BILOXI, Miss. – Here are three things we learned from Round 1 of the Built Ford Tough Series Battle at the Beau on Friday night at the Mississippi Coast Coliseum.
HARR TAKES ADVANTAGE OF OPPORTUNITY
Tyler Harr was supposed to be in Cedar Park, Texas, on Friday night for the Hooey Brands Classic Touring Pro Division event, but then his peaceful Friday morning got turned upside down when the PBR competition committee notified him he was replacing Stetson Lawrence in the BFTS draw.
Harr quickly hustled to the Preston Smith International Airport and caught a flight to Biloxi.
The mad dash was well worth it as Harr – the No. 39th bull rider in the world standings at the start of the event – took full advantage of the last minute opportunity by riding What Up Sucka? for 86 points and a third-place finish in Round 1.
More importantly, Harr earns 50 points toward the world standings to move up to 37th in the world.
It is why the Slovak, Arkansas, bull rider was still smiling despite the pain shooting through his right leg because of a partially torn PCL immediately following the ride.
“It was a big opportunity and my wife (Lindsey), my little girl (Ava) were traveling from Colorado to Cedar Park and I just had to jump out of the vehicle and get on a plane,” he said. “She had to drive 10 hours by herself and we talked about it when I got the call. I went through all of this all year traveling (and) dealing with all these injuries. It was one of those deals where I just figured I better go all in now, otherwise everything I have done up to this point is in vain. All of the pain and stuff I dealt with will be useless if I don’t try and go now. I put it all in this weekend and we will see what happens.”
Harr is attempting to qualify for the Built Ford Tough World Finals for the first time in his career.
He has been wearing a special brace on his knee that has stoppers inside it to prevent his leg from going all the way straight and helps keep his knee from bending more than 90 degrees.
“My leg is pretty much immobilized other than that small angle and range of motion,” Harr said. “When I ride the bulls it hurts, but I don’t tweak it. It is not making it worse. It is when I get off and I get hooked and it gets bent around in weird ways. When I get off bad, it is not good.”
Harr hopes his first-round ride can help him gain some confidence in the knee. He has been holding himself back from trying to spur out of fear of causing further pain in his leg or jeopardizing his positioning on a bull.
“I’ve kind of created a bad habit of crossing over because I can’t spur,” Harr said. “Normally, when a bull turns back to the left I spur him immediately and kick it loose and it allows me to get over and stay moving. With this leg, I am not spurring and it is causing me to crossover and it is making it really hard to ride bulls into my hand.
“I am going to have to start loosening up because a ranker bull is going to get me on the ground. I have to fix that and quit being scared and quit trying to protect it so much. As long as I stay on my bulls, I will be alright. It is getting bucked off that will get me hurt.”
SCHAPER GETS AGGRESSIVE
Nathan Schaper didn’t have the kind of summer he wanted, but one of the main things he was working on – becoming more aggressive – finally proved worthwhile at the perfect time.
Schaper came out moving his foot aggressively in Round 1 and left the bucking chute in full control of I Get That to strongly carry himself to a Round 1 win with an 87.25-point ride.
“Well, that comes from getting enough buckoffs at the Touring Pros this summer and working out all the mistakes I have been doing,” Schaper said. “I didn’t really have a good summer, but it never bothered me. I stayed confident and each time I bucked off, whatever I did wrong I was going to fix it and make sure I didn’t do it again. I knew I was going to get it fixed real quick here.”
It is Schaper’s fifth BFTS round win of the season and the 87.25 points is tied for his sixth-highest score ride of the season.
“I was just moving my foot and being more aggressive and setting it down,” Schaper said. “Basically, I was starting off in the chute being aggressive.”
In a fun, little note, Schaper believes I Get That is owned partially by Chad Rotenberger, who had a big influence on Schaper’s early bull riding career.
“He is the one that kind of really helped me out when I was younger riding bulls,” Schaper said. “He raised miniature bulls in North Dakota and I rode his miniature bulls. I had seen he had part ownership in that bull and that is pretty cool.”
Schaper picks up 100 points for the win, but the No. 5 bull rider in the world standings only gains 70 points on Joao Ricardo Vieira after the world leader placed fifth in the round for 30 world points with an 85-point ride aboard Drunk Chicken.
It was a small, yet impressive performance by Vieira. The 31-year-old remained composed despite seeing Schaper and No. 3 J.B. Mauney put qualified rides on the board.
Mauney rode Bad Deal for 85.75 points to finish Round 1 in fourth place and earn 40 points toward the standings.
Gage Gay placed second with an 86.25-point ride on Percy. Gay, who earns 60 points toward the world standings, was using an American-style bull rope for the first time since before he was cut from the BFTS back in February.
Still, after a two-and-a half-month break, the man with the best start is the bull rider from Grassy Butte, North Dakota.
Schaper hopes his change in approach can lead to greater success during the stretch run to the World Finals in Las Vegas.
“I just know I wasn’t being aggressive enough this summer,” Schaper said. “You recognize those kind of things. You have to learn something from bucking off. I am trying to subconsciously work on a few things. Being aggressive kind of starts in the bucking chute – just having the mindset to be aggressive and win.”
ALVES BUCKS OFF IN HIS RETURN
It wasn’t the result three-time World Champion Silvano Alves wanted, but the defending champ was ok with it.
Alves was bucked off by Flip Out in 6.39 seconds in his first event since undergoing surgery in April after sustaining a fractured left hip at the BFTS event in Nampa, Idaho.
“I am very happy for this ride,” Alves said. “The bull was no good. All the time I had seen the bull, he was a good spinner. (Tonight) he jumped right, left and straight. I am just happy I am not sore. I will keep trying practice bulls. No problem.”
Flip Out was marked a Round-1 low 32.25 points.
Alves added that he was not distracted or fazed by Flip Out jerking on him inside the bucking chute or being put on the clock. The 27-year-old nodded for the gate a couple seconds after judges started the clock on him.
He also reiterated that he is actually a little stunned at how strong his hip felt despite not being on a BFTS-caliber bull in almost four months.
“I feel very good,” Alves concluded. “I am very, very surprised how strong my hips feel. Hopefully, I do better tomorrow.”
INJURY REPORT
According to Dr. Tandy Freeman, Bonner Bolton is out for the rest of the weekend after sustaining a right clavicle fracture when he was pulled down onto Buckle Up as he was being bucked off.
Alexandre Cardozo is questionable for Round 2 on Saturday night because of a right ankle sprain that he aggravated in the first round attempting to ride Lieutenant Dan.
Guilherme Marchi was out with a torn distal biceps of his riding arm, while Stetson Lawrence missed the event with a right knee injury sustained at a rodeo.
Follow Justin Felisko on Twitter @jfelisko.
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