Iron Cowboy 4

 In truly one of the sport's biggest spectacles, the PBR crowned a new "Iron Cowboy" last Saturday in Arlington, Texas.  Congratulations to Austin Meier for winning the event after placing second twice before.  But what we really need to talk about is the AMAZING bull power that graced the floor of Dallas Cowboys Stadium.  It was an insanely good pen of bulls, which only allowed 10 rides out of a possible 47 attempts.  As each round progressed, the bulls got better and were harder to ride.  Cowboys who moved on were visibly tired.  By the end of the event Austin had been on five bulls!

In Round 1, the top bull score went to WHISKEY'S REBEL.  This bull exploded out of the chute and was as rank as I've ever seen him!  Cowboy Agnaldo Cardoza was slammed to the ground in 3.23 seconds.  Whiskey's Rebel was awarded 45.5 points.  Cardoza got a broken nose.  PHOTO BY BRANDY.

One of the major concerns of the evening was the bad dirt in the arena. Here MICK E. MOUSE slips as he comes out of the chute.  Bullfighter Shorty Gorham was asked about the dirt, and he said that one end of the arena was better than the other.  With the quality of bulls at this event, no chances should have been taken with questionable dirt!  Animal safety is my number one concern!  PHOTO BY BRANDY.

During the first intermission, the Junior & Senior Divisions of the Miniature Bull Riding was held.  One of the star mini bulls was DURAMAX.  I'd seen the mini bulls in Las Vegas last fall, and absolutely fell in love with these bulls.  Smaller bodies but the same snotitude as the big boys!!  The mini bulls won the night in Arlington!

 

Some random thoughts here...Grey Squirrel, who has only been ridden three times out of 23 attempts, had an off night.  I felt badly for him, because he is such a great bull.....Chase Outlaw took a ridiculously long time in the chute aboard ALTERCATION, who is know for being testy in the chutes.  Why not get out on him quick?  Altercation was DQ'd, which annoyed the heck out of me.  I think Chase should have been DQ'd for taking so long!.....CARILLO CARTEL has had 89 outs in his career, 53 of them on the BFTS.  Cartel is a little older but still a rank bull. He gave Douglas Duncan a Round 1 win with an 88.5 point ride.....RFD-HD also had quite a bit of trouble with the dirt.  He slipped several times, which is so uncharacteristic of him.  He obviously was not confident of his footing.....DAVID'S DREAM was outstanding!  He got cowboy Cody Nance so far behind that Nance could not catch up.  David's Dream received 45 points in his 1.38 second buck off.....I enjoyed the video piece done highlighting Bushwacker and Asteroid.  The PBR's Director of Livestock, Cody Lambert, called Asteroid "one of the all time greats".  Cody then went on to say that Bushwacker is "the greatest there's ever been"!  Wow!  That is some seriously high praise from a man who's seen the best of the best over the years!

In Round 2, TRAIN WRECK derailed Douglas Duncan's bid to continue in the competition.  Train Wreck sent Douglas flying at 3.2 seconds, and was awarded 44 pts.

In Round 3, Circle T Ranch's SHEPHERD HILLS TRAPPER sent the reigning world champion to the ground in 3.69 seconds.  Trapper had issues with his footing, as many of the bulls did.  My friend, Brandy, who was at the event texted me and said the dirt was terrible.  S.H. Trapper is a bull who gets real low with his first move out of the chute, so soft dirt was particularly bad for him.

Also in Round 3, KING LOPEZ had a tremendous out, scoring 45.25 pts in his 2.96 buck off of Robson Palermo.  King Lopez was highlighted as "Shorty's Pick of the Pen".  Shorty commented how Lopez gets stronger as the ride goes on. 

The reigning World Champion Bucking Bull, ASTEROID, looked spectacular as he bucked off LJ Jenkins in 2.17 seconds.  It was the first time this year that Asteroid and Bushwacker were together at an event.  I find having those bulls together one of the most exciting times of the season.  We fans are truly fortunate to be able to see such incredible animal athletes!  And the fact that we have 2 of the all time greats bucking right now, is something we all should treasure!  PHOTO BY BRANDY.

BUSHWACKER dispenses eventual winner Austin Meier in 2.67 seconds.  Bushwacker looked spectacular and was awarded the high bull score of the event, 47.5 points.  PHOTO BY BRANDY.

SHEPHERD HILLS TESTED going after Austin Meier.  Tested was outstanding!  PHOTO BY BRANDY.

 
The final bull of the evening, in the bonus round, was SHEPHERD HILLS TESTED, the reigning ABBI Classic Champion.  If Austin rode Tested, he would have won an additional $50,000.  Tested was having none of it, and threw Austin off like a rag doll in just 1.91 seconds.  He was awarded 46.75 points.  Overall, S.H. Tested has only been ridden once out of 41 attempts.  As the year progresses, I believe Tested should be in the conversation for World Champion Bucking Bull.  Is he good enough to unseat Asteroid?  Can he beat out Bushwacker?  I don't know.  But he is one tremendous bull, and I think as he matures, he's getting ranker.

An exciting event, overall.  I was more excited to see how the bulls would buck than any of the rides.  It truly is all about the bulls for me!

I would like to thank my good friend, Brandy Appleton, for sharing her photographs with me, for use on the blog.  



Unless noted, photographs by Susan Hanrahan