Furr Earns Fourth BFO title
PENDLETON, Ore. – No other athlete in the Bullfighters Only has had a hotter summer run than Kris Furr.
He captured another title earlier this week by winning BFO Pendleton, held in conjunction with the world-famous Pendleton Roundup. Furr kept Manuel Costa’s Portuguese Power engaged throughout the 60 seconds walked away from Happy Canyon with 87 points.
“I like to keep the bull close the whole time,” said Furr, who threw a few fakes to the quick little black bull but mostly focused on making rounds. “If I feel like they’re getting away from me, I like to go back to them and get some rounds in. I want to keep their confidence high so they stay with me.”
Kris Furr
Furr edged the No. 4 man in the Pendleton Whisky World Standings, Beau Schueth, by one point in a true battle of the best in freestyle bullfighting. Dusty Tuckness, who has three wins under his belt this season, finished third.
With his run in Pendleton, the Hamptonville, N.C., man earned his fourth Bullfighters Only victory this season. He has managed to remain consistent since jumping on tour in the spring.
“Happy Canyon was crazy,” he said of the venue. “It was probably the craziest atmosphere I’ve been around. The crowd literally sits on top of you. They gear it more like a party over there, so it’s really wild.
“It was a lot like a NASCAR race. It was a dark setting, so that really made it feel that way, too.”
Furr knows a lot about NASCAR. His home is just 20 miles from Moorseville, N.C., which has been dubbed Race City USA.
“Bullfighting is a lot like NASCAR in a way,” Furr said. “Fans don’t want to see you get hurt, but if you get knocked down, they don’t want to miss it.”
Furr hasn’t been knocked down much this season, which is why he stands firmly inside the top 10 of the Pendleton Whisky World Standings. He hopes by staying on his feet, and keeping the bulls close, will enable him to make a run at that world championship by season’s end.
PENDLETON RESULTS
1. Kris Furr, 87 points on Manuel Costa’s Portuguese Power; 2. Beau Schueth, 86; 3. Dusty Tuckness, 85; 4. Toby Inman 83; 5, Zach Call, 78; 6. Justin Josey, 71.
Courtesy of twisTEDrodeo.com