Looking to Double-Dip

Schiffner earns redemption on known bull, hopes to score again Saturday

MOOSE JAW, Saskatchewan – Scott Shiffner wanted a little payback with Pound The Alarm, an athletic red and white paint bull that has a great history.

Schiffner got it Friday night with an 86.5-point ride to take the lead after the opening night of the Professional Bull Riders Moose Jaw Powered by Young’s Equipment at Mosaic Place in Moose Jaw.

“That bull’s been to the PBR World Finals,” said Schiffner, 37, of Strathmore, Alberta. “He was raised here, then went down to the (United) States. I got on him before he went down to the states, and he bucked me off back when he was pretty young.

“It’s good that we’re even.”

Yes, it is. The high marking puts him in the No. 1 position heading into the final night of the two-day competition. But like many of the bull riders in the mix, he paid two entry fees and will ride again Saturday.

“If everything goes well, I have a chance to win first and second,” said Schiffner, a two-time Canadian bull riding champion and a PBR Canada champion. “The nice thing about this event is that I have a chance to do that.”

His first appearance on Pound the Alarm came four years ago, when the young bull bucked off the 16-time Canadian Finals Rodeo qualifier. On Friday, though, the Mosaic Place crowd saw the redemption ride for a proud Canadian champion.

“It was an excellent crowd,” he said. “They were energetic and into it. They understand the Western way of life and rodeo, so it’s entertaining for us to be able to perform in front of a crowd like that.”

Schiffner wasn’t the only big winner Friday in Moose Jaw. Jordynn Swanson won the first night of the Bullfighters Only qualifier that was part of the event, scoring 82 points during his freestyle bullfight.

In the match, Swanson utilized his athleticism to maneuver close to and around the equally athletic and agile Spanish fighting bull, which was bred for that type of fight. Like bull riding, scores are on a 100-point scale, with half coming from each the man and the beast.

“I thought my bull was really going to come out there pretty good, and I felt like I was setting him up for a good fake, but some lights went off, and he buggered away,” said Swanson, 24, of Virden, Manitoba. “I would’ve liked to have more heat, but you just have to go at bulls like this and make them hot.”

The ideal bull would stay close to the bullfighter, but when that doesn’t happen, then the man must make things work. That’s just what Swanson did. He will compete on night No. 2, which begins at 7 p.m. Saturday.

“It was the biggest crowd I’ve ever fought in front of in my life,” he said. “It was my first PBR event and my first BFO event. By far, it’s on the top of my list as the coolest and loudest and most fun.”

Courtesy of twisTEDrodeo.com