CBR Countdown Hits the Top Ten with Denton Fugate and Jaynes, McKinney and Johnston
10 – Floats Like Butter fly and Stings Like a Bee
Denton Fugate
Former Arkansas Cowboys Association Rookie of the Year Denton Fugate qualifies for his second CBR World Finals and enters Cheyenne in the coveted list of top ten bull riders of the CBR World Standings.
“I am definitely more comfortable this year after being a rookie in Cheyenne last year, I didn’t have near as many nerves,” said Fugate.
“Walking out onto the dirt as they introduce you in Cheyenne and being part of that history will sure make your knees go weak, “said Fugate describing that rookie experience in Cheyenne last year.
Studying the bulls and trying to have a game plan fit into the sophomore rider’s plans this year and with a little help from a friend, he hopes to succeed even more at the top CBR level.
“Eli tells me to go at the semifinal round the same as the first, don’t keep putting so much pressure on yourself, one bull at a time,” said Fugate from the summer rodeo road.
While finishing second in the CBR’s Horizon Series championship race for the second consecutive year, Fugate, who simply states on social media “I am a cowboy”, is a native of Laquey, Missouri, and checks in as one of the most consistent first round riders when he set his sights on a CBR gold buckle this season.
After competing in fifteen of the sixteen events (missing only El Paso) (All American Finals) dedication to the tour paid off and Fugate is enjoying a career high riding percentage of 40 percent within CBR competition.
“Karaoke would be my first round pick,” said Fugate, a left handed rider who things the famous 626 would spin left right into his hand.
The 22 bull rider now from Dixon, Missouri got on 25 bulls on the 2917 Road to Cheyenne receiving qualified scores on ten of those match-ups. He advanced to the semifinal round seven times with his highest marked ride coming from a round winning 89.5 points on 651 The Abyss (JQH) in Jackson, Tennessee.
The former member of the Three Rivers College rodeo team rode professionally for the first time in 2013 and to date has racked up titles such as Arkansas Rodeo Association Finals Champ, 2014 PRCA Missouri Great Lakes Circuit Reserve Champion, 2012 he was the National Youth Bull Rider’s Junior Bull Riding Champion, Missouri rodeo cowboy association finals champion and reserve year end finish and in 2012 he was the finals champion of the National Federation Of Pro Bull Riders.
Being on the rodeo road is a learning experience for Denton.
“You have to know what your body can handle, from being hurt, to which places you need to enter. I’ve learned that being able to plan stuff is the main part of rodeo, because you’ve got to know where you’re going, when you’re going there, being able to budget your rodeos to where you can afford to go,” he explains.
But rodeo is something Denton has grown up with, so he’s no stranger to the lessons. Denton started early in rodeo, his mom ran barrels and both parents team roped. He got on his first sheep when he was three and declared he was hooked! He advanced to calves, steers and by the time he was 15 he was getting on junior bulls.
“I like raising bulls whenever I’m home, bucking futurity bulls and raising up one so I can see if I can have one that can go to bigger shows one day,” he says.
#10 CBR Bull Team Challenge – Jaynes Gang Johnston and McKinney
The team checking at Cheyenne in the number 10 position is the second team qualified for the Jaynes Gang franchise and owned by Jaynes Gang, Johnston, and McKinney. Bull owner Skippy and Linda Johnston have a unique story about their bulls that bucked on this team and the highest grossing CBR Bull Team in the number 3 position as well. We asked the Johnston’s to share their story and CBR Bull team experience:
“For some people, their pets are dogs and cats. For us, our pets are bucking bulls, and FLAB SLAB has been a thrill to own and watch since he was born. I don’t think many folks know why he is named FLAB SLAB, as it sounds like a fat piece of meat. He is the son of Little Yellow Jacket and before he was born, we were trying to come up with a name to reflect Yellow Jacket, as Yellow Jackets are a stinging insects that we have a lot of here in Alaska. So, one morning as we were eating breakfast, Linda said, “lets name him that thing Mohammad Ali said…”Float like a Butterfly, Sting like a Bee.”
Because that was to long of a name, we took the first letter from each word to see if it spelled anything. As it turns out it did. It spelled FLAB SLAB. For us it turned out to be a great name for him, because he does float like a Butterfly and can give the riders a great rider score, but if you don’t pay attention, he can Sting like a Bee. So even though we live in Alaska and cannot keep bulls here to compete in the lower 48, FLAB SLAB has been one of our favorite pets of all time. Also, it has been so great to be a part of a CBR bull team. Thanks Billy Jaynes for getting us involved. What a great concept.”
This team won big and early in Window Rock, Arizona where the trio of Flab Slab, 1925 Painkiller, and 25T Destination Unknown provided the only qualified ride, 90 points for Demond Haynes.
Bossier was the second stop for this team and they finished sixth in Louisiana using two of the same three bulls but rotating 3114 Hou Did He Buck in place of 25T. The result in Bossier was three qualified rides from Boquet, and two qualified rides from Utah’s Josh Frost.
Salina, Kansas was the third and final stop for this team and they grabbed a third place check and $8,000. Bucking Flab Slab, Painkiller and Hou Did He Buck in for 25T who went back to the JQH ranch.
Courtesy of CBR