Wallace Tops Loaded Xtreme Bulls Field
SAN ANTONIO, Texas – Ty Wallace had a premonition that Saturday was going to be a big day for him. He was right.
The 23-year-old bull rider from Collbran, Colo., emerged from a field of 50 men to take the title at the San Antonio Xtreme Bulls, earning a check for $25,380.
“I woke up this morning and had a feeling that it was going to be a really good day,” Wallace said. “I’m as confident as I ever have been riding bulls, and I don’t care what they put under me, I’m going to ride it.”
He rode for 90 points on Powder River Rodeo’s Shocker to take the title at the one-header, topping second-place Brady Portenier by one point.
“I feel blessed to have this good of a day,” Wallace said. “When you’re one of 50 guys, you just hope that you get a bull that’s strong enough to get you the win. I got on that bull last summer in Caldwell (Idaho) and he bucked me off – so I knew what he was going to try to do. He was right up my alley, and I did my job.”
For Wallace, who had won $14,613 at the San Antonio Stock Show & Rodeo prior to Saturday night’s finals, this has been a huge step toward making it back to the Wrangler National Finals Rodeo presented by Polaris RANGER. The nearly $40,000 he won between the Xtreme Bulls and rodeo will vault him from 28th to near the top.
He made it to Las Vegas in 2014-15, but finished 20th in the 2016 WEATHER GUARD® PRCA World Standings. Wallace tore his groin in the middle of August and had to sit out for about four months. He was 13th in the world at the time of the injury.
“Being out that long lit a fire under me, and I want it way worse now than I ever have,” he said. “I had to work hard rehabbing, and I couldn’t do what I love – I couldn’t even ride a horse or cowboy. I set some goals for myself, and I’m trying to accomplish them.”
It was stiff competition for Wallace and the rest of the field at the Xtreme Bulls event. Trevor Reiste and Bayle Worden both rode for 88.5 points early on, setting the bar high.
Portenier, who rode D&H Cattle’s Heartbreak Kid for 89 points, earned a $20,680 check for second place. Reiste and Worden each collected $13,630 for splitting third.
“I knew there was an 89, but I just wanted to do my part and let the judges decide,” Wallace said. “Shocker is a younger bull, and I don’t think he’s been to the NFR yet. But I saw him last night in the rodeo and he bucked really hard, and I knew I’d have a good chance.”
For more coverage of the San Antonio Xtreme Bulls, check out the March 17 issue of the ProRodeo Sports News.
Courtesy of PRCA