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Palermo is Holding Steady on Course

By: Justin Felisko
June 15, 2016

Robson Palermo has won in Bismarck twice, as well as turning in a legendary ride. Photo: Andy Watson / BullStockMedia.com

Robson Palermo has won in Bismarck twice, as well as turning in a legendary ride. Photo: Andy Watson / BullStockMedia.com

PUEBLO, Colo. – There have been many memorable rides and performances throughout the 16-year history of the Dakota Community Bank & Trust BlueDEF Tour event in Bismarck, North Dakota.

Plenty of those iconic moments have been produced from three-time World Finals event winner Robson Palermo, especially his 94.5-point ride on PBR legendary bull Smackdown in 2011.

To this day, reigning Stock Contractor of the Year Chad Berger calls the ride one of – if not the – best ride in the history of his namesake event.

It was a ride that “nearly blew the roof off the Bismarck Civic Center,” recalled Berger, and it is still the highest-ride at any level of PBR competition by Palermo.

In fact, Palermo is 9-for-14 (64.29 percent) in four previous trips to Bismarck. Palermo’s ride aboard Smackdown is one of two 90-point rides by him in Bismarck and he has also won the event twice.

Palermo finished runner-up to 2010 World Champion Renato Nunes last year in Bismarck.

“I didn’t think about it, but pretty much every time I ride his bulls I pretty much cover my bulls and get a good score,” Palermo said. “Chad’s family there, they kind of support me. I have been going there all the time. I don’t want to say I am part of the family, but every time I go there it looks like I am part of the family.”

Palermo is scheduled to compete this Friday and Saturday in Bismarck. The event will be streamed exclusively on PBR LIVE beginning at 8:50 p.m. ET.

Eighteen of the riders expected to ride in Bismarck are ranked inside the Top 35 of the world standings.

There will be an autograph signing featuring the riders Saturday afternoon from noon to 1 p.m. at Dakota Community Bank and Trust at 1727 State Street.

As a thank you to the riders, Berger and his local sponsors feed the riders a filling steak meal. Berger also invites the riders over to his Mandan, North Dakota, ranch a few miles away on Sunday afternoon.

“It is awesome when I go there,” Palermo said. “Everybody is together, we sign autographs and go eat steak. People like to eat steak there.”

The rider that earns the most money over the course of the two events will take on 2012 World Champion Bull Asteroid for an additional $10,000 on Saturday night.

Palermo could use a hearty performance in Bismarck after cooling off since a strong start to the 2016 season.

The 33-year-old was ranked sixth in the world standings and only 520 points behind then world No. 1 J.B. Mauney heading into Iron Cowboy before falling into a 4-for-17 slump in the final two months of the first half.

Palermo is currently 14th in the world standings and is on pace for his first Top-30 finish in the world standings since concluding 2012 seventh in the world.

“I feel good. Everything is perfect,” Palermo said. “My mind, body, physically – everything is great. I started good and I started going down. I don’t know what happened. I tried working at home and to correct myself and it didn’t work. I am trying to do what I do and I love to do that, but I heard a lot of people talk about this a long time ago when you have a house full of a family your mind is not (focused on bull riding). I have been having this problem now. Bull riders are supposed to only think about bull riding every day. For me, it is hard. I have a big family at home. I think this why when I went to the bull ridings and some I didn’t have focus. It is not their fault though.”

It is an ongoing balancing act for Palermo as he manages being a husband, father of three and a bull rider on a full time basis. There are some days where being a bull rider has to go on the backburner and he is OK with that.

Palermo has enjoyed spending time with his 9-month old son, Lucas, during the week, and he and his wife, Priscila, have been finding ways to help Robson get some time to himself to prepare for bull ridings later in the week.

“My wife is helping me a lot,” he said. “She is trying to. The week I go to the bull riding, everybody will go out and I will sleep by myself. I try to go to my bull riding mind. I watch video of my rides and all this stuff. It has been helping.”

Palermo said there is certainly an added worry in the arena about his safety. He knows one bad ride can forever alter his life and his family’s well-being.

He tries to block that out, knowing he doesn’t have many years left where he can use bull riding as a primary source of income for his family.

“But, I have been feeling good and healthy,” Palermo said. “Like I told her, I don’t have a long way to go more. My career is close to be retired. I say let’s go work for finishing on the top and not the bottom. I started on the top and I don’t want to finish in the bottom.”

The three-time World Finals event winner is well aware of the fact that he is only 987.83 points behind world leader Kaique Pacheco. Even with his struggles during the first half, he is still riding 43.24 percent of his bulls, which ranks eighth on the Built Ford Tough Series.

“Yeah. I have been thinking about it,” Palermo said. “I was checking the website and looked at it and said, ‘Hmm, I am not that far away.’

“I still look to be a World Champion. I can still ride the best bulls. I have been working on it. I know I have a couple of years left. I want to take those years for myself and do what I can do before. My goal is to be a World Champion.”

Follow Justin Felisko on Twitter @jfelisko

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