Rocky Mountain Stompin'

Ahhhh.....Colorado Springs!  A place I've visited a few times and would go back to in a heartbeat.  It's too bad I couldn't get out there last weekend, because it sure looked like they needed more fans to fill the seats.  It was the PBR's "home" event....it's unfortunate it couldn't draw a bigger crowd!

Because of the time difference and lack of TV coverage, I was unable to watch Round 1 Friday night.  Round 2, I watched on the computer.  Round 3 did finally get some TV air time but was preempted by college baseball...yeah, that made me and all the other bull riding fans happy...NOT!  In fact, it was a 1 1/4 hour delay because the game went in to extra innings.  Shame on the CBS Sports Network for always delaying/omitting PBR coverage for other sports!  BS FLAG!

Round 1 had the most rides of the weekend, with 16.  Round 2 reduced the rides to 12.
DELCO, who has been a Championship round caliber bull, went out in round 2 and gave a solid stomping on Claudio Crisostomo's left shoulder.  Delco was rank! scoring 43.75 points in the buck-off.
STEAMER, who is a relatively new bull to the PBR and is unridden on the BFTS so far, is a powerful bull with alot of forward movement, slammed JR Vieira in to the chute.  Steamer received 43.25 points.
CRAZY ACTION was in the chute a crazy long time.  I counted Fabiano pulling his rope five times!  Part of it was a delay due to TV time but seriously....pulling the rope 5 times!  Fortunately, Crazy Action bucked great, getting vertical once, and Fabiano made a great ride.
COMPACT was a really fast spinner, rank and quickly bucked off Brady Sims in 1.92 seconds.  Compact was scored 43.25 points.
FLINT (the bull) bucked off Guytin Tsosie in 2.82 seconds and had a really strong out.  Flint's score 43 points.

The 15/15 Bucking Battle included the return of Circle T ranch's ASTEROID.  It was great to see this bull again as he'd not bucked since March 1st.  

ASTEROID was paired with Silvano Alves, who took him to 7 seconds (and almost gave me a heart attack!) but Asteroid prevailed and bucked Alves off for the 4th time.  Asteroid now has 24 straight buck-offs on the BFTS.  :)

The BS flag came out for Gage Gay, during the 15/15, because he took soooo long in the chute with RAVEN FLYER.  The bull got his revenge by bucking off Gay in 3.63 seconds, and being scored 43.5 points.
I'M A GANGSTER TOO was rank!  In my notes I wrote, "OMG! vertical then smashes Resende to the ground -  outstanding bull!"  45 point bull score.
RANGO was fantastic!  He had 4 vertical kicks, right at the ceiling.  Marco Eguchi, who had ridden Rango in ABQ, was on the ground in 2.73 seconds.  45 points for Rango.
WICKED lived up to his name, and Guilherme Marchi made an outstanding ride on him to win the 15/15 Bucking Battle with 89.5 points (44 point bull score).  Marchi had trouble with this bull before, but got him ridden and received much needed points.

The High Marked Bull of the 15/15 was FIRE & SMOKE.  He was terrific, and in 2.42 seconds had Valdiron on the ground.  Fire & Smoke was scored 45.5 points....too low, in my opinion!

One thing I noticed, watching the 15/15 Bucking Battle, was that Judge # 2 was consistently lower on just about every bull score until Asteroid, who he scored 23 out of 25 points.  Threw the BS flag on Judge 2 (I have no idea who it was) but that seems fishy to me.  Judges + favoritism = BS flag!
SHEPHERD HILLS TESTED was the "Bad Boy Mower's Bounty Bull" and Fabiano Vieira would receive $25,000 if he rode Tested.  Fabiano hung a spur and was off Tested in under a second.  Tested was given an average score of 42.25 points, which was completely unfair because the bull didn't even get to buck!  BS flag!  So Fabiano gets a reride.  Instead of running Tested back in, Fabiano gets KING BUCK, who is a great bull but no where near Tested's bucking ability.  Fabiano rides King Buck, gets the $25,000, and finishes second in the round.  Tested gets a wasted out and an average score....yeah, you got it...BS flag!!!

Round 3 had 10 rides overall.  WHISKEY BENT is a bull I'm excited about.  He scored 43 points with super high jumps and belly roll before turfing Mike Lee.  WOW!

BUCK DYNASTY was rank in his 1.83 second buck off, and his 44.75 point score in Round 3.  He has been terrific and I think he's mad that he's not in the Championship round any more!

 One thing bull fighter, Shorty Gorham, talked about during the broadcast, was the difference between the bulls and the cowboys right now.  It's been a long first half of the season for the cowboys, and many are injured, needing some time off.  Where the bulls are coming out of winter, shedding heavy coats and gaining more energy and power, without having to fight the cold.  Bulls definitely have the upper "hoof".
The other bull that has caught my attention is TAR HEEL.  He was tough in the chute, then had a huge jump and drop.  43 points was his score.  A big, strong bull who I am anxious to see more of.

The Championship round welcomed back JACK DANIEL'S AFTER PARTY, also not having bucked since March.  After Party had a solid out, and helped Marcus Mariluch to a 89.5 point score.

Kasey Hayes won the Championship Round with an outstanding ride on SHEPHERD HILLS TESTED.  The two combined for a 91.5 point score.  Tested was scored 45 points.  There were a total of five rides in the last round, and the event was won by Renato Nunes.  His final ride was aboard MODIFIED CLYDE for 90 points.

LONG JOHN was the "High Marked Bull of the Event" with 46 points, as he bucked off JW Harris.

One more event to go for the PBR before the long summer break.  This weekend's "Last Cowboy Standing" should be a good one, with an awesome pen of bulls assembled in Las Vegas.  Can't wait to watch!
                                                      *******
On the home-front, Let R Buck Bull Riding School, here in CT, is in full swing.  It's finally warming up a tad and the bulls are happy, and have been bucking great.  New students arrive every weekend and it is exciting to be a part of the growth, of the sport of bull riding, here in the Northeast.  Just wanted to share a few pictures from last weeks class.  If you want to learn to ride a bull, you know where to find us!  www.cnobull2tuff.com

SNOT JAMMER, the big boy, claims another rider!

VLAD THE IMPALER, or Vladimir Airlines (as we like to call him) is ready for take-off!

THE SPOOK let John stay on for a jump or two before sending him to the dirt!  That's my boy!!

HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY to all the Snotitude-loving Mom's out there!  Have a great weekend and go enjoy some bull riding!





All photographs property of and by Susan Hanrahan