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Fueling the Fire of the Largest Payout in CBR History

2018 CBR Bud Light Classic

JACKSON, TN – January 10, 2018 – Bull riders have their GPS’s pointed to Jackson, Tennessee this weekend for the 21st Bud Light Classic and what has turned into a record breaking purse for regular season competition as the Road to Cheyenne payout has rolled over three times and with a two night performance the CBR could write checks for over $90,000 including the bounty bull bonus if he is ridden on Friday night.

Powering the anticipation is the bucking bulls entered in the CBR Bull Team Challenge competition which features two sanctioned bull team challenge competitions on the tour stop in Tennessee. Fifty percent of the equation is riding on the four legged super stars and more than money is on the line for the bulls that are headed to Jackson town.

The format for Friday night is the Cheyenne Challenge edition which grants automatic entry to the CBR World Finals and Saturday night is the standard BTC competition with the bulls competing for the $45,000 purse and points. The total purses equals $90,000 for the weekend in Jackson for the bull teams that brave the weather… and the Oman Arena.

Jeff Harris won the first CBR Cheyenne Challenge held in Huron last August granting him the first hotel room reservation in Cheyenne for the 2018 CBR World Finals. His trio of bulls scored a total of 279.49 points.

Enid and the New Year saw a rise in amount of points it took to win the Battle on the Plains BTC. Mike Sellers earned 286.08 for the win. Sellers is entered in Jackson with a change in his winning line up. He is bringing two bulls he raised 410 and 411, paired with former Bucking bull of the year Cowtown Cartel who spent the off season relaxing and working out the grind of the Road to Cheyenne tour in the Canton, Texas bull pool bull swimming to stay in shape. 756 Whacked Out who piloted Cody Jesus to the 91 points in the Semifinal round in Enid returns to the GEM team as they head to Jackson with the same trio of buckers they lined up for the win in Window Rock in September.

With only four teams completing the required three events the BTC, the World qualifying standings are very fluid and mean very little at this point except for they will be changing weekly and the leader is always the number to beat. The current highest number set for the total number of points is 31 and earned by Jerilyn Harmon’s Elite Bulls #2 who are in the lead with 3 down, next is Flip’em Off Buck’en Bulls / Knapp (18 pts) followed by Championship Pro Rodeo (15 pts) and JQH Bucking Bulls #1 (11 pts)

The Oklahoma Sooners may be down about the way their season ended, but it is now a fact that the other team from Oklahoma to beat is Chad Ramer and David Findley who came back to the bull team competition with three teams loaded with bull.

“We felt the decision to compete is based on how competitive you think you can be and we had the bulls to come back to the CBR competition format and we are pleased with the decision…so far,” laughed Findley. Rockin R’s 027 Concealed Carry is quickly becoming a cowboy favorite and he was the High Marked Ride of the night in Laughlin with Cody Jesus scoring 93.5 points aboard their star bucker. Rockin R lost the Laughlin BTC by a hair, but placed fourth at Enid with 027 assisting Rostockyj to the four man at 89.5 in the semifinal round and Trey Holston was a 90 on 026 Coal Face.

Harmon’s Elite team cleared the field in Conroe BTC by 2.84 points and a total bull score of 285.5 points but in Enid it was a heartbreaking loss to Sellers with only .08 separating the team’s scores. With Hannah White on the flanks for the team she continued to make a case for Mike White, her World Champion rider and bull team owner husband, to continue with the family’s duties while she hauls the bulls. White and Harmon were once again the only team with three qualified rides from two well-known CBR bulls (059 Boomer and 626 Karaoke) and one, 8363 Mighty Mike, that is earning his place on Jerilyn’s Elite string of buckers. This team was second in Enid and only lost to Sellers by .08.

“I have seen him in Conroe and he did about the same thing but he went the opposite direction today, but I rode him good and was happy to get that one down,” said Rostockyj.

Bulls to Watch in Jackson

Note: If you are handicapping the bull team competition for fun, you need to know one thing – the Oman arena is small and shaped like a bowl. The bulls feel the 360 degree seating of the fans in the usually sold out arena originally built for optimal basketball viewing. The result is the bulls and the riders hear, feel, and see the crowd creating sometimes a nervous energy inside the chutes which can result in a series of powerful bull and bull rider performances.

Five of the Bull of the Event, the rank bull score award, bulls from the first five events are headed to Jackson. Included in the BTC competition are Ink Slinger (JQH), Whacked Out (GEM), Chaos Ghost (Melton), High Stakes (Freeman, Williams, Pepper) and Mike Rawson’s newest toy, V9 Roy’s Boy, a grandson of 13X Kid Rock who earned 91.5 rank bull score points for the HY O silver buckle in Enid.

Rawson expected the bull to be more rider friendly but if you draw him you might talk to Trey Benton before you get on him in addition to Mike.

“He just bucked him off, he bucked better tonight than I have ever seen him buck, he can go either direction or tonight he went the other way,” said Rawson about V9 ending Trey Benton’s night early in the semifinal round.

