Although Caleb Sanderson did not win, he did every single thing he could. He rode five out of six bulls, perfectly, and pulled a 92.50 ride out of his hat in the championship round. He did not choke. I hope that he is completely proud of himself.
In comparison, the world title race was not all that gripping, even though Valdiron de Oliveira really did have a chance to win the thing. It was Silvano's to lose, and there was never a possibility that he would.
The race for Bull of the Year ended in disappointment, for fans, and mostly for the owners and handlers of Asteroid, who hipped himself on the way out of the chute and was not returned to buck again. This meant that Bushwacker walked away with it, and perhaps he would have won it anyway, but we will never know now.
In my pre-Finals article called No Predictions, I put forth several stories of what could happen, and some of them weren't too far off. A couple of questions that will endure:
- Who really is better, Bushwacker or Asteroid, based on the one out when we saw them both. Here are the videos.
- Was Robson Palermo's ride overscored? Did he slap the bull? Did the bull "slap" him? I leave that to you to decide. I have included the video below.
It's over, folks, and the show is back on the road, dispersing to wherever it goes after the last whistle has sounded. Thank you for following Rank during the Finals, for your emails, and for your presence on Facebook this past week. Thanks to those who signed up to receive Rank by email and for new Facebook followers. I have enjoyed your company. Stay tuned this week for more thoughts and numbers and notes on the 2011 World Finals.
Scroll down for numbers and high scores - bulls and riders - after the video.
Rounds Five and Six:
90+ point rides:
Robson Palermo - 93.25 (Round 6)
CalebSanderson - 92.50 (Round 6)
Rubens Barbosa - 92.50 (Round 5)
Silvano Alves - 92.25 (Round 6)
Fabiano Vieira - 91.75 (Round 5)
Valdiron de Oliveira - 90.25 (Round 5)
Event Average Race (top ten):
Robson Palermo
Caleb Sanderson
Silvano Alves
Rubens Barbosa
Valdiron de Oliveira
Guilherme Marchi
J.B. Mauney
Fabiano Vieira
Aaron Roy
Cord McCoy
The World Finals title race:
1. Silvano Alves
2. Valdiron de Oliveira
3. Robson Palermo
4. Guilherme Marchi
5. Fabiano Vieira
High-marked bulls:
13/6 Bushwacker - 47.50 (Moreno/Oliveira)
601 Shepherd Hills Trapper - 46.25 (Circle T)
507 King of Hearts - 46.25 (Corey & Lange)
5403 Perfect Poison - 45.75 (Page)
22S Priceless - 45.75 (Page)
K55 Smackdown - 45.50 (Dakota/Berger/Struve/Rosen)
404C Gunpowder & Lead - 45.50 (Robinson)
K14 Yellow Jacket Jr. - 45.25 (Dakota/Berger/Struve/Rosen)
W1 Buckey - 45.25 (Wentz)
563 Hee Bee Gee Bee - 45 (Boyd/Floyd)
540 King Lopez - 45.00 (K bar C)
924B Tennessee Honey - 44.75 (Circle T)
-8 Bring It - 44.75 (Berger/Struve/Box K)
309 Spitfire - 44.50 (Boyd/Floyd)
107 Rock & Roll - 44.50 (Bad Company)
1415 Palm Springs - 44.50 ( 4L & Diamond S)
57 Little Hummer - 44.50 (Humpz and Hornz)
67 Toy Soldier - 44.25 (Circle T)
325 Hot Stuff - 44.25 (Page)
5081 Highway 12 - 44.25 (Robinson)
868 After Party - 44.25 (Circle T)
10-5 Crosswired - 44 (Page)
632 Copp Hou - 44 (Lightning C)
Quotes of the night:
"He's tried it several thousand times and it's never worked once." Ty Murray on how Sean Willingham holds his free arm.
"It feels like someone threw an anvil out of an airplane and you had your hand tied to it." Ty Murray on a bull's drop.
Quotes of the night:
"He's tried it several thousand times and it's never worked once." Ty Murray on how Sean Willingham holds his free arm.
"It feels like someone threw an anvil out of an airplane and you had your hand tied to it." Ty Murray on a bull's drop.
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