The Morning Line: Des Moines, Day 2

Morning Line – Des Moines Round 2:

This group of bulls is considerable tougher to ride than the first round bulls were. We only saw 11 rides last night, and almost everyone in this round drew a harder bull than they had last night.

Aaron Roy on 27 Gentleman Jim:

This is one of the better draws in the PBR right now. Cooper Davis won second in a round on him last week. Gentleman Jim goes to the left, and he can drift a little, but he’s very honest and very rideable. The caveat here is that Roy had a bull just like this last night and was down in under two seconds.

Joao Ricardo Vieira on 122 Cooper Tires Semper Fi:

Vieira has been on this bull twice before, and rode him in Oklahoma City in the short round this year. Semper Fi is a good fit for him, but he’ll be considerably harder to ride than the bull Vieira had last night. If both bull and rider have a good day, this could easily be a round win here.

Kurt Shephard on 1275 Joe the Grinder:

I’m convinced someone is going to win a round on this bull, or at least place high, but the riders keep proving me wrong because Joe the Grinder keeps proving them unworthy. This is really exactly the kind of bull that riders like to draw, but no one seems to be able to get the best of him so far this season. He will go to the right with good speed, and perfect timing, and Shephard will have to bring his A-game to get a score here.

Ryan Dirteater on 107C Torch:

This is a really good bull that doesn’t have a long rap sheet. Eduardo Aparecido rode him in Billings last week for 87.5 points and 4th place in a round. He went both ways with Aparecido, but he went to the right first. He’s a hard working bull that keeps his front end low and keeps bringing it, but he doesn’t resort to any dirty tricks.

Kasey Hayes on 017 Crazy Horse:

These two met at the World Finals, and Hayes bucked off, but he does have a chance at riding this bull. Crazy Horse has been in the short round the last three times we’ve seen him, but he typically goes to the left and has some speed. He’s a good draw for Hayes, who not only needs another ride, but needs to place and earn points every time he rides one. He hasn’t ridden many this year, and he needs to make every ride earn him some points.

J.B. Mauney on 1440 Loose Change:

Mauney came down last night, and this bull will make it easier for him to repeat that. Loose Change is a little hard to ride. He’s given up just one qualified ride this year, and only one last year. That said, he doesn’t outclass Mauney who will be the best rider he’s ever faced.

Jess Lockwood on 125 Catfish John:

Lockwood didn’t get a score in round one, so he either rides this one or walks out of Des Moines with no points. The problem is, his first round bull was much easier than this one is going to be. Catfish John goes to the right, and he can move forward at times. Fabiano Vieira and Cooper Davis both rode him in Sioux Falls. He was very honest with Davis, but he had some forward movement with Vieira. He will test Lockwood.

Tanner Byrne on 035 Sheep Creek:

Byrne is questionable for this round, but you know he’s probably itching to give this bull a try. Sheep Creek is one of the better bulls to come out of Canada recently, and Byrne hasn’t been on him that we know of. This is a matchup that everyone wants to see, and it’s an even matchup. Everything Sheep Creek does well, Byrne also handles well.

Gage Gay on 107 Come On Baby:

This is a rock solid draw for Gay. Come On Baby likes to go to the right, and he’s ridden over half the time by right-handed riders. Gay is battling injury, but there’s probably not another bull here that’s a better fit for his style.

Valdiron de Oliveira on 104 Moto Moto:

This is a big time matchup. Moto Moto is a strong bull with a lot of up and down and a lot of action. He is exactly the style of bull that Oliveira has made a career of winning on, and if this were taking place in 2012 you could go ahead and pencil this in as a round win. Father Time is on the bull’s side here, though, because Oliveira hasn’t been the same rider he was in 2012. Still, over his career we’ve seen him take on bulls that tend to manhandle other riders, and make them look easy.

Nathan Schaper on 66-1 Midnight Train:

This is one of the better bulls in the round in terms of points potential. He wrecked Nevada Newman out in Billings, but that was nearly a 90 point ride instead of a zero. This bull goes to the left with a lot of action, speed and intensity, and if Schaper can hang he will be due for a big score.