The great bull watching in Jackson would not be complete without mention of CBR and PBR World Finals bull and 2017 Bull of the Year Nominee,210 Chaos Ghost who earned the rankest bull score and award in Huron. Brought to town by Winston/Melton Bull Company’s 210 Chaos Ghost has history in Jackson. The important factoid about 210 is well documented and well known. He bucks big and he gets ridden in Jackson’s Oman Arena. His only two qualified rides are from the Oman Arena and came at the hands of Sage Kimzey and Wyatt Rogers. According to his traveling partner, former professional bull rider Corey Melton, he is an easy keeper, eats whatever he wants, and stands square in the chutes. Ghost has made two appearances thus far in early competition. Other Winston/Melton outstanding bull efforts from the fall on tap for Jackson include A8 Buster. “He’s a bull we just purchased before Conroe and he turns back to the right every time with a lot of timing. He’s a bull the riders should love to get on but they are going to have to pay attention to get him rode,” said Cory Melton after he bucked off Chandler Bownds in less than 2 seconds in Conroe.

210 impacted the CBR 2017 season. Both of his career high bull scores have come at the hand of the World Champ, 45.5 scores resulted both in Jackson when he rode him and in Del Rio in April when Kimzey uncharacteristically bucked off in 3.64 seconds. That bull and that buck off in Del Rio would set the Kimzey vs Vastbinder storyline for the CBR World Finals as that one bull forced Kimzey to a must ride situation in round three of the CBR World Finals.

D62 Dirt On My Boots, representing Knapp and Flip ‘Em Off Bucking Bulls will be in Jackson. D62 has bucked three times in Road to Cheyenne CBR competition season with zero qualified rides. He has consistently bucked off, Cody Rostockyj, Jacob O’Mara and Dakota Nye in Window Rock, Laughlin and Conroe respectively.

Amarillo’s coolest couple, Skip and Elaine Jones, check in as the husband and wife owned stock contracting business with teams on the Road to Cheyenne since 2013. The Jones’, who believe nothing beats hard work, are fans of the tournament style event format created by CBR. They bring to Jackson one of the prettiest bulls on tour, but pretty is as pretty does and on the Road to Cheyenne and X37 Ink Slinger has been ridden once in six CBR attempts.

“The challenge of providing the right bulls that are competitive is what makes the CBR exciting – we want to get them as rank as possible and still let the boys get on and have the chance to ride for a big score”, said Jones about the process he uses to select his team bulls for CBR events.

Williams/Pepper/Freeman are bringing back one member of the winning Laughlin gang. With one qualified ride and two rank bull scores, Williams, Pepper, and Freeman took the Laughlin BTC title with 222X High Stakes who assisted Dakota Nye to the highest marked ride, 93.5 in Laughlin.

“He’s showy and has a set pattern and does the same thing every time, I can always count on him buck hard,” said Delmas.

Championship Pro Rodeo’s 436 Chrome Hatchett took Bull of the Event honors in Enid bucking off Tustin Daye in under 4 seconds and he’s on the Jackson roster. He’s bucked in PRCA competition but new to the Road to Cheyenne tour. An interesting set up would be if rookie Dakota Nye draws him – that pairing would be a rematch where 436 won the first battle.

“other side of the ride” The CBR first quarter of the 2017-18 Road to Cheyenne tour is in the books and with an influx of new bull riders on the day sheet and a new World Standings leader, Boudreaux Campbell, there appears to be some new star power on the “other side of the ride” as well. The CBR Bull Team Challenge (BTC) is in full swing with veterans and rookie bull team owners back on the chutes battling weekly for points and money to qualify for the CBR World Finals in Cheyenne.

Of the highest marked ride bulls, known in CBR as the Champion bull, only three of the last five event winners are making the trip to Tennessee. 756 Whacked Out (GEM), Speckled Pup (Harris), and Dirty Little Secret (Harris), who the bull riders describe as “bi-polar”.

Jackson tickets are selling fast and Friday night will be a “bull packed” action for the fans as the Cheyenne Challenge competition worth $45,000 and a trip to Cheyenne alongside the race for the World title and Horizon Series with over $88,00 in rider prize monies.

Event Location is at the Oman Arena, 179 Lane Ave, Jackson, Tennessee and Bud Light Classic Tickets are available at Rustic Soule, 1926 Emporium Drive, Jackson, 38305 or online ticketing link.

Websites: Cbrbull.com; Cfdrodeo.com; EnergyEntertainment.com

For more information contact: Leigh Ann Schroeder, leighann@cbrbull.com or 940.902.1112. Follow CBR on Facebook at Championship Bull Riding, @cbrbull.com on Instagram and Twitter. You can follow Tuff Hedeman on the Official Tuff Hedeman Fan Page on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram and @TuffHedeman and the Jackson event @CBRbull.Bud Light.

Courtesy of CBR

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