Zack Brown Wins In Billings,Montana
Several years ago Zack Brown's bull riding career came to an abrupt halt when the bull he drew at the PBR's BFTS in Billings, Montana landed on his abdomen. Zack nearly died and was in intensive care for a very long time but with the true grit of a cowboy,the California surfer pulled through. He did decide during his recovery to retire from riding.That retirement lasted about a year and he returned to riding in the CBR. Recently he was called back up to the PBR's BFTS and here he was,in Billings; and he was there not to remember and dwell on the ride that nearly ended his life but to win;and that he did.
Zack took the lead in round one when he tied with Brendon Clark at 89.50. he made a great ride on Tuscarora who went around to the right away from Zack's hand with a lot of kick. Zack was in great form and I think the judges were a little stingy. Flashover also went around to the right ,this time into Brendon Clark's hand and the race was on. In round two Zack drew Tighty Whitey who took two leaps out before going around to the left into Zack's hand then reversed to the right away with lots of elevation and kick. Zack scored 87.50 in the round and was in eight position in it. and had 177 on two head. This was a draft weekend and as he and Brendon were in the one/two position they had the pick of the entire pen. Again I thought the judges were stingy.In round three Zack drew Flashover and he sure was happy as that's the bull that Brendon scored 89.50 on in the first round. Flashover has good timing and a lot of action and as with Brendon he was around to the right away from Zack's hand. I guess I just was not happy with the judges all weekend as Zack was scored 88 and finished 4th in the round. He picked one of the wildest bulls in the draw-Soulja Boy who jerked him around every which way.He faked left then went around right then jumped out and reversed left into Zack's hand with lots of high kicks and belly rolls.It was not only a great ride but an incredible ride as Zack did everything to keep from touching with his freehand.The "challenge " judge tried to say he touched but the video replay showed only Zack's chin touched the bull and he got his score.If he hadn't I would not have wanted to have been that judge.The crowd would have eaten him up alive. Zack scored 89.25 on the most exciting ride of the night and yes,the fans wanted a higher score but all in all it didn't really matter as Zack notched his first win on the BFTS in four years. Congratulations Zack. I hope this is just the first of many.
There were a lot of good rides we didn't see in round one as it was not shown and there were a lot of really poor bull scores. Canadian Aaron Roy made a solid ride aboard Big Iron for 88.75 and was third in the first round. Valdiron de Oliveira was fourth with 88.25 points on Una Bomber. McKennon Wimberley rode Bumblebee for 88 points and tied for 5/6 with Reese Cates aboard Rockin Robin. Brian Herman rode Trump Tower for 87.25 for seventh place and Josh Koschel rode Shiner for 87. Ross Coleman rode Brass Cat for 86.75 and was 9th while Dustin Hall scored 86.50 aboard Keith to tie with Clayton Williams on Diez for 10th /11th.
There were 23 rides in this round but there were nine bull scores under 41. with one score of only 25.75 which to me is not BFTS material in a bull. Maybe it was the weather or maybe the bulls need a rest with too much travel time in trailers due to having to compete in this bull team competition.Even Gold Bell Wine had a terrible trip with a score of only 35.50. Going back through archived files I have not seen an event with such poor bull scores in past years.It was not just round one.One or two re -rides or low bull scores an event or even a round is acceptable but to have 9 mediocre to poor performances in the first round where the riders depend on good bulls so that they can be higher up in the draw just does not seem fair to the riders. Round two had 19 qualified rides but there were re-rides there and low bull scores too. The worse score was Dog Town who had a bull score of 23.That is not BFTS quality.The third round had several more bull scores in the twenties including L J Jenkins' draw of Joe Mama with a whopping bull score of 20.
One is bad enough but Ross Coleman's draw of Babe's Fireball drew a bull score of 25.50 and Brendon Clark scored only 54.75 aboard Trump Tower whose bull score was only 27. Again this is not BFTS; at least not the way it used to be when I kept touting it as "the best bulls VS. the best riders " in my columns. Personally I think the bulls are getting worn out .Even a great bull like Cooper only scoreed 40.50 in his round two out with Pistol Robinson.This was supposed to be an exciting match-up.
In round two Reese Cates rode Hellfire for a score of 86.50 as the bull went around to the left away from Reese's hand. Reese had a good weekend and was the first to ride two head. Reese tied for 11/12 in round two and had been tied for 5/6 in round one.
