Webster Wins on a Wild Night
Packed crowd at Caldwell Night Rodeo enjoys Bullfighters Only competition
Cody Webster jumps his bull, Little Foot, during Tuesday’s Bullfighters Only tour event in conjunction with the Caldwell Night Rodeo. Webster won the event with an 89.5-point fight. (KIRT STIENKE PHOTO)
CALDWELL, Idaho – Having served as a protection bullfighter for a few years, Cody Webster knows all about the raucous crowd at the Caldwell Night Rodeo.
On Tuesday during the opening night of the five-night rodeo, Webster showed that crowd his tremendous athleticism during the Bullfighters Only tour competition that concluded the performance. He posted an 89.5-point fight on 12X Fighting Bulls’ Little Foot to claim the title.
“It was awesome, and it was in front of a sold-out crowd,” said Webster of Wayne, Okla. “Caldwell, Idaho, is one of the premier rodeos in our sport. It was just a Tuesday night, and it was completely sold out. It was amazing.
“I work this rodeo every year, but to bring the BFO in and add a new flair to it, the crowd loved it. I think they will be talking about it for a long time.”
The four-man bullfight was just what the crowd needed. In addition to four of the top men in the world, it also featured the fighting bulls from former bullfighter Darrell Diefenbach. From the opening moment, the stage was set.
“It was a pretty awesome night,” Webster said. “We had a really strong crowd, and the first bull out was a little red bull that will probably be a 24-point bull based on the 25-point scale the bull is judged on. That bull just set the tone, hooked Evan (Allard) and drug him around a little bit.”
Cody Webster
Allard, of Vinita, Okla., wasn’t the only one who struggled a little with his aggressive bull. Nathan Harp of Tuttle, Okla., also got knocked down a bit. Allard finished with 73 points, and Harp was 81. Dusty Tuckness of Meeteetse, Wyo., wrapped up a solid fight with an 86-point score.
But the night belonged to Webster.
“One of my good buddies, Nate Jestes, who leads our standings, had that little black bull at Reno, and I think he ended up winning the night,” Webster said. “He’s just a really good fighting bull. He runs the whole time and doesn’t really get away from you.
“I had a really good, sweet fight. I broke him down pretty hard (with a fake) to get some separation and lined up a good jump to sell it.”
It’s vital to have strong bulls in a fight. The better the bull, the better the score can be. But that also opens the door for potential danger. Both Allard and Harp went down, and their scores reflected that.
“Nathan had kind of a bad go,” Webster said. “The bull got him caught and knocked down. When you get knocked down and take a shot, it usually takes a little out of you.
“This was definitely the strongest set of four bulls we’ve had all year long. It was one of those cool nights everyone will remember. The tone was set early on and stayed that way the whole night.”
He pocketed $1,500 for winning Caldwell and kept himself in contention for Bullfighters Only’s inaugural world championship.
“It gives me another little bump to move up in the standings,” he said. “Most of all, just going out every week to do the best we can makes a difference for us.”
CALDWELL RESULTS
1. Cody Webster, 89.5 points
2. Dusty Tuckness, 86
3. Nathan Harp, 81
4. Evan Allard, 73
Courtesy of twisTEDrodeo.com