Bull Riders Leave the Money in Laughlin and the Purse Doubles Again on the Road to Cheyenne
The Colorado River Chute Out presented by Laughlin Tourism
LAUGHLIN, Nevada – (September 10, 2017) – Ironically in a casino town, the bull riders left the majority of the money on the table in Laughlin when for the second time in the new season, zero qualified rides were witnessed in the final four man Shoot Out round. $19,000 was left in the CBR bank that will roll over into the purse for the Conroe Bull Mania, the final event of the first quarter of the new season on October 7.
With thirteen total qualified rides, the riders and the bulls looked like they were adapting to the climate on the CBR’s swing thru the desert. With four 90 point plus rides thrilling the casino crowd it looked like a great night for a new champion, but with two veterans and two rookies on the final four man draw – the dealers won Shoot Out round.
Cody Jesus took home the average accolades as well as the prize package of Fenoglio custom boots, an American Hat Company cowboy hat, and a custom Hy O Silver trophy buckle, but the big check was missing from the winners photo.
“I have the stamina for the final round, but I still get over excited and make moves I shouldn’t have,” said Jesus who won the average in Laughlin to claim his third event title in the 2017 calendar year on the Road to Cheyenne, including the CBR World Finals Average.
Two former Laughlin winners were on the roster, Cody Rostockyj and Eli Vastbinder but both came up short in the town that launched both of their statistically best years as bull riders.
With six time World Champion Sage Kimzey out of the Laughlin draw, the opportunities on the Road to Cheyenne continued to emerge as the third stop on the 2018 season began in the fourth edition of the Colorado River Chute Out presented by Laughlin Tourism and held on a welcomed cooler night along the colorful casino skyline of the Laughlin Events Center.
Round One
The pace was set from the first out of the night with Tustin Daye riding 3112 Dirty Blonde (Brown) and turning in 89 points.
Rostockyj was next in section one with 88 points on 88×2 Commanche Moon (Championship Pro Rodeo), but a healthy Wyatt Rogers stole the show with a hard earned 90 points on 304 Chop Hou (K&G/Barrett) who was as predicted a very showy bull. Roger’s lead would hold until the first round was almost over.
“That bull felt good and was into my hand perfect, it’s great to be riding healthy again,” said Rogers who is juggling a college rodeo schedule with the Road to Cheyenne.
The second section was where all the action was with newcomer Ruger Piva from Challis, Idaho making the case for his early top ten rankings on the Road to Cheyenne with 88 points on Rockin R’s 008 Carbine.
With one World Champion flanking a bull for another, the 2012 CBR World Champion Josh Barentine on a comeback run with Newstar Pro Rodeo’s backing, made his 88.5 points on Washburn’s right hand delivery bull 115 Silence Reigns look easy.
A pair of 87.5’s were turned in from former event champion Billy Quade Phillips and Jackson Landgraf, a replacement rider, on TDS’s Astro and Championship Pro Rodeo’s perennial bucker -929 No Hands.
With Rogers still in the lead of the round the last three riders stepped up their game. Iowa native now living in Stephenville, Dakota Nye took a high flying ride on the highest marked bull of the night, 222x High Stakes (Williams, Freeman, Pepper).
Cody Jesus attempted to counter with 90 points on his old friend Boomer, the first bull he ever attempted in a Shoot Out Round last season as a rookie.
“Felt the same, I think I have matured since then and I learned to wait on him,” said the 2017 CBR World Finals Champion who bucked off the same bull in his debut event last January.
Brett Custer got his first qualified ride in CBR competition as he rounded out the 11 qualified rides with an 86 on 023 Oklahoma Breakout, a new bull on tour for Jerilyn Harmon’s Elite Bulls #2 team.
Semifinal Round
11 of 24 bull riders made qualified rides from round one to advance on score with Dustin Bouquet getting a second shot when he qualified on time with 7.82 seconds on T-44 Kool Kitty (TDS).
The first four bucked off rapidly but the former College Wreslting champion, Ruger Piva, was the first man to ride two bulls along the Colorado river. Piva took the two time bull of the year nominee, Big Lew for an 87.5 spin and lead the event with 175.5 points on two.
“That bull was powerful and I expected him to change directions and it worked out,” said the rookie about getting by one of the CBR’s most notorious draws.
Piva is only the second rider to cover 1086 on the Road to Cheyenne. Kimzey has now ridden the once elusive bucker from Brown Ranch twice.
The next five would buck off bulls three veteran bulls and two newcomers but Navajo Nation champion bull rider Cody Jesus did not let the buck offs get in his head. He took Rockin R’s 027 Concealed Carry for a show stopping 93.5 ride to take control of the event with 184.5 on two but more importantly the lead grants him first choice in the Shoot Out round after watching Dakota Nye’s buck off of JQH’s Ink Slinger in 3.69 seconds.
2012 World Champion Josh Barentine, like Rogers, is making a comeback as a healthier rider this season advancing to the final four twice in three events.
