NC's J B Mauney Wins Versus Invitational

J B Mauney Misses the CBR Finals But Wins The PBR's Madison Square Garden Event
by Sheila Totten
If it were not for the PBR's mandatory attendance at BFTS events policy J B Mauney would have been at the CBR's World Championship in Las Vegas this weekend where he had a good chance to take the title.Instead rather than risk a year's suspension from the PBR,Mauney  and other CBR top contenders as Colby Yates  attended the Versus Invitational where Mauney  was able to put four solid rides together  to pass event leader Adriano Moraes in the Championship round and take the event title.It was a smiling J B Mauney who won the first PBR Versus Invitational at Madison Square Garden; telling the fans he felt real good.
The format of the  rounds took their toll though on riders; and the lengthy travel seemed to effect some of the bulls too. Instead of a Friday,Saturday,Sunday event the Versus Invitational was a Saturday matinee followed by a Saturday evening performance and a Sunday performance.In the world of rodeo the same riders don't ride in the matinee and the evening performance.With bull riding this schedule puts extra stress on the riders; and there were some serious injuries which put some riders out for several months.With the autograph sessions ,photo shoots and other publicity  activities the riders have a really tight schedule and do not have sufficient  rest time.They are bull riders ,not supermen.
Mauney who was fifth in the first round and 9th in the second tied for 3/4 in the third round and was fourth in the Championship round;  then he went down in their record books as the first winner of the PBR's first ever event at Madison Square Garden; and he was thrilled.
Three time PBR World Champion Adriano Moraes was on top of the leader board after winning Round One with a great 90.75 point ride aboard Evil Forces. Although the crowd was thin for round one,the enthusiasm was  there in Adriano.he is out to make this year  his fourth PBR World Championship  which would make him the first rider to win back to back World titles..In interviews Adriano said so many people doubted him that he felt he needed to prove himself again this year.And by the way where is our Leah Garcia? Why was Tava Smiley there? Tava,if you remember was let go after the PBR and then OLN fired Brett Haber  from the PBR broadcasts.Tava was replaced with fan favorite Leah Garcia;and we all expected her to return.No one ever thought Smiley would ever be brought back.The fans are not happy; and as a Tava Smiley as an actress fan I would so much rather see her  back on General Hospital reprising her Chloe Morgan Character.After all,GH has resurrected many others from the dead who apparently died in plain view on the show .She's a fantastic actress but she does not fit in as a bull riding interviewer. And her "Randall Bernard"  utterance was as misplace das so many Haberesque remarks that its not funny anymore.Sorry Randy,if you are checking this out but you know me.I am going to say it like it is and not sugar coat anything  to please those in command.For the fans,Leah has other commitments  but is contracted to do quite a few PBR broadcasts.Watch for our favorite commentator to return in March.Maybe Versus  will pull Tava and let Rob Smets fill in for Leah. Versus needs to realize that Leah Garcia is the most sought after female rodeo/bull riding personality next to Pam Minick. The fans love Leah as much as they love their favorite riders like for example , Adriano.Her quick wit and personality endear her to all.
A returning Jared Farley finished the  first round just half a point behind Adriano with 90.25 aboard Encore.There were several riders who had been injured before the Finals who made their return but unfortunately the rides didn't get shown to the dismay of their fans.Once again I keep hearing fans complain about not enough rides and too much talk.
Chad Denton was third  with 89.25 on The Big Apple while Mike Lee scored 88.75  aboard Chain Reaction.Then came Mauney's fifth place  87 point ride on Copperhead Slinger. That was followed by Austin Meier's 6th place  ride for 86.75 aboard Cover Page.Greg Potter on Tobasco tied with Leandro Mattos on George's Pride for 7/8 with 86.25 while Colby Yates on  Chief tied with our hometown hero Cory Rasch on Wild one with 86 for 9/10.Cory finished last year hot and a healthy Cory is a challenge to all.
Only twenty of the 45 made the buzzer in round one.Guilherme Marchi was eleventh with 85.75 on Time Machine while Beau Hill was 12th aboard Cliff's Edge with 85.50. Tater Porter rode Outcast for 84.75 and was 13th while Dustin Hall scored 84.25 on Three Alarm and was 14th. Rocky McDonald was 15th with 84 on Hollow Point and Ednei Caminhas  was 16th with 83.25 on Dog Dip.Steven Shelley scored 82.75 on Pocket Change to finish 17th  in the round and Sevi Torturo scored 81.25 on Vertical Limit for 18th place.19th place went to Jason Bennett on Squirt Gun who did not have his usual trip.Jason scored 81 while the bull scored 39.50.Last place went to Allan Moraes who was out of shape  on Red One but scored 76.50.
