One Big Gamble - Vegas, part 1

I've been blessed to attend the PBR World Finals in Las Vegas for four straight years.  Every year there are new bulls to meet, watch and cheer for.  It's sad to see ones retire, especially this year with Smackdown, King Lopez, Who Dat, Rock & Roll and Bushwacker ending their bucking careers.  Yeah...many tears over those guys...but more on that in a future blog.

So, sit back, relax and allow me to share with you some of the fa-bull-ous bovines I discovered in Las Vegas.

My first discovery was Bull Housing, complete with Smackdown and Fire & Smoke.  As a person who cares more about the bulls than anything else, I was NOT happy to see the housing this year.  It was HOT in Vegas, and all these bulls were outside, with no shade.  BS Flags were flying all over the property!  There was no protection around the pens other than the fence I walked up to and took this picture through.  For bulls worth the amount of money that all these guys are, next year the PBR had best secure better housing!

Tuesday morning, bucking got underway with the ABBI Classic Wild Card competition.  Eighteen bulls were given one more chance to qualify for the Classic competition and buck Wednesday night at Thomas & Mack.  Pictured here is "I-LINER", a Houdini son from Little Cove Ranch.  He scored 84.17 in the wild card race.  There is a 6 judge panel who scores the bull, which is a different score than from the arena judges.  For the Wild Card competition, they take the actual score, then the average score and finally, the score average...thus the 84.17 points I-LINER received.

Davis Rodeo Ranch 0208 scored 82.5 points.  Sweet baby needs a name!  0208 had an average out, but I hope this nice looking bull matures a bit and can buck in the PBR next year.

Julio Moreno Bucking Bulls/B&M's 87 (another sweet baby who needs a name!) was a handsome bull.  I guess I have a thing for black & white bulls...sorry! :)  His score was 80.67 and he finished 14th on the day.  But, he was too handsome to not get a mention!

This muscle-bound bull is GANGSTER LIFE, a son of the late I'm a Gangster.  This bull from Warren's Bucking Bulls scored 84.33 points, and finished in a tie for 6th place.

 The winner of the ABBI Classic Wild Card was TRACKER from Dam Cattle Company, with a score of 87.33.  He won himself the right to buck at the Thomas & Mack Center, in the opening round of the PBR World Finals.

Tuesday evening, I had the priviledge to attend the Heros & Legends Induction Ceremony and Reception.  I always enjoy this part of the week, as I learn so much about bull riders and influential people from the early days of the PBR.  I was especially happy to see Gilbert and Adam Carrillo inducted in to the Ring of Honor, but the best moment of the ceremony was the Brand of Honor recipient, BONES.

Tom Teague, owner of the 2x World Champion bucking bull, accepted the award.  He raised Bones from a baby, as opposed to so many other bulls that are purchased as 1 or 2 year olds.  At first, Bones didn't show much promise, but once he grew and got to the PBR stage, he showed everyone what a fantastic bucking bull he'd grown in to!

A favorite portrait of BONES I snapped back in 2011, when he was in Vegas, just after he'd retired.  Bones was the 2008 and 2010 World Champion Bucking Bull.  An awesome moment to celebrate this incredible athlete!

 Wednesday morning, I had the pleasure (?) of attending the Back Seat Buckers long round competition.  All 48 of the Back Seat Buckers came to Vegas with hopes of placing in the Top 5 and competing at the Thomas & Mack in the 2014 finale.  This is where the gamble comes in.

These two year old's are feisty and filled with snotitude!  My hat's off to safety men JW Hart and Cody Hebert, who did a terrific job reigning these little powerhouses in!

FIND JESUS finished second in the long round with a score of 88.25 points.  This little bull, owned by Nathan Ogden, was fantastic! 

SWEATIN' BULLETS scored 84.5 points, but his antics in the arena thrilled the crowd.  Many of the young bulls had a point to make to that bucking dummy after they bucked!  I'm surprised the dummy made it through the entire round!

This gorgeous muscle-bound youngster is DANCES WITH GRAVY.  I had to mention him, because he had the best name out of all the Back Seat Buckers! 2nd place went to Onion Breath!  So creative!

This is MASS CONFUSION.  The gamble part comes in right here.  I was part of the group that got together and bought  this bull, The 500 Club.  So I guess I can say I owned a black spot on this bull! <hehehe>  Mass Confusion had great kick, but that was about it.  He didn't score very well, but it was a fantastic experience to be a part of this group and see "my" bull buck in Vegas!

The winner of the long round for the Back Seat Buckers was BLACK JACK owned by Ghena's Bucking Bulls/Caranci Bucking Bulls, who scored a 90.5 points.  He, along with FIND JESUS, HIGH NOON, FIRESTORM and BOOGER COUNTY BOOGIE would head to Thomas & Mack Friday night for the Finals!

The PBR, celebrating it's 21st Birthday, opened the Finals with a Cowboy Birthday Cake!  Bottom layer was the 25 qualified bull riders plus competitors from Brazil, Canada, Mexico and Australia.  The middle layer was the top 10 bull riders in the world and the icing on top was reigning World Champion, JB Mauney.

Round 1 was the ABBI Classic competition.  It's always exciting to watch the younger bulls in the big arena.  Some shine, some don't!  BAD TATTOO from Folds/Strickland/Nelson/Ray/Melton shone bright!  He easily bucked off Billy Robinson and received a low score of 43.75 points.  I feel this score could have easily been a point higher.

After bucking Billy Robinson off, BAD TATTOO took some victory jumps to thrill the crowd.  Love this bull and will be a fan of his next year!

Here's Tanner Byrne on the Classic Wild Card Winner, TRACKER, from Dam Cattle Company.  Tanner rode Tracker for 87 points, with a bull score of 43 points.

D&H Cattle Company's MARGY TIME was terrific. I, along with the rest of the crowd, was surprised at his 44.25 point score.  Again, could have been a point higher.

OSCAR P from Boyd & Floyd Bull Company was terrific in his buck off.  He was awarded 44 points.

RECOVERY TIME proved a bit much for Cody Nance.  Paige Stout Bucking Bull's youngster scored 42.75 points in the competition.

Black Pearl son, PEARL HARBOR, had a nice out allowing Matt Triplett an 87.25 score, with a 43 point bull score.  This young bull got some air, and had steep drop but Matt did a great job riding him.

Gage Gay, whom I had to throw the BS flag on because he could not get out on his original bull, was given KISS ANIMALIZE as his reride bull.  Jeff Robinson's bull didn't take kindly to Gage and ejected him quickly.  44 point bull score.

There were 15 rides in Round 1 of the Finals, which for a Classic night, is alot.  JW Harris won the round with an 88.75 point score aboard JO JO from Owens/Lane.  The top Classic bull was D&H Cattle Co/Tim Dougherty's LONG JOHN, with a score of 45.5 points.  An exciting night indeed!

So this takes us through Tuesday and Wednesday in Las Vegas.  I've got more pictures to go through and I'll submit my next blog entry, next week, and share some more fa-bull-ous bovines from Las Vegas.


All photographs by and property of Susan Hanrahan