Shoot Out Round
Selecting a bull that would be into his hand and following Tuff Hedeman’s advice, Jesus selected Owen Washburn’s down horned bull NFR Bull, 191 Big Jake.
Ruger selected the debut bucker 220 Yellawolf from New Star Pro Rodeo. Dakota Nye took 107 Come On Baby, a CBR and PBR Finals bull from Washburn – leaving Wyatt Rogers to attempt JQH’s 10 Blues Man, a bull making only his second appearance on the CBR roster.
With seasoned stock mixed with two rookie bulls in the four man, not one rider made it to the four second mark until the bull riding sensation of the Navajo Nation stepped up to the plate.
“I knew nothing about that bull, Owen said he would be difficult in the chute which actually fired me up, Owen said he was good and would go around to the left and he was a little strong and fast on me and I made a wrong move that caused my hips to slide out,” said Jesus who bucked off in 4.54 seconds but won the average to pick up his first title win for the 2018 season.
Laughlin Bull Team Challenge
With .09 points separating the first and second place teams in the Laughlin bull team competition, it was the reigning CBR World Champion bull team picking up the win as the Williams, Pepper, and Freeman team gets their first win of the new season.
Dustin Delmas came into Laughlin with no expectations and left with the largest check of the night. With one qualified ride and two rank bull scores, Williams, Pepper, and Freeman took the third title on this year’s race to Cheyenne for the World Finals and the $100,000 bonus check.
“ I had one that was showy, one that has a set pattern and does the same thing every time, and our semifinal bull I knew I could count on to buck hard every time, and all three performed as expected,” said Delmas who was the only partner of the three that made the trip.
“It was wonderful and I thank God for the win and will probably pay a house note with the earnings,“ laughed Delmas.
With one qualified ride from Dakota Nye in round one, their bull High Stakes anchored the team earning the highest rank bull score (92.5) and ironically Nye posted the same in the ride score column. The winning team bucked 402 East Side also in round one with 310 Euroclydon in the semifinal round where he was an 89 bull score bucking off Jackson Landgraf in 6.11 seconds.
Second was Chad Ramer’s Rockin R bull team as they returned to the bull team competition with two qualified rides and the highest ride score of the night, Jesus’s 93.5 on 027 Concealed Carry. Third place was Washburn/Collom/and Barclay who were 1 .61 seconds behind Ramer with two qualified rides.
Winning the fourth check of the night was K & G with Bret Barrett at the helm with Wyatt Roger’s and Chop Hou anchoring their team’s top four placing.
World Title Race
After his second event on the Road to Cheyenne televised tour, the Idaho cowboy Ruger Piva takes the third lead in the CBR World standings since the tour began on August 21 in Huron, South Dakota. With 347.5 points, Ruger has ridden four of six bulls he has attempted in his rookie Road to Cheyenne season thus far.
CBR World Finals Champion, Cody Jesus from Sawmill, Arizona slips into second with 272 points and three qualified rides in two appearances thus far. Window Rock Champion Boudreaux Campbell, absent due to rodeo schedule conflict, remains inside the top five in the number three position with 269 points, all earned in his one appearance in Window Rock where he was three for three. Barentine rounds out the top five with 268.50 points with three qualified rides on five attempts.
“I won some Horizon events last winter and then I just kept entering and then I finally got in this season and that’s how I got my start here,” said the new CBR leader.
“There is a lot of money to be won here and a lot of really good bulls to get on and there is no reason to not try and get on tour, it’s really a big honor to be here,” continued the only rider from Idaho on the CBR roster.
“CBR has really good bulls, bucking bulls every time – not a bull in either event that I have seen that I don’t want to get on and I like the format because I get better and less nerves as the event moves on, hopefully by the end I am at my best,” laughed Piva.
Colorado River Chute Out Results
1, Cody Jesus, 184.5 points on 3, $2,250. 2, Ruger Piva, 175.5 on 3, $2,250. 3, Dakota Nye, 92.5 on 3, $1,500. 4, Wyatt Rogers, 90 on 3, $1,500.
Shoot Out Round
Zero qualified rides
Bull Team Challenge Results
1, Williams, Pepper, Freeman, 288.72 points, $20,000. 2, Rockin R Bucking Bulls, 288.63, $12,000. 3, Washburn/Collom/Barclay, 287.02, $8,000. 4, K & G Bucking Bulls/Barrett, 284.92, $5,000.
Round by Round scoring available scoring on www.cbrbull.com.
CBR Returns to action in Conroe, Texas at the Conroe Bull Mania honoring the First Responders of Hurricane Harvey. Tickets availale on cbrbull.com/Events.
For more information contact Leighann@cbrbull.com. High resolution photos available by request on all riders and livestock. Follow us on Facebook, Championship Bull Riding, Instagram and Twitter @cbrbull.com.
Courtesy of CBR