The event began with a Saturday Matinee followed by a Saturday night performance and  that did not give riders much of a chance to unwind or relax between performances. The Saturday night crowd was a little better but still not what the fans expected to see. The start was pre-empted due to NBC programming so  we lost out on several rides.
It was Adriano Moraes again who thrilled the fans  with his 88.75 point round winning ride aboard Berger's Red Jacket.who spun into Adriano's hand with lots of drift.Adriano, in his round winner interview said"My back is sore as heck right now but its mind over body now." And Adriano is proving that.
There were only nineteen qualified rides in the round and quite a few rerides. A lot of the bulls whom we normally see having A-1 trips  were sadly lacking  in power and action. It used to be East Coast we normally saw the NE and SE stock contractors with some east Texas and Oklahoma bulls mixed in.This time we saw  more western bulls than eastern;and I think the travel may have been the cause of the  bad trips some had.
Rounding out the top ten in the round were: brian Canter in second with 87 points on a bull I just love,Repeat.Matt Bohon  finished third with his brother Ditto and 86.75. Mike Solomon has two adorable buckers in these two but more than that they always perform well.Just love those two. Mike Lee was fourth  in the round with 86 points on Born To Boogie while Brendon Clark on Cosmo and Kasey hayes on Rusty Rivets tied for 5/6 with 85.75. Meanwhile Wiley Petersen finished in 7th aboard Bowtech's Toy Tiger with85.25  and Cory Melton was 8th aboard Mossy Oak Break-Up for 85 points.J.B.Mauney scored 84.50 aboard Grandpa Joe and was ninth while Steven Shelley on Ralphie and Ross Coleman on El Lobo tied for 10/11 with 84.25.
I was not impressed with the crowd because many empty seats were visible. And the close-up camera work was terrible.You could not tell what the bull was doing as the cameraman focused in on the bull's head  and face.I was glad to see Craig Hummer back for round three as I prefer the VS.crew way over the NBC crew. Before round three Adriano was interviewed and he told the fans:"I could not focus before.I was too tired."He went on to admit he was everyone's big brother and would wear himself out before his ride  by pulling ropes and helping others.Now he sits in the stands to relax before rides.
Mike lee rode Rockin Robin in round three for 88.75 and the round win.Jason bennett was only .25 behind with 88.50 aboard Satan's Own.J.B.Mauney aboard repeat and Adriano Moraes aboard Rez Rock tied for 3/4 with 86.50.Tater Porter on Gold Bell Wine and Robson Palermo aboard Born To Boogie tied for 5/6 with 86.25. Mike White rode Youngblood  for 86 points and 7th place while Kasey Hayes rode Berger's Red Jacket for 85.75 and 8th place. Dustin Hall rode Louie Louie for 85.25 and 9th place while Wiley Petersen finished 10th with 85 points on Too Sharp.
There were only four qualified rides in the short go.Rocky McDonald won the round with a great 92 point ride aboard Sunshine who bucked around to the left and stumbled in the spin but Rocky managed to hold on and stay positioned.Steven Shelley was second in the round with 85 aboard Sports Machine  who didn't have a good out.Jason Bennett was third in the round  with 83 aboard Texas Jack who didn't have his normal trip either.The bull took on eleap out then spun to the right then reversed left and then jumpe dout of the spin and bucked straight. J.B.Mauney rode The Boogerman for 81.75 and fourth place in the round but won the event.he was the first rider to ride four  head.The bull  was yet another with a bad trip and bull score of only 40 as he   jumped out of the spin and bucked straight.
J B won the event and said "I feel good." Steven Shelley finished in second and Adriano was third followed by Mike Lee in fourth.
The schedule took its toll as several top riders were sidelined with injuries.Ross Coleman injured his left(free) arm shoulder and did not finish the event.He is set for an MRI. Jared Farley  dislocated his right shoulderand is having surgery on it.He is expected to be out four to six months.Our local hero Cory Rasch had more than the wind knocked out of him in round three when Copperhead Slinger got him on the first jump out of the chute.He may have hit Cory in the shoulder with a horn but Cory landed hard against the gate post  while Slinger rammed his head into Cory .Ty said he thought he just had the wind knocked out but I thought it was more than that..Cory was taken to a local hospital and ended up in their ICU for two days as he suffered internal abdominal bleeding.He  lacerated a kidney and broke the transverse process of  the tenth thoracic vertebra and bruised his spleen.He is to be out  anywhere from three to six months. Allan Moraes is out with a left groin strain and will have surgery on  his right knee .he will be out 6-8 months. Cody Whitney sustained a left wrist sprain but i scompeting . Adfd these newest injuries to the list of riders who were injured in either Hawaii or the Finals  including  th einjuries suffered by Chris Shivers who is out for 3- 6 months and L J Jenkins who is also out for 4-6 months. Everyone get well soon.