This is the nicest pen of bulls these guys are likely to see here. These are not easy bulls, but they are all high performance, rider-friendly types. It’s also a draft round, and there are quite a few good matchups tonight — really more than we have room to list here. Look for a lot of good rides tonight.
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Douglas Duncan on 922 Modified Clyde:
Duncan doesn’t have a qualified ride here yet, and with this pick he’s aiming to pick up a big check with his first score. Modified Clyde is one of the stronger bulls in the round. He’s not one of the easier ones to ride, but he’s good enough to place high in this round on.
Zane Lambert on 8358 Guns & Donuts:
Like Duncan, Lambert is also looking for a big score here. This bull has only been on tour a few times, but Lambert has probably seen him pretty often. He tends to go to the right, and he can deliver a big score. Matt Triplett was 89 points on him in Billings, Montana, to win a long round.
Jordan Hupp on 96 Fire Rock:
Hupp had this bull in New York and came down in just more than 6 seconds. Fire Rock will go out a few jumps and go to the left — away from Hupp’s Hand — but he’s a great draw whichever way he goes. He has a lot of kick, good timing, and he can produce round-winning scores. This is the bull that got the best of Joao Ricardo Vieira in Huntington Beach, California, when Vieira was a huge favorite.
Matt Triplett on 701 Shepherd Hills Stockman:
Triplett used the first pick in the draft wisely. He’s been on this bull twice before. He won a round on him in Phoenix, but later bucked off of him in Billings. Stockman goes to the right, and right-handed riders have had a lot of success on him. Compared to the bull he won the round on last night, this one is far easier.
Ty Pozzobon on 691 Meathook:
Meathook has given up five rides in 13 outs this season — he had the same record on tour last season. Meathook is one of the nicer-to-ride short round bulls in the PBR, and of the 13 qualified rides he’s given up in his career, seven of them were for round wins. Meathook is likely to turn back both ways, and if Pozzobon can handle the reverse, he’ll get another good score here.
Ryan Dirteater on 85 Jack Daniels Winter Jack:
Dirteater chose a bull that everyone here is pretty familiar with. Winter Jack is a veteran bull, always goes to the left, and is far nicer to left-handed riders. Dirteater was 86.75 points on him earlier this season. This bull has two different levels it seems. He can carry a guy to a 90-point ride at times, and at other times he’ll be a little less intense and produce scores of 86 to 87 points. In his last two outs on tour, he turned in a 45-plus point bull score each time.
Stormy Wing on 28W Nefarious:
Wing didn’t have a high pick, but he found a good bull anyway. Nefarious looked great in Biloxi, Mississippi, and he’s given up a good many qualified rides, particularly when he faces the top-tier riders. Look for him to go to the left, and don’t be surprised if Wing moves up on the leaderboard here. Stone Sober was pretty rank last night, and Wing still took him a long way.
Tanner Byrne on 880 White Lie:
Byrne rode this bull for 83.75 points in Laughlin, Nevada, — the lowest score anyone has turned in on White Lie. This is a quality bull that probably didn’t get along well in the deep sand in Laughlin. Look for him to be better here. Byrne should be alright here. This bull will probably spin away from his hand, but he’s a good fit for Byrne’s style.
JW Harris on 807 Hokey Pokey:
Being active on the Pro Rodeo circuit has a few advantages. This bull is making his Built Ford Tough Series debut here, and most of these guys don’t know him and haven’t seen him. He’s been to quite a few rodeos, and Harris has probably seen him a number of times. He hasn’t been ridden that often, but when he is ridden it is often for round wins. He hasn’t faced many high-level riders, and Harris will be the highest level guy he’s gone against.
Kasey Hayes on 122 Cooper Tires Semper Fi:
Look for this bull to go to the left, and look for Hayes to put up a big score here. Billy Robinson was 89.5 points on him in the short round in Oakland, California. Douglas Duncan was 88 on him earlier this season in Des Moines, Iowa. He’s still strong enough to throw anyone off, and he got the best of Joao Ricardo Vieira in Laughlin. Not an easy bull, but a strong pick for Hayes.
