The Morning Line: Oklahoma City, Day 3

Luck of the draw is an everyday thing in bull riding, and some guys will be counting on it in this round. We expected inexperienced bulls in Round 1, but there are at least 14 in this round we don’t know a lot about. Many of them are making their debut here. Of the six riders who are 2-for-2 , Robson Palermo, Mason Lowe, Joao Ricardo Vieira all drew from the unknown group while Fabiano Vieira, Kaique Pacheco and Brady Sims drew very solid and consistent proven bulls.

Fabiano Vieira on 630 Rebelution:

Vieira leads the event at the moment and he’s got a bull that could win him this round, preventing the possibility of anyone taking the lead from him. Rebelution is one of the best draws in this round for a left-handed rider. He has very even timing, and he doesn’t have any dirty tricks. He is a good sized bull and he does work up a lot of centrifugal force and whip when he spins. Robson Palermo won second in a round in Springfield, Missouri, on him, and Vieira should be able to handle him here.

Kaique Pacheco on 5112 JW Hughes Excavation:

This bull has been around for some time, and he has been relatively hard to ride throughout his career. He likes to go to the right, and right-handers have had the most success against him, but at times he can have a lot of forward movement, and every rider struggles against that. He has a tendency to jump out of the spin and scoot forward unexpectedly. Sometimes he doesn’t find his way back into a spin, and this small inconsistency is what has kept him from being a short round bull for much of his career. He’s normally good enough to be 88-89 points on, but he doesn’t give up rides easily. Pacheco will have to work for it.

Brady Sims on 146 Water Exploration:

Water Exploration has been around for a few years now, but we don’t often see him at the Built Ford Tough Series level. He made his debut here in Oklahoma City in 2013 throwing Silvano Alves off in less than 2 seconds. Chase Outlaw won second in this round on him here last year. Sims has looked very solid this weekend, and he has a good chance at a third score here, but this isn’t a slam dunk.

Mike Lee on 10 Damn Frustrating:

Lee has one good score here and needs another to secure a spot in the Built Ford Tough Championship Round. He may be able to get it here. This bull is making his Built Ford Tough Series debut, but he has been around the Touring Pro Division a little. He goes to the left and has a lot of action and speed. He’s a bull that Lee can look good on if he can stay on top, and there’s a very good chance he can.

Emilio Resende on 35 Spotted Demon:

Spotted Demon is the bull that wrecked J.W. Harris in the first round in Chicago. He’s a seriously difficult bull, and he may be the most difficult bull in the round. He likes to go to the right, but he’s 13-0 against right-handed riders. Resende rides with excellent balance, and good instincts, but he has a chronic lack of control of his free arm, and it costs him a lot of scores. He’s got the skill to ride this bull, but even a slight misstep will be enough to do him in. He needs this ride to have any hope of reaching the short round here.

J.B. Mauney on 114 Darth Vader:

This bull has given up a few rides, but only to right-handed riders. Although the numbers aren’t in Mauney’s favor here, this is the last round, and he really needs another score to be in serious contention. Mauney tends to shine in these situations.

Paulo Lima on 0114 Tahonta’s Magic:

Lima hasn’t done well here after winning in New York last week, despite the fact that he’s drawn decent bulls that should have been good for him. He’s got a chance at redemption and some round points with this bull. This is one of the better draws at this event, and he goes into Lima’s hand as well.

Shane Proctor on 124 Spin Machine:

Sometimes bulls have names that aren’t indicative of their performance in the arena. If you ever see a bull called Fluffy or Snowball at this level you can bet he won’t be cute and cuddly. But, bulls with any variation of the word spin in their name do tend to be pretty rider friendly, and this one is no exception. Proctor rode him in Tulsa, Oklahoma, last year, and he’s been ridden seven times in eight Built Ford Tough Series outs.

Wallace de Oliveira on 567 Lester Gillis:

This bull is unridden in 10 outs, including five at the Built Ford Tough Series level. He could be a bull to watch this season. He’s a fast spinner, and he doesn’t have the high leaps or severe drop that some of the upper echelon bulls do, but at times he has looked pretty special. He likes to go to the left, and he goes as soon as his head clears the gate. Oliveira has his hands full here, but if he can be the first to tame this bull he will get a big score.

Tanner Byrne on 911 Hy Test:

Douglas Duncan won the first round of the season on Hy Test. While Byrne hasn’t done anything this weekend, he still has a chance to get something out of this. This is one of the better draws in this round. He will be good enough to place on if not win the round outright, and he’s relatively rider friendly.

Follow Slade Long on Twitter @Probullstats