Monday, March 28, 2011

PBR Notes: Albuquerque

This weekend is why we watch bull riding, ladies and gentlemen, and if you don't, it's why you should.  Deafening crowd, everybody jazzed up, uber-rank bulls, and a rider emerging from the pack to take home a dream win in his home state.

Riders

LJ Jenkins got his game face on and rode four of his five bulls for the win.  A kid from New Mexico taking the win in New Mexico in one of the smallest, loudest, and coolest bull riding venues - it was pretty awesome. 

A look at shifts in the world standings:

  • Valdiron de Oliveira hangs firmly onto first place.  
  •  Austin Meier, Silvano Alves, and Guilherme Marchi continue to juggle positions 2-3-4, as they have done for the past five weeks.  
  •  Shane Proctor holds steady in 5th.
  • LJ Jenkins' win vaults him from 10th place into 6th.  Similarly, Ryan McConnel's great performance moves him from 11th place to 8th.
  •  In spite of riding better than he has in a long time, J.B. Mauney slips from 7th to 10th.
  •  Kody Lostroh makes his first appearance in the top 15, taking the 12th spot after riding three of his five bulls. 

Bulls

On the bull side of the fence, 30 bulls had two outs this weekend.  That means that out of about 100 total outs, 60 were accounted for by only 30 bulls.

There have been thirty 90+ point rides so far this year and RMEF Gunpowder & Lead has been ridden for four of them.

45 + Bull scores:

  • Bushwacker - 46.75 (Moreno/Oliveira)
  • Smackdown - 45.50 (Dakota Rodeo/Berger/Rosen)
  • RMEF Gunpowder & Lead - 45.25 (Jeff Robinson)
  • Back Bender - 45 (Ackerman/Cox)
  • High Steaks - 45 (D&H Cattle Co.)
  • Yellow Jacket Jr. - 45 (Dakota Rodeo/Berger/Struve/Rosen)
  • Spit Fire 45 (Boyd/Floyd)
  • Big Tex - 45 (Dakota Rodeo/Berger/Struve)
  • Bucking Machine - 45 (D&H Cattle Co.)

Bulls I liked, and always do, and they never disappoint me:  Rusty Zipper and After Party.  Those little bulls are two wild dudes.  I also like Cody Ohl's bull Lucky Hou.  He's got jump and he's got kick, and he's a pretty son of a gun, too.  The other thing I notice is that bull riders don't dilly-dally around in the chute when Cody Ohl is doing the flanking.  

By the way, just to set the record straight, Slim Chance is a D&H Page bull, and a Panhandle Slim son, not a clone. (Read more about clones here.) 

Odds and ends:

Bold move of the weekend:  Valdiron picking Bushwacker.

Interesting moment of the weekend:  That he didn't last any longer than anyone else has on him.

Quote of the weekend:

Ty Murray talking about a Frank Newsom save:  "He steps in there and says, 'Pick me, I am Sparticus.'"

Love it.  Love it.