The Streak Ends...

Wow...it's been quite a week!  The return of the PBR, in Tulsa, OK, this past Friday was exciting beyond belief!  I've heard it said that every great bull will eventually be ridden, and in Tulsa, that very thing happened.  If you are a fan of bull riding, no doubt, you've heard that JB Mauney rode Bushwacker.  It was spectacular!!!  I had a feeling, that night sitting on the couch, that this was the night....JB was going to do it after 9 previous attempts.  Yet, when it actually happened, I was stunned!  The debate rages on about Bushwacker's trip...he didn't spin...he didn't roll...he didn't have extension in his back legs...no, it wasn't his usual trip.  But, it was the most exciting ride I've seen in a very long time, and I'm thrilled that JB had the guts to keep after Bushwacker until he rode him.  It's great for the sport, and personally, I believe all of the media attention has helped bring in new fans.

BUSHWACKER, I suspect, was not happy having a cowboy on his back for 8 seconds.  I'm going to guess that this coming week in Nashville, Bushwacker will have a very different trip.

The one thing, after the ride, I was most impressed with was Bushwacker's handler, Kent Cox, was the first one on the dirt to congratulate JB.  Kent showed an amazing amount of class and grace "in defeat".

As usual, there was an amazing pen of bulls in Tulsa.  Friday night was an ABBI Classic competition and the 3-4 year olds did not disappoint.  The winner of the Classic event was NEON OCEAN.  He was spectacular, scoring 45.5 points, out of 50.  He had a huge jump and kick out of the chute and stomped rider Cardoza once on the ground.  Definitely a bull to watch in the second half of the season.  MODIFIED CLYDE, who is a son of Lincoln Electric's Bring It, was much like his daddy in chute...difficult! And like his daddy in the arena, terrific!  Clyde even has a new nose ring to keep him from rearing up in the chutes.  STONE SOBER had some big jumps while still in the chute and once the gate was opened he had huge jumps and belly roll.  He received a score of 43.75 points.

There was much discussion about the dirt condition for this event.  I could see on Friday night that several of the bulls slipped.  It was addressed on the TV broadcast Saturday, but the conditions were not much better Saturday night.  I was extremely concerned for the bulls, and hope there were no injuries.  But seriously, in Tulsa, Oklahoma, there is NO excuse for bad dirt!

There were only 10 rides Saturday night, in the long round.  The bulls, despite the bad footing, were in charge!  But the thing that had me furious was the amount of time some riders took in the chutes.  There were a few riders "put on the clock", and quite frankly, should have been disqualified.  When a judge is shouting at the rider to hurry up, or that the bull is standing good enough to go, and the cowboy is still fussing around, the judge should disqualify the rider...done!  I also think the stock contractors should step up and pull their bulls, if someone is in the chute too long.  At that point, the animal will not preform as he should and should not have to go out.  If stock contractors started doing this and judges would DQ more riders, this practice would stop.  My concern is not who the rider is, or how this will affect the standings, but for the bulls...always, the bulls!

RANGO was terrific in the Championship Round.  He went vertical on his first jump out of the chute.  He scored 45.5 points on his way to his 15th straight buck-off!

ASTEROID also scored 45.5 points, and looked great after having the whole summer break off.  He took his victory lap after bucking off Jory Markiss.

The Championship Round only produced one ride, JB & Bushwacker, but there were some very impressive buck-off's from the biggest and best bulls.  DAVID'S DREAM 10th straight B/O, GREAT WHITE 15th straight B/O, I'M A GANGSTER TOO 12th straight B/O, BUCK DYNASTY 15th straight B/O and JACK DANIEL'S TENNESSEE HONEY 18th straight B/O.   Impressive streaks!  But they all have a ways to go to match BUSHWACKER'S 42 straight buck-offs.   I look forward to seeing how these great bulls perform in this final march to the World Finals in Las Vegas.

On the home-front, it was a great weekend for bucking bulls at Let R Buck Bull Riding School.  The riders are gearing up for an event in Hackensack, NJ, August 24th.  It was a good weekend of practice for both the bulls and the riders.

Cowgirl Hannah takes PAPARAZZI a jump or two before coming off.

After bucking on Saturday, the bulls were turned out to graze.  I caught THE SPOOK doing his "run/skip thing" in the field.

BUCKSNOT enjoyed a roll in the dirt.  This was a very popular spot by the stream.  I think just about every bull stopped here for some playtime!

On Sunday, Cowgirl Hannah got on THE SPOOK.  She had a rough dismount, but managed to get on another bull later in the day.  SPOOK had a great weekend, having one of his best trips ever.  Hope he brings it next Saturday in Hackensack!

Just a little insight in to the care and love of the bulls at Let R Buck!  My bull partner, JW Gowan, shows some love to his bull, JUNIOR.  By the time JW was done scratching him, Junior was sound asleep.  Precious moment!

Cowboy Buckshot gives IRON MAN a try.  The bull was victorious, but Buckshot made a really good attempt at riding him.

If you are in the NJ, NY, CT area, and want some live bull riding action this coming weekend please check out the "Cowboy Up for Autism Speaks" Country/Bull Riding Festival, at Foschini Park in Hackensack, this coming Saturday!  Bull Riding shows will be at 4:00 and 7:00 PM.

The other exciting news is that Let R Buck was featured on FoxCT news this past Monday, and will be on the Travel Channel's show "Ride-diculous" this coming Sunday, August 25th at 8:30pm eastern time.  Both of the these film days were featured in an earlier blog "TV Time", so please check them out!

It's a great time for bull riding fans, as we head in to the end of summer.   I'm very excited to have the opportunity to travel to Thackerville, OK on August 30th for the PBR event held there.  Hoping to see some great bull riding and visit with friends.  Life, right now, is ALL about the bulls! :)



All photos by/property of Susan Hanrahan