would receive no score.
That left McBride sitting in a familiar spot, atop the cage in the center of the arena. Rider after rider failed to shake McBride’s lead loose and it looked like he could be on the path to a record setting seventh event win in a single season.
The suspense was drawn out further, when the bad bull behavior returned. After several unsuccessful repeated attempts to get out on Cooper (Chad Berger/Ryken/Rosen), Tony Mendes was given a re-ride on Sir Patrick, a bull that more than capable of giving him the win. Mendes made it within four seconds of a potential event win, before Sir Patrick sent his hopes of a win to the dirt.
Finally, it was Robson Palermo who proved to be the spoiler for those fans in Nashville who hoped to witness McBride’s record setting win. The Brazilian turned in a blistering 90.25 ride on Just A Dream (Frontier/Teague/Steiner).
While McBride had the highest score for the round, Palermo had covered all three of his bulls for the weekend, and took the event win, leaving fans to wonder if McBride would win back-to-back years in Dallas this coming weekend and set the most-win record for the season before the summer break sets in.
Event notes:
Australian Greg Potter did not ride on Sunday, after a shoulder injury in Saturday’s round. The injury report showed a right shoulder sprain and non-displaced fracture, and he is expected to be out of competition for four to six weeks.
Clayton Foltyn is reported to be out of competition four to six weeks after a left knee sprain and right groin strain in Nashville.
Ednei Caminhas, who posted a solid score in round one of Nashville, is competing with a sprained finger on his riding hand, which occurred in Nashville.
Tater Porter was questionable for Dallas after suffering a lower back/pelvis injury in Nashville on Sunday.
Also taking place during Sunday’s round was the “Ty Murray Celebrity Bull Riding Competition.” The reality show competition will air on CMT, beginning on Aug. 10.
All Photos by Mary Rudloff
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