Remember this was the draft round and I guess the order of the pick did not mean very much as Sean Willingham who should have had the last choice ended up with one of the last bulls left, Blizzard, and won the round with 89.50 . The irony of this is that it sure looked like a Blizzard outside as the snow came down in Billings and the riders and crew on the floor literally froze because this arena has limited space for the bulls inside and the doors had to be kept open. A lot of the guys ran out during the day and bought winter jackets and during round three even Leah Garcia wore a coat while she did her interviews.Two riders who were ahead of Sean were late for the draft and lost their turns to him. Blizzard faked right then went around to the left away from Sean's hand and Sean became only the second rider in three years to master the bull. Ednei Caminhas was the 17th man in the draft and he picked Big Coyote out of the Berger's great bull Coyote and Ednei ended up second with 89 points as herbing bull spun to the right into Ednei's hand with lots of action .Austin Meier tied with Ednei for 2/3 in the round after his draft pick bull Part Time had a terrible trip and he received a re-ride aboard a bull that has been good for a long time now Palace Station Deuces Wild.His first bull was an example of what I mean when I say not BFTS quality.His trip would have not been acceptable at a practice pen unless he was a beginner's bull.Part Time just loped straight left with belly kicks then reversed right straight along the chutes. I was surprised that PS Deuces Wild was in the re-ride pen and that really worked out for Austin as he had been the 41st man in the draft. This is a bull if he had been in the draft would have been among the first few picked and Austin would have never had him as a re-ride.PS Deuces Wild had his normal trip and the type of trip we are used to seeing on the BFTS out of a bull.He went around to the left into Austin's hand with a lot oftiming,kick and drift while Austin made a good spur ride on him.
Normally the riders at the bottom of round one have little chance to advance with the draw but this week it seems that some of them really lucked out. Right up there with Austin is JB Mauney who picked Bond James Bond who went around to the left into JB's hand with good action.JB scored 88.75 and was 4th in the round. The next seven riders were in the top of the draft order and did well while Guilherme Marchi was at the bottom and picked Marcus who faked right then went around to the left away from Guilherme's hand then reversed right into it. Guilherme scored 86.50 and tied for 11/12 in the round. Don't forget its rare that number one bucks off of two bulls in a row so whichever bull he chose he was going to ride it. Guilherme reminds me of watching Adriano when he first came up in PRCA and BRO. Nike Lee was 30th in the draw and there were still some bulls who were decent choices ; and we all know Mike Lee will pick one who is a challenge.His pick was Perfect Poison who took two leaps out then faked right then went around to the left into Mike's hand with belly rolls. Again here is an instant where I felt the judges were stingy and so did the crowd as Mike scored 86 on a ride that looked better than some of the higher scores in the round.
On the other hand Brendon Clark who had the first pick made a bad choice with Bad Medicine as the bull went around to the left away from Brendon's hand with lots of power and Brendon got behind early.The bull got him leaned back on his arm and off. Zack Brown was second in the draft and he picked Tighty Whitey who took two leaps out before going around to the left into Zack's hand then reversed right away from it with lots of elevation and kick.Zack was eight in the round with 87.25 and in the lead for the event. With a few exceptions ,a very few, those who were below number 24 in the draft did not do well with the bulls who were left. Sometimes it is the way they pick the bulls themselves and sometimes its getting a chance at ones who are only eliminators.Yes,I do not like the draft. I'm of the opinion the riders fair just as well in a regular draw and comparing draft weeks with non draft I can see no improvement.Also with 1% or less of the fans attending the Saturday morning draft I can't see where it brings more interaction or interest in for the fans. Lets go back to Cody setting the pens up with the best bulls in the country as I also think this bull team business is crippling the events. It may pay for the contractors if they have a good weekend but it does not make for an exciting weekend for the fans. Aaron Roy was at the top of the order but his pick Shanghai had a mediocre trip as the bull just hop,skipped and jumped out then faked right before going around to the left away from Roy's hand then reversed right after hesitating.He had no timing and jumped out of the spin towards the end of the ride.Roy scored 86.25 because his ride scores were higher than the bul's.He was tied for 13/14 in the round. Valdiron de Oliveira was 4th in round one and picked another great Berger bull and Coyote son-Little Coyote and finished 5th in the round.The bull faked left then went around right into Valdiron's hand with lots of kick and Valdiron scored 88.50. Dustin Hall tied for 10/11 in round one and picked Rock Star in round two; scoring 88 and finishing in 6th place. Dustin mastered the bull and remained centered in perfect position through the ride as the bull went to the left in a fast but low spin away from Dustin's hand. Brian Herman picked 7th in the draft and chose Why Not Minot who took three huge leaps out with all fours off the ground before going into a totally flat left spin that lost points.If he had continued with the kick and elevation it probably would have been 90+ instead of 87.50
Helton Barbosa was 23rd in the draft and chose Mr. Deeds who went around to the right in a flat spin but Helton beefed the ride up with a good looking spur rude and scored 87 with a lot more points attributed to Helton's style then the bull. In a word to the wise type of remark I want to say that many people out here are complaining about all of the flat spinners of late ;and how good powerful bulls are being scored lower than these flat spinners,some of whom are even slow and flat. Helton was 9th in the round. McKennon Wimberley was 5th in the draft and he chose Almost Famous who took three leaps out with belly rolls before going around to the left into his hand. McKennon scored 86.75,higher rider scores than the bull, and was 10th in the round.
