It will be a long weekend in the Scottrade Center in St. Louis. With three long rounds, a short round and a 15/15 round, some of these guys will face five bulls in three days. We will get to see some of the best bulls go twice at this event. The better bulls in the 15/15 round will go again in the short round, but the cream of the crop at this event will be in the 15/15 round Saturday night.
Jeff Robinson’s Walk Off has been to every event this year coast to coast, is unridden on the season, and he’s been in the Top-10 bulls at every event but Oklahoma City. He’ll be in the 15/15 round in St. Louis, but PBR livestock director Cody Lambert says he’s due for a break.
“He’s been great,” Lambert said. “But he’s due for a break. He went home after each of the first three events, and since then he’s been to Oklahoma City and two events in California. At some point he’s going to need a rest. That much travel is a lot to ask of a bull.”
Chad Berger’s Brown Sugar is usually one of the best bulls to have in a short round, but in three outs this season he’s thrown Guilherme Marchi once and current world No. 1 Matt Triplett twice.
“He finishes strong,” Lambert said. “He’s just a 5-year-old this year, and he’s a really good one. He was great last year, and he’s gotten a little faster and a little stronger. Matt nearly rode him both times, but Brown Sugar just keeps working and keeps trying. I think in a draft round, Matt would pick him again, and I think he’ll ride him next time. He just got to feeling good and lost his focus a little the last time.”
Gene Owen’s bull Crack the Whip has carried riders to the second most round points this season. Chase Outlaw, who will have him here in St. Louis, rode him to a short round win in New York, and J.B. Mauney won third in the 15/15 round on him also in New York.
“He’s probably the one to have in the 15/15 round,” Lambert said. “But he can throw these guys off. He can throw you to the outside when he starts to spin, and he can get welly after that — he wants them to the inside of the spin. He’s not quite as rank as the best bulls in there, but he’s tricky. They can be 88-89 points on him. If they ride a lot, they probably won’t win the round on him, but they can place for sure. If a lot of guys buck off they could win the round on him. But, he’s not a guaranteed ride.
Jeff Robinson’s Stanley FatMax is a seasoned PBR veteran. He’s been around since 2008, and he first appeared on the Built Ford Tough Series in 2010. He’s 95-4 in his career, and he’s 49-3 at the BFTS level. He’s a tough bull to get a score on.
“It’s amazing to me that they haven’t figured out how to ride him,” Lambert said. “He’s strong, and he circles to the right, and he doesn’t really have any tricks. He’s not doing anything dirty. He may be even stronger than he looks, because he just doesn’t look like a bull that should be throwing guys off at the rate he does.”
K Bar C’s Who Dey is a little white bull who was the high-marked bull in Chicago. He’ll go against Ben Jones in the 15/15 round here.
“He’s always been a good bull since he came around last year,” Lambert said. “But, his last couple of trips have been very, very good. Ben Jones is a good fit for him too. Who Dey goes to the right, Ben likes bulls that go to the right, Who Dey is a little bull, and Ben doesn’t weigh a lot. That’s good for both of them.”
While Who Dey is one of the smallest bulls in the PBR, we’ll also see the biggest bull in the PBR — Mississipi Hippy. David’s Dream, Pound the Alarm, Magic Train, and Wicked will be on hand as well.
Follow Slade Long on Twitter: @Probullstats
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