Fresh in Fresno

Circle T/3B Bucking Bull's  SANCHO was the Bounty Bull in Fresno.  He won the the match-up with Marco Eguchi, bucking him off and receiving a 44.5 point score.  SANCHO was also out in round 2, bucked off his 2nd rider of the weekend and received a 43.75 point score.

California hosted yet another PBR event in 2013.  This time the big, beautiful bovines bucked their way in to Fresno.  Saturday night, the broadcast was a "Pure PBR" style and JW Hart, Shorty Gorham and Craig Hummer gave out lots of interesting information.  I've learned so much since the PBR started doing this type of broadcast.  So, here we go...
> They started the show with a cameraman walking thru the maze of back pens and alley ways up to the bucking chute.  Very interesting to see what the bull goes thru but quite honestly, it would have been way more fun if the was a "Bull Cam" taped to a horn!
> Shorty Gorham talked about the set of bulls on the West Coast, and how the pen has shown great improvement.  He explained that these bulls go to a lot of local rodeos, and each arena is set up differently.  They are not used to the out gate being in the same place so they tend to run around more, and are harder to get out of the arena. Also, a lot of the west coast bulls tend to be mean, so a bit more care needs to be taken by the bull fighters and safety man.
> JW Hart explained about hauling bulls and what is needed for these bulls to travel.  Each state has different requirements for animals crossing state lines, so EACH bull must have a set of papers that contain health certificates from a certified vet, blood test, and TB shots, to name a few.  The bulls just don't get put on the truck and go anywhere they want. 
> WAR BIRD bucked in Round 1, sending Jory Markiss off with a shot from his horn!  War Bird is a clone of War Dance.  Seems there are more clones than just the Panhandle Slim clones!
> TRYANTULA was a new bull out Saturday night.  He is a full brother to the great David's Dream.  I really enjoy when JW Hart explains family lineage and details about the bulls.
> DEERANGO from Flying U Rodeo also bucked in Round 1.  This is a young bull and Fresno was his first BFTS/PBR out.  He is a half brother to Bushwacker, son of Reindeer Dippin' and a Durango cow.  Deerango scored 42.25 points in a very good out.
> I was thrilled to see Bushwacker's owner, Julio Moreno interviewed.  Julio was the event's safety man, so the chat was short, but Julio did say he hopes that Bushwacker continues on the rest of the year the way he's been bucking and can win BBOTY again in Las Vegas!  He said it did "sting" losing the title last year.
> A bull that I really like is MR. BULL, from Julio Moreno.  This young bull is a grandson of Whitewater Skoal.  He is a great bull! and his 42.75 pt score could have been a bit higher.
> Overall, I must complain about the judging...again!  The bull scores were low, sometimes blatantly lower than they should have been, and the judges missed some key slapping, that should have altered the event outcome.  I understand that there is lots going on, and things can be missed because of human error but we have the technology to make things right and when big money is on the line, the outcome should be correct.

Circle T Ranch's DAVID'S DREAM was one such bull who was blatantly ripped off!  Even JW Hart said, and I quote, "the judge's robbed David's Dream".  He was scored 44.75 pts in an absolutely dominating buck off.  JW thought he should have been a 45.5 at least.

 The Championship round went the bull's way, with a perfect 10-0 performance over the cowboys.  You all know this makes me happy!  However, only 3 bulls were scored 45 points or better, in this dominating performance.  The bulls were outstanding!  There were a few who seemed to get lost a bit in the arena and fade across the front of the bucking chutes, but still managed to buck off their riders.

LIGHTMAKER'S RANGO was the High Bull score winner of the event with a 45.25 point score.  Rango had a great outing with Zack Brown taking him to 6.07 seconds before Zack hit the ground.  This was Rango's 9th straight buck-off.

The west coast bulls delighted this fan with their antics and great bucking performances.  Only 5 riders covered 2 bulls in the event, and none were championship round caliber bulls.  The great bovines move east from California to Albuquerque, NM this week.  I can't wait to see the great pen of bulls that will be assembled there.  Until next time boys...live life with snotitude!



All photographs by Susan Hanrahan