Stetson Lawrence on 15 C-Note:
I’m a little surprised this bull was available for Lawrence to use the fourth pick on. He should have been the first pick. C-Note can spin either way, but he has a knack for spinning into the rider’s hand. The notable thing about him is that he has perfect timing. Each jump is just like the one before, and he never breaks rhythm. He may have the steadiest bucking rhythm of any bull in the PBR right now, and most guys at this level can handle that easily.
Kody Lostroh on 6810 Compact:
No surprise that Lostroh chose a bull that is likely to go to the right. Lostroh is among the best at riding bulls that go away from his hand. His left ankle is the one that is broken, and the difficulty with riding with an ankle injury is that occasionally you catch hold with your spur on your injured foot and that is excruciatingly painful. It’s painful enough to cause a loss of focus on the ride and get you bucked off. On a bull that goes to the right, Lostroh’s right spur will be the one that bears his weight when it catches, while his outside foot doesn’t really need to ever take a solid hold. Unless this bull makes a big move to the left, the ankle injury shouldn’t be a factor here, and this bull is good enough to get Lostroh a paycheck in this round.
Claudio Crisostomo on K55 Smackdown:
At this point in Smackdown’s career, you’ve got to assume every lefty has a pretty good shot at riding him. That wasn’t always the case. Smackdown has mellowed somewhat over the past year, but he’s still a strong bull, and he can still place Crisostomo in the money in this round. Smackdown is retiring this season, and this is his last event. He’ll retire as one of the greatest and longest-lasting bulls in PBR history.
Gage Gay on 937 Bad to the Bone:
In 10 career outs, Bad to the Bone has given up three qualified rides — all to right-handed riders. He was here last year in the ABBI Classic Competition, and Eduardo Aparecido rode him in the fourth round for 87.75 points.
Top 5 Riders:
Mike Lee on 75 I’m Your Huckleberry:
This bull has been ridden just twice in 22 career outs, but he doesn’t look overly difficult. He tends to want to turn back to the left, but he can go either way. He looks to be more difficult when he goes to the right, because he can have some stutter steps and breaks in rhythm. When he goes to the left he looks much nicer to ride. Lee’s chances here depend on what the bull decides to do.
Guilherme Marchi on 35 Spotted Demon:
Marchi is gunning for a round win with this pick. Spotted Demon hasn’t been ridden by a right- handed rider yet, but we’ve got a video clip of him online going against Gage Gay in a Bismarck, North Dakota, Touring Pro Division event. In that video he goes to the right, and is more than rank enough to win this round on. Marchi probably saw that video, he probably liked what he saw. Spotted Demon was a surprise here last year. He was relatively unknown, yet came here and threw Jory Markiss in Round 4 and put up a 45-point bull score. There is a lot of potential for a big ride here.
Fabiano Vieira on 04 King Tut:
Vieira has come down twice in a row here. In both the first two rounds he had a bull that went away from his hand, and he didn’t look comfortable not being able to get his free arm away from his body. That will change tonight. This bull will probably go to the left, and Vieira has shown that he can deal with bulls into his hand pretty well.
Silvano Alves on 95 Here We Go Again:
It’s a pretty safe bet that Alves will turn in another score here, and it’s also safe to say that he won’t win this round. This isn’t quite enough bull to produce a round-winning score, but he’s been ridden by right-handers a couple of times. Alves got a good look at him in Biloxi, where Renato Nunes had him and came down in 6.44 seconds.
Joao Ricardo Vieira on 911 Jared Allen’s H4WW Hy Test:
Cody Lambert predicted that Vieira would choose a bull that goes to the left, and he certainly did. This is a good choice, though, and a smart one. Hy Test is 2-5 against left-handed riders, and he’s enough bull to place in the round on. Vieira is in the lead here, and his main competition is Alves, who doesn’t exactly have the gas pedal mashed to the floor. Alves is content to drive slower than the speed limit and hope everyone else wrecks. Vieira is in control of his own destiny. He chose a bull here that he should be able to ride, and it’s enough bull to outscore Alves in this round.
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