Jeff Robinson’s Consecutive BFTS Appearance Streak Ends

PUEBLO, Colo. – Four-time Stock Contractor of the Year Jeff Robinson estimates he’s missed “probably 90 percent” of his oldest son Tate’s baseball games in the past seven-plus years. He does not want to make that same mistake with his two younger sons, Tucker, 9, and Cutter, 7, as well as his daughter, Laney, as their current basketball and barrel racing schedules fill up.

It is why Robinson doesn’t view his PBR-record streak of 175 consecutive Built Ford Tough Series regular-season events coming to an end this past weekend in Phoenix as a major disappointment.

Yes, Robinson is extremely proud of the record that will likely never be broken, but he wants to make sure the BFTS schedule doesn’t get in the way with his kids as much as it has in the past.

So instead of traveling across the country for the Ak-Chin Invitational, Robinson was more than happy to stay home and watch a youth basketball tournament.

“I had no intentions of going to all of them this year,” Robinson said. “I just felt like I was missing my kids doing some things and things I wanted to see. The biggest thing is trying to balance them. Phoenix was a long way from the house. I didn’t even bother calling to go.”

From 2010, ’11, ’12, ’13, ’14, it was six years in a row, I never missed an event. Six full seasons, I never missed an event. I don’t think anybody will ever break that streak. The streak was good while it lasted. It is gone, but it is nothing I ever set out to do. Hey, six years in a row is good enough.”

Not only did Robinson haul bulls to 175 consecutive BFTS events, but if you add in the 2010 Bulls on Broadway event in Times Square, the 2015 Bulls on the Beach BFTS event in Huntington Beach, California, and seven consecutive trips to the Built Ford Tough World Finals and that put Robinson at 185 consecutive top-PBR events.

He won four consecutive Stock Contractor of the Year titles from 2010-14 during the streak.

PBR Director of Livestock Cody Lambert agreed that Robinson’s streak will likely never be broken.

“I don’t think anyone will ever go to more events in a row than that,” Lambert said. “Financially it just doesn’t make sense. He wanted to keep it going for a long time, but you could tell last year it was beginning to come to an end.”

Robinson knows the streak wouldn’t have went as long as it did without the help of his partners and drivers.

“I couldn’t have done it without all of the help I had, especially (driver) Clint Haas, and my brother (Casey) has really helped me here,” Robinson said. “Wayne Aldridge and even Delbert Nuse. There is no way I could have came close without those guys.”

Luke Snyder owns the PBR record for consecutive BFTS events for a rider with 275.

“I think it shows his dedication and his bulls dedication,” Snyder said in 2013 when Robinson eclipsed the century mark.

Robinson, who used to have a West Coast-based bull truck and  an East Coast truck at home in Mars Hill, North Carolina, admitted that trying to keep the streak alive wouldn’t have been a financially smart decision either.

“When the streak was going strong and it really meant something was back when he used to take one set of bulls and leave them at Jerome Robinson’s place for the west coast events and have another set at his place and rotate them out. He hasn’t been doing that in a while. He doesn’t have the numbers he used to have. He is not done by any means.”

Jeff Robinson Bucking Bulls’ future will value quality over quantity.

“I sure ain’t going to quit,” Robinson said. “Like before, I would try and send a few bulls here and there to keep the streak intact, now I am going to try and manage those bulls and try and get extra outs and years on their career.”

Robinson has been impressed with his bulls Stanley FatMax, Walk Off and I’m a Gangster Too and wants to keep them fresher by limiting some of their mileage across the country.

“If you get those five or six short-rounders you are going to be able to bring around 15 to 20 bulls,” he added. “That is just the way it is and the way it always has been.”

It isn’t about the business though as much as it was about spending time with his kids before they grow up for good.

Laney is currently No. 1 in the Women’s Pro Rodeo Association Junior Standings and he wants to be able to watch her compete as much as he can.

“I look back and now Laney is 15 and she is No. 1 in the junior WPRA,” Robinson said. “She is no. 1 barrel racer. She is leading the world standings in that. I want to go watch her do that.”

He then added, “My two little boys play basketball and you want to see that. I am ready to go watch ball games.”

Robinson will be hauling his pen of bulls to the Duluth Invitational this weekend in Georgia, before heading west for the 20^th annual Ty Murray Invitational in Albuquerque, New Mexico.

“As far as the streak goes, it was good while it lasted, but it is gone,” he concluded. “We will be in Duluth with a truck full.”

Follow Justin Felisko on Twitter @jfelisko