In the Bull Pen: Kansas City

The Built Ford Tough Kansas City Clash will feature a diverse pen of bulls. Despite being just a two-day event, there will be a 15/15 Bucking Battle following an opening round full of ABBI Classic bulls. Because of the two-day format, PBR Livestock director Cody Lambert says we will see few, if any, of the 15/15 bulls back in the short round.

“There’s only 14 hours or so between performances on Saturday night and Sunday afternoon, so I’m trying not to use the same bulls,” Lambert said. “The one bull that won’t be in either round is Long John. The Page’s have a lot of bulls here, but Long John’s leg was sore when they got him back from California, so he’s resting. He may be ready for Arlington, but we’ll have to see.”

Long John’s crew will be out in force for the 15/15 round, as the Pages have six of the 15 bulls out. Bruiser, Brutus, Stone Sober, DaNutso, American Hustle and No Regrets are all in the draw. Lambert likes Bruiser and Brutus as two bulls that can be ridden but only if the rider is perfect.

“Brutus has a lot of strength and a lot of drop,” Lambert said. “J.B. Mauney made him look easy, but if you get even a little bit out of position on that bull you can’t stay on. Bruiser is the same way, but he’s a showier bull. He’s really honest, and he has perfect timing, but he bucks about as hard a bull can buck. Every time he’s been ridden it’s been because of a perfect effort by the rider, and even after the whistle if they stop riding for a second they end up in a wreck.”

We’ve seen the JARS/Gene Owen bull Cochise three times this year, and twice he has been responsible for pretty scary wrecks. Paulo Lima rode him to an event win in New York, but he also stepped on Silvano Alves in New York, and thoroughly mucked out Fabiano Vieira in St. Louis last week.

“That bull had a little more than Fabiano was ready for,” Lambert said. “He left the chute bad on him, and didn’t really look good at all. He has a long first jump with a lot of power, and to make Fabiano and Silvano both look bad is really a confirmation of how good he is.”

Chad Berger’s Crossfire is having a good year, and he’ll face Joao Ricardo Vieira in the 15/15 round.

“He’s just so strong,” Lambert said. “If you look at him his front end is so big, and his back end is so small that it looks like the bull rope is going to slip back on him. He’s unridden so far, and I don’t think Joao has a chance on him. If he rides him I’ll have a new respect for Joao. That bull means business. In St. Louis he showed the riders if they mess around in the chute on him he’ll try to stick their head through the front of it.”

We’ll also see Pearl Harbor, Wicked, Little Red Jacket, Seven Dust and Beaver Creek Beau in the 15/15 round among others.

The ABBI Classic bulls for Kansas City are mostly bulls we’ve seen on tour at least once this year already. Little Tim’s All Nighter is leading the Classic standings right now. He will be there, along with standouts Wicked Stick and Rebel Yell II. Last year, Bruiser eclipsed the field in the ABBI Classic race, but no bull has really set himself apart to that extent in 2016.

Follow Slade Long on Twitter @Probullstats