Saturday, at Mohegan Sun, began with a Fan Club Production Tour. It was awesome! We started the tour by getting to watch a few minutes of a TV show being taped for CBS Sports Network, that will air later in May. Our second stop was a rare treat! A peek in to the locker room. I was mesmerized by the gear left...cowboy boots, vests, chaps, arm/knee braces and dufflebags.
I loved seeing the bull ropes lined up on the rail. Boy, did I want to snatch one to take home with me. But no worries, I kept my hands off!
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| Director Brian Douglas in the TV truck |
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| Asst. Director's view of the board |
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Our tour group was given a rare peek inside the high-tech TV truck, and director Brian Douglas was kind enough to spend some time explaining how things work. Producer David Neal also came in and said hello. He looked a little nervous when he saw me sitting in the assistant director's chair! It was really interesting to learn more about how the TV production works and the unbelievable amount of things that need to be attended to in seconds! I did manage to tell Mr. Douglas that the bulls needed more air time! Surprised?
Our group was taken out by the loading dock so we could see where the bulls were unloaded. We went up on the chutes, and in the out gate. Clayton Cullen, the PBR's event director, explained how the bull is escorted out of the arena and how the bull goes on one side of the alley and the horse on the other, so both animals are kept safe. We walked across the dirt and were shown the in arena panels for music, lighting, fireworks and computers used by the announcers, Clint Adkins and Brandon Bates. We even saw were CEO Jim Haworth stands, keeping a watchful eye on the production.
Lastly, there was some time for questions with fun PBR prizes. Yours truly answered the bull question correctly and left happily with a Michael Gaffney Bobble head!
Saturday night's Round 2 was exciting with 17 rides. The arena was packed and the crowd was energetic! The high bull score was 44.5 points, posted by Tom Teague's bull, Main Event. Many of the bulls were happy to stretch their legs and run around. I truly appreciated the bull fighters and safety man more at this live event. You see that the 4 men are so important, each and every ride!
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| Sunday began with a little bull whispering! Cracker Jack was giving me some snotitude, for sure! |
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| Opening fireworks |
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| Austin Meier started things off with an 84.75 pt ride on Chapstick |
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Sunday, my husband and I treated ourselves to seats close to the chutes, and I always love that because I can see more of the interactions between cowboys, stock contractors and bulls. There were only 11 rides in the long round. Which meant lots of buck-offs and one serious wreck. Valdiron de Oliveira hit the dirt hard, face down. It was so scary to watch. Dr. Tandy Freeman and the medical team were right there and Valdiron had to be carried out on a stretcher. A serious reminder of just how dangerous this sport is and how quickly things can change. The next rider out was Matt Bohon. His bull stumbled and fell on top of him. The audience fell silent again, but fortunately the bull jumped up quickly and Matt was uninjured!
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| In a cloud of dust, Stinger took aim at Ty Pozzobon. Bull fighter Jesse Byrne to the rescue! |
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| After letting everyone know who's the boss, Stinger nonchalantly strolls out of the arena! |
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| Being close to the chutes, means a little extra snotitude! |
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The Championship Round produced only two rides out of ten. The bulls were outstanding! First out was Aaron Roy on Rango. Evidently, Rango was none to pleased with the situation and bucked Aaron off quickly! Rango was RANK! His high bull score of 46.5 points was proof that the judges agreed!
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| Rango doing his victory kick! |
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| Larry the Cable Guy's Git-R-Done did not have his best out, and seemed more interested in playing with the bull fighters! |
My bull crush, King Lopez, showed why he is the king! He had a powerful jump out of the chute and turned so quickly that Kasey Hayes never had a chance. King Lopez is usually the last bull selected in the draft, now all of us, including Kasey, understands why!
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| King Lopez's powerful moves won him a bull score of 45 pts |
Austin Meier had been on Shepherd Hills Trapper before. So I assume that is why he picked him again. Maybe not the wisest choice. This bull had some wicked moves and he totally dominated Meier. While the bull score of 44.75 points was admirable, it really should have been higher! The bull was exciting to watch!
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| Trapper showing off his steep jumping ability |
Young Australian cowboy Lachlan Richardson was the only cowboy to ride all 4 bulls. He had a "fairy tale, dream come true" kind of weekend. He wasn't quite sure what to do when it was all over. It was refreshing to see a young cowboy win this event. How exciting for him!
It was a wonderful weekend and event. The bull power was intense. The cowboys tried their best. There were big rides and bigger wrecks. Met up with existing friends and made new ones. Touched noses with Asteroid, scratched him and Deja Blue Emu till my hands turned black, stepped in bull poop and got bull snot on my lips......it was an adventure this bull-loving gal will never forget!
Photographs by Susan Hanrahan
As always, Susan, great info and shots of the big boyz! Keep those pictures comin'! Looks like Asteroid is just a big baby, huh? Love it. The only bull that I've scratched is Bones--he loved it and I nearly wet my britches, I was so excited. Chicken not big on being touched except by Voodoo--teehee. Voodoo "loved" Chicken in the pen;-) Couldn't get close to Voodoo, because he was always hiding behind Chicken and we all know how big Chicken is!:-)
ReplyDeleteRez, Bones is one bull I'd love to give a good scratchin' too! LOL! Yeah, Asteroid was a sweet boy, but I guess we shouldn't let that secret out! :)
DeleteThanks for the support and comments!