Only 19 riders made the buzzer in the draft round where 23 had made it in the first round. As round three was a regular draw and 19 riders also made qualified rides there I can't see any difference or advantage to the draft.
Bryan Richardson, who made the mistake of grabbing his rope tail a fraction of a second too soon(losing the re-ride option) when his draft choice Dog Town played out by loping straight right then reversing straight left(bull score of 23) showed the crowd what he could on a good bull and in round three won the round with a great ride aboard a good bull we have seen a lot-Frank The Tank.The bull went around to the right away from Bryan's hand with a lot of action and a good bull score of 44.50. Bryan scored 90.50 . He was followed by Mike Lee aboard Tighty Whitey who went around to the left into Mike's hand in a drifting spin with good action. Mike made a textbook ride exhibiting complete control for 88.50 and was scored higher by the judges than the bull.Mike was second in the round. It was good to see Wiley Petersen finish third in the round as he scored 88.25 aboard Okie Dokie who went around to the right away from Wiley's hand with a lot of action and a good bull score of 44. Zack Brown looked great again as Flashover went around to the right away from Zack's hand with lots of action and good timing.Zack scored 88,was fourth in the round and was in the lead in the event.
Sean Willingham got his $5000 Enterprise bonus as he rode Deputy Sheriff for 87.25 and a tie for 5/6 in the round.The bull took four leaps out before going around to the right into Sean's hand with good action. Sean's tie was with Ednei Caminhas who rode Rockin Robin who went around to the right into his hand with good action before jumping out of the spin at the end of the ride.
Josh Koschel rode Liquid Kitty for 86.50 and 7th place as the bull went around to the right away from Josh's hand.He was followed by Pistol Robinson aboard Whiz Kid with 86.25 points who went around to the left into Pistol's hand then reversed right away from his hand and kept getting faster in the spin. Pistol tied with Luke Snyder at 8/9 as Luke rode Catie Done It who took two leaps out before going around to the left away from Luke's hand; and didn't settle into good timing till halfway through the ride.
Its good to see Dusty LaBeth back on tour.He scored 86 aboard ScaredyCat and was 10th in the round. Tyler Pankewitz scored 85.75 aboard Gizmo and was 11th in the round. Nick Landreneau was 12th in the round aboard Tigerland with 85.50 points.
J B Mauney scored 84.75 and was 13th in the round aboard Aches and Pains who had a bad trip and JB was offside at the start but corrected himself as the bull went around to the left into JB's hand then jumped out of the spin.J B was better than the bull just as Guilherme Marchi was better than Whammo who he rode for 14th place and 84.50 points. Whammo went around to the left away from Guilherme's hand then reversed right into it with hesitation. North Dakota Kid was around to the right into Helton Barbosa's hand as he scored 83.50 to finish 15th in the round. All of these bull scores from place 13 to the last qualified ride at 19 were scored at 41 or below below.
Valdiron de Oliveira was 16th aboard Poison Oak who took two leaps out then went around to the right then jumped forward and went around to the right again with belly kicks and then jumped out of the spin.The bull only scored 40.50
Big Red Truck was not impressive either as Jimmy Lathero scored 81.50 aboard him to finish in 17th.It only gets worse as 7 of Hearts had a bull score of 39.50 when Ryan McConnel finished 18th with 81 points as the bull took two leaps out then went around to the left into Ryan's hand then jumped out and bucked straight along the chutes with belly kicks. Another bad trip but by far not the worse one as Brendon Clark who finished 19th had a score of 54.75 aboard Trump Tower with a bull score of only 27. He'll Austrian down the arena faking right and left with no timing or kick.It was an awful trip and Brendon was unable to accept the re-ride because he sprained his right hand.Also hurt in round three was Brian Canter who injured his right knee.
