In the Bullpen: Albuquerque

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. – The Ty Murray Invitational in Albuquerque has long been known as one of the best events in the PBR in terms of bull power. It’s a place where the bull riders have been known to step up as well, and over the long history of this event there have been many huge rides. PBR livestock director Cody Lambert believes the unique atmosphere of the venue seems to crank up the excitement and produce a lot of big moments.

“It’s really been a place where a lot of PBR history has happened,” said Lambert. “The Pit in Albuquerque seats as many people as a big arena, but it’s small. The fans are close, right on top of the action, and it’s just uniquely suited for the PBR.”

The best three bulls from Atlanta are making the haul to Albuquerque and all three will be in the short round. D&H Cattle’s SweetPro’s Bruiser, Brutus and SweetPro’s Long John were neck and neck for the high marked bull in Atlanta, with Bruiser pulling it out by a quarter of a point. Long John was impressive coming off a rest.

“Long John was really good in Atlanta,” Lambert said. “The thing that impressed me about him was that he started slow and he got better as he went. The longer Mike (Lee) stayed on him the harder he bucked. He was strong and snappy by the time he bucked Mike off. Bruiser and Brutus had good trips too, and this week they will have better bulls matched with them.”

Chad Berger and Gene Owen/Jars Bucking Bulls – two of the biggest PBR contractors – will be on hand to beef things up after resting their bulls while the tour was back east. This brings Boot Jack, Beaver Creek Beau, Little Red Jacket, Cochise, Crossfire and others back to the action. One of Berger’s bull is getting a promotion this week as well with Stunting Like My Daddy moving up to the short round for the first time this season.

“He was one of the best bulls in Phoenix,” said Lambert. “His trip with Robson Palermo was outstanding, and he was in the long round. I thought he was about the third best bull at the whole event, and he’s going to step up to the short round in Albuquerque.”

The Ty Murray Invitational will also give fans a chance to see quite a few bulls that are natives of the southwest. Long time PBR contractor Casper Baca will have a few bulls on hand, Baca has been supplying stock for bull riding in New Mexico since long before the PBR existed. Craig Chavez and Ron Alsbaugh will also have bulls we don’t usually see, along with Native American owned War Pony Bucking Bulls.

Mark Hebert’s Deep Water, and Bar D Cattle Company’s Pearl Harbor, the two highest marked bulls from. RFD-TV’s THE AMERICAN will also be in attendance. Pearl Harbor already has a high-marked bull award on the BFTS under his belt after his performance in Kansas City, and of the bulls expected to be contenders for the World Champion title this year, he’s got one of the highest average bull scores. He’s still three outs away from getting to eight on the season.

Albuquerque will feature plenty of up and coming bulls to watch, and we’ll get to see most of the top established PBR bulls go in the same short round. The Pit has seen its share of 90+ point rides over the years, and we are likely to see one or two this weekend.