- Valdiron de Oliveira was disqualified for taking too long in the chute. Apparently this is not the first time he has been called for this.
- Silvano Alves got called for a slap no one saw. I have not been able to find video for this.
- Ryan McConnel clearly slapped his bull in the bonus round and was not called for it. Ty Murray put it something like this: The only people who didn't see that slap were the four people who should have seen it. (Watch for it in the first second of the video below.)
- In the heat of the moment, and in response to the Valdiron and Alves incidents, Renato Nunes pushed the replay button when Ryan McConnel received a score for the ride in question.
- Riders have the right to push this review button on their own or others' rides, but never has one called for a potentially negative review of someone else's ride.
- McConnel expressed his confusion and was mostly classy about it.
- Nunes stated that he just wanted to call attention to what he saw as judging inconsistencies.
- The following day he expressed his regret and said he would never do such a thing again. He was obviously extremely upset.
- People said they themselves would never do such a thing. Others said they would.
- Much talk was had about the "cowboy code" and how Renato had broken it.
- Subsequently the PBR has disqualified the four event judges for the remainder of the year and has said that it will institute judging reform. See press release.
- Renato was a villain. Renato is now a hero. Of course, Renato is actually neither. He's just a guy who got upset and did something in the heat of the moment that was within the rules but had never been done before.
Was this all a good thing or a bad thing? I'd say it was a good thing. It called attention to what appeared to be some sloppy judging. It opened a door to riders using the review button in a new way, which could end up being useful to the sport. It also called attention - maybe not in the way Renato wanted - to the fact that some riders do take an awful long time in the chutes. I'm not saying that judges don't pay attention, but it's never a bad thing to have a wake-up call in your profession. And I don't know if you noticed, but everyone got out of the chute pretty damn fast after that.
