Hard Work Pays Off for #6 Stock Contractor and Rookie on the Road to Cheyenne

#6 Cody Jesus and JQH Bucking Bulls

Cody Jesus

Navajo bull rider Cody Jesus of Sawmill, Arizona, is a decorated young bull riding champion headed for Cheyenne for the CBR World Finals for the first time in his professional career. Jesus burst on the CBR scene after accepting an invitation from four time World Champion Tuff Hedeman to compete in Rio Rancho, New Mexico.

Hedeman issued the special invitation to Jesus based on the young bull rider’s accomplishments. Jesus is the 2016 Championship Roughstock Challenge Champion, the 2016 Indian National Finals Rodeo Champion, Northern Navajo Nation Fair Bull Bash Champion, and 2016 Champion for the Navajo Nation Rodeo Cowboys Association, and the 2016 Southwest Indian Rodeo Association Champion.

With the goal of qualifying for his first Championship Bull Riding World Finals, eighteen year old Cody Jesus from Sawmill, Arizona rode two of the three bulls he attempted to win the average score for the fourth annual Bucking on the Rio Grande presented by Navajo Nation Parks and Recreation held at the Santa Ana Star Center in Rio Rancho in January.

“Jesus is a tremendous talent, you don’t get to do what he did tonight without it, he is a very capable rider and you can tell he has had a lot of experience already… he should make the tour and I expect him to do well,” said Hedeman in a post event press conference.

Jesus rode two bulls for an average score of 181 points in Rio Rancho and that earned him a place on the Road to Cheyenne.

Jesus, who admitted to reporters he was nervous when he arrived at the Santa Ana Center, scored the highest mark of the night with his crowd thrilling 92 points on bucking bull of the year finalist 626 Karaoke, owned by Jerilyn Harmon of Elite Bucking Bulls.

“I was nobody when I started, and my mom and family really supported me carrying me around and driving all night with me. I came here with my family and they pick me up whether I ride or buck off,” said a somewhat stunned Jesus immediately following Rio Rancho.

On February 4 he traveled to Bossier City where he rode two of three bulls and made his second Shoot Out Round appearance. He bucked off Lyndal Hurst’s 343 Rio in the final round but finished third with 178 on two and enough points to land him in the top 20 ranking on CBR’s Road to Cheyenne, the place he planned to begin to live out his dream of being a pro bull rider.

Jesus would go on to ride in ten CBR Road to Cheyenne tour events riding an impressive fifty percent of the bulls he attempted – 10 of 20. He advanced to the Semifinal round in six of the nine events and finished in the top four three times including the average win in Rio Rancho that launched his CBR career.

Jesus is looking forward to the Finals and acknowledges four time World Champion Sage Kimzey and the friendly locker room at CBR as a key factor that allowed him to relax and ride his bulls while learning the ropes on tour.

“I’m not sure where to start to describe how I am feeling about my first World Finals. It is a dream come true, I’m nervous but can’t wait to ride, it’s a feeling that’s hard to explain,” said Cody Jesus.

Jesus will be signing autographs in Cheyenne at Cheyenne Frontier Days inside the Indian Village at 3 pm on Monday, January 24.

#6 Bull Team Challenge Qualifier – JQH Bucking Bulls Team #1

Amarillo’s coolest couple, Skip and Elaine Jones, check in as the husband and wife owned stock contracting business with four bull teams in CBR play this season. JQH Bucking Bulls qualified their team labeled JQH #1 in sixth place with 31 points and $29,000 in total earnings on the 2017 Road to Cheyenne.

The Jones’, who believe nothing beats hard work, are fans of the tournament style event format created by CBR. They purchased their first CBR bull team in 2013 and throughout the years of competing in CBR they have accumulated wins in all of the CBR’s competitive bull categories including the two year old futurities.

“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.

JQH began this year’s Road to Cheyenne in September in Window Rock with a second place finish of 276.60 points. Bucking 651 Abyss, X37 Ink Slinger, and the anchor of JQH competition, C735 Jack Tar, a nominee for 2017 CBR Bull of the Year the team was off to a solid start. Kimzey would be paired with C735 and turn in an 88.5 score on his way to winning the Window Rock title.

Four days after Window Rock, the team would compete for the second time in Laughlin, Nevada, and Denton Fugate would turn in 87.5 on Ink Slinger and rookie Boudreaux Campbell would begin to make a name for himself when he went 88.5 points on The Abyss. Brasfield would not cover Jack Tar but the two qualified rides earned the team their second – second place check as they began stock piling qualifying points as well.

This team would have their final out in January in Jackson and place fourth with rank bull scores and zero qualified rides. In Jackson JQH rotated 06 Wiley for Ink Slinger.

Skip and Elaine Jones journey began when they won the their first CBR Million Dollar Bull Team Challenge competition in Jackson, Tennessee in January of 2014, they finished that year with over $63,000 in earnings and qualified for the finals in the #2 position that year. In 2015 they won the season opener in Huron, South Dakota by an unprecedented 9 points. In 2016 they finished 8th in the team competition.

Skip Jones, a cutting horse trainer and owner of a security systems business, started with youth bulls after attending a miniature bull riding with some friends that had a son entered. We thought our teenage son, who wanted to ride saddle broncs, would make a better stock contractor than a yard dart.

“It didn’t take with him but we bit pretty hard,” said Jones.

Courtesy of CBR