Gatesville Cowboy Takes Lead at Fort Worth’s Bulls’ Night Out
by Johna Cravens
for the Fort Worth Stock Show & Rodeo
FORT WORTH, Texas – Texas cowboy Lane Nobles is trying to start 2018 on a positive note. The father of two from Gatesville bested a field of 40 other bull riders during the opening performance of Bulls’ Night Out at the Fort Worth Stock Show & Rodeo.
Nobles, 26, scored 88.5 points on a bull named Rawhide from Andrews Rodeo in the middle section of the opening round. That gave him a brief lead until Idaho’s Roscoe Jarboe, a two-time qualifier for the National Finals Rodeo (NFR) who finished 2017 ranked ninth in the world standings, rode another Andrews bull, Slamma Jamma, and scored 90.
Forty cowboys compete in the opening round with the top 10 coming back to attempt to ride the second bull in the short round. In the short round, the cowboys ride in worst-to-first order based on their scores in the opening round.
The first four rides hit the dirt with no score in the short round, then Oklahoma’s Nate Perry scored 87 on Andrews Rodeo’s Double Vision to take the early lead. Less than a minute later another Oklahoman, Trevor Kastner, scored 90.5 points Hurst Pro Rodeo’s bull Yellow Hair. Two riders later it was Nobles’ turn.
Nobles had drawn another Hurst Pro Rodeo bull named Cimarron. A wild eight seconds later, Nobles made a qualified ride and scored 90.5 points to tie with three-time NFR bull rider Kastner for the short round lead.
The championship for Bulls’ Night Out which is part of the Professional Rode,o Cowboys Association (PRCA) Xtreme Bulls Tour, will be determined after another 40 bull riders compete Wednesday night in the opening round and progressive, short round format.
The championship will be awarded to the rider with the highest total score on two bulls. While Nobles has just a two-point overall lead after the first night, his total of 179 is nine points higher than last year’s winner, four-time world champion Sage Kimzey.
Kimzey and several other top bull riders are among those who will compete Wednesday night in the final Bulls’ Night Out performance which begins at 7:30 p.m.
The following are results from Tuesday night’s performance of Bulls’ Night Out at the Fort Worth Stock Show and Rodeo, January 16, 2018.
First Performance: 1, Roscoe Jarboe, New Plymouth, Idaho, 90 points on Andrews Rodeo’s Slamma Jamma. 2, Rylan Wright, Midway, Utah, 89. 3, Lane Nobles, Gatesville, Texas, 88.5. 4, Justin Rowell, Lemoore, Calif., 88. 5, Trevor Kastner, Roff, Okla., 86.5. 6, Nate Perry, Elk City, Okla., 85.
Short Round: (three rides) 1, (tie) Nobles on Hurst Pro Rodeo’s Cimarron and Kasner on Hurst’s Yellow Hair, 90.5 points.3, Perry, 87.
Total on Two: 1, Nobles, 179 points. 2, Kasner, 177. 3, Perry, 172. (on one) 4, Jarboe, 90. 5, Wright, 89, 6, Rowell, 88.
Jr. Bull Riding: 1, Mason Spain, Forney, Texas, 84 points. 2, Riggin Hughes, Kempner, Texas, 76.5. 3, Rowdy Hughes, Kempner, Texas, 74.5.