A lot of the buck offs came with lower than usual bull scores too. It looked like Ross Coleman had a re-ride going as Babe's Fireball was terrible.The bull skipped sideways tossing his head then faked right and left and Ross was holding on while hanging on to the side at a 45 degree angle but the back judge challenged the ride and the re-ride option saying Ross touched at 7.4. The bull had a 25.50 score and this is just what i have been ranting about.Any bullcan have a bad trip but some of these have been horrible. L J Jenkins beat Ross' low bull score as his draw Joe Mama took three hops out and LJ did fly off but the bull score-a low ,very low 20.00
A good friend who traveled some distance to get to the event said she was bored during the draft for the short go. This died in the wool , totally loyal to the PBR fan was not impressed at all.
Luke Snyder was the first rider in the short go and he was stuck with Avalanche as he was the last rider in the draft.Luke came down right out of the chute as the bull went right straight along the chutes. He was followed by J B Mauney aboard Northern Chill who was around to the left with hesitation into JB's hand to buck him off.He had a good bull score of 44.25.
Dustin Hall was off of Sir Patrick as the bull went around to the left then jumped out of the spin.
Reese Cates made a great ride to thrill the fans as he scored 90.75 to finish 3rd in the round and 4th in the average aboard his choice of Holy Moly. The bull went around to the left away from Reese's hand then reversed to the right with lots of kick and twist as Reese made a great looking spur ride. Holy Moly scored 44.50.
That was followed by another exciting ride and probably the only excitement in the draft.Cody Lambert and Justin McKee tried to push everyone into picking White Magic and until Mike Lee everyone said no way! Mike picked up the challenge and he became the first man to ride the bull as the bull took one leap out then faked left and faked right and continued to fake left and right while belly kicking. Mike scored 88.75 and was 6th in the round and 6th in the average.
Brian Herman chose Evil Forces who took two leaps out then went around to the left away from Brian's hand and got Brian off at 7.1. Brian was 12th in the average.
McKennon Wimberley chose Far North who went around to the left into his hand in a drifting spin and scored 89.75 while finishing 4th in the round and 5th in the event.
Voodoo Child went around to the left into a fast spin with lots of power and kick sending Bryan Richardson off early and earning the bull who was the best by far in the entire event a bull score of 47.25.Now this is the type of bull I am used to seeing on the BFTS . Bryan was 10th intheaverage.
Sean Willingham chose Fire Bird who was around to the left away from Sean's hand then jumped out and took off straight with lots of kick and power causing Sean to lose his rope at a heartbreaking 7.9 Sean was 9th in the average.
Helton Barbosa made a great ride on his choice Spit Fire and won the short go with 91.50 points as the powerful bull was around to the right while covering lots of distance with belly rolls and high kicking.The bull had one of the top bull scores with 45.50. Helton was 3rd in the average.
Valdiron de Oliveira's choice of North Star didn't help him as the bull went around to the left away from Valdiron's hand then hesitated before going back left to buck the Brazilian off. Valdiron was 8th in the average.
Josh Koschel had a great ride aboard his choice of Say I Won't Gunner who had a bull score of 45.25. Josh scored 91.25 and was second in the round and the event.The bull was around to the left then jumped forward in the spin with lots of kicking action.It was a good ride.
Aaron Roy's original pick War Zone had a bad trip and he was given a re-ride aboard Rez Boy who had Roy off right out of the chute. Roy finished 11th in the event.
Ednei didn't pick well for himself as Walk The Line went around to the left and threw Ednei off the very first spin. Ednei was 7th in the average.
Possibly though the most exciting ride was left for last as Zack brown had to do everything he could possibly do to keep from being dragged forward to slap .Soulja Boy was as wild as a March Hare as he jerked Zack every which way as he faked left then before going around to the right from Zack's hand then reversed left into it with lots of high kicks(over the bull's head) and belly rolls. A judge challenged the score of 89.25 saying Zack hit the bull with his free arm while everyone saw Zack do everything to prevent that. Zack challenged the judge and the replay showed it was his chin only that hit and Zack was given his score . Zack was 5th in the round but won his first event in four years. If points were awarded on the excitement a ride causes this would have been the highest scoring ride but... The bull scored 45.50. Congratulations to Zack.
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