Fall PBR Road Trip!

View from above.  Friday night in Philadelphia my husband and I treated ourselves to chute seats.  The different perspective is awesome but I find that there is so much more to see, that I miss part of the event.  These 2 bulls were in and out of their pen four times.  They really didn't know if they were coming or going!  I guess the arena crew wasn't sure when these boys were to buck!

It seemed as if the bulls were playing in a sand box.  The dirt underneath was not good so the arena crew decided to bring in sand.  The footing was marginal Friday night.  A few of the bulls slipped, and several looked like they were having trouble planting their feet.  The dirt was better Saturday night, thankfully.

This bull didn't seem too sure about bucking.  He stopped at this point on three occasions, needing to be coaxed in to the chute.  I always enjoy the stubbornness of the bulls.  I'm sure the folks working with them don't feel the same way!

Circle T Ranch's Jack Daniel's After Party ready to buck.  He was fussin' in the back pens and in the chute.  He had a rank out in the short go, Friday night in Philly!  It showed in his score of 45 points!

Circle T Ranch's T-Rex was quiet in the back pens.  He is a beautiful bull, and a rank one as well!

Here T-Rex dismissed Shane Proctor in the short go and earned himself a score of 42.75 points.

The absolute highlight of my weekend was a visit to bull housing, courtesy of Kenny & Cristy McElroy of K-C Bucking Bulls.  Here is my "bull crush", King Lopez.  He is such a handsome bull, but is NOT a people-person!  I was charged several times, complete with snot on my clothes!  I still adore him, weather he likes it or not!

A visit with the Clones (Puppies) is always a treat.  These bulls are just so darn lovable!!!  Mr. Slim (r) and Slim's Ghost came right on over to the fence and vied for position to get the best scratching!  Mr. Slim was pushing me with his horn to get me in just the right spot!

The big rigs lined up and ready to go, at bull housing.  I love seeing these big trucks loaded and making their way down the highways.  I was standing on the corner in Columbus cheering on the bulls as they passed by!  Susan=excited....Husband=mortified....Passers-by=that woman is nuts!

Brendan Clark chose King Lopez in the Championship Round in Philadelphia.  Lopez bucked him off and the judges gave him a 44.25 point score.  Lopez was ranker than that, for sure!

After a great weekend in Philadelphia, and some wonderful time visiting with family and friends, it was on to Columbus, Ohio.  The bulls were loaded and ready to go on Friday night!

Oh those big boys, who love to run around in the arena...it's the best part of the event!  Several bulls decided that it was time to stretch their legs and shine in the spotlight!

Safety man, Cody Lambert, had his hands full with this pen of bulls!  I have to say, the actual lasso percentage was quite low!  The bulls definetly had the upper hoof!

Saturday night, I purchased the All Axxess pass so I could get up on the chutes to visit with the bulls.  Worth every penny, in my humble opinion.  For a good 10 minutes, I was the only one on the chutes and the bulls were quiet and relaxed.  Here, K-C's Where's the Whiskey showed no signs of worry about his upcoming out!  I was just hoping he'd stay awake for the event! LOL!

Mike Miller's Disco Stick reprised his role from earlier in the year, when he ran the arena, rearranged the barrels and sent bull fighters, arena crew and Flint running for higher ground.  He was hilarious!

But not to be outdone, Fortunate Son took entertaining the crowd to a whole new level!  He went in the "out gate" and back out the "out gate" at least 3 times.  At one point I thought he might even jump up on the shark cage with Flint!  There were several unsuccessful attempts to lasso him, prompting Flint to tell Cody Lambert that he would be receiving his "Participation Badge" for the evening.  After many minutes, bull fighter Shorty Gorham finally lasso'd the bull and walked him out of the arena.  Those are the moments I love the most!

Chad Berger's Gray Ghost staring down Shorty!  I think this bull has the most adorable face.

Stormy Wing rode King Lopez in the Championship Round for 90.25 points.  Both bull and cowboy were awesome!

Miracle bull, Cool Spot, showed everyone he still is a rank bull!  He bucked off Ty Pozzobon and was scored 43.75 points.  Cool Spot will be retired in Las Vegas next week.  It will be a very sad moment for us Spot fans!  His near-death experience earlier this year makes his bucking now even more remarkable!

My husband and I had a great trip.  It was fun to attend PBR events in other cities, participate in introducing new fans to the sport of Bull Riding and meet up with Facebook friends, who we've not met in person before.  We enjoyed attending Cooper Tire's "Coffee with the Cowboys" Saturday morning in Philadelphia; Autograph signings in Columbus; Riding High Ministries Cowboy Church in Columbus and Posse members "On the dirt" autograph signings in both Philly and Columbus.

It is sad that the 2012 regular season is over, but the World Finals in Las Vegas are just 8 days away!   I wish all the stock contractors safe travel as they haul the bulls out to Vegas! 

I've got lots to do in preparation for my trip to Vegas.  So excited to be going to the World Finals again!  It's a busy time in Vegas, but I will try to get as much time around the bulls as I can.  And when I get back, I just may have a few stories to tell here on Snotitude!  Stay tuned....



All photographs by Susan Hanrahan...except the one I'm in!