2011 Iron Cowboy Champion Yates Recalls ‘Unexplainable feeling’ Winning Inside AT&T Stadium
By: Justin Felisko
PUEBLO, Colo. – Colby Yates looked around AT&T Stadium on February 19, 2011 and saw more than 30,000 fans giving him a standing ovation.
The 2011 Iron Cowboy was long over, and Yates was still on stage posing for some photos with his event-winning belt buckle and oversized check.
Yates – a last-minute alternate for the second-ever PBR event at the home of the Dallas Cowboys – had just pulled off a herculean performance to win the prestigious and grueling Iron Cowboy event. At that time, Iron Cowboy was a bracket-style event pitting bull riders against each other until one rider was victorious. Yates attempted to ride six bulls in a span of two hours or so to win the Iron Cowboy.
The Texan grew up in Fort Worth about 30 minutes away from Arlington, and the Lone Star State fan base was making sure to show how proud it was of its home state cowboy.
“Man, it’s really just unexplainable,” Yates recalled this week following the announcement that the 2020 PBR World Finals will be held at AT&T Stadium on Nov. 12-15. “It is hard to get that feeling. I don’t think in bull riding I have ever had that feeling. There is a lot of energy in that building. You can feel every bit of it. A lot of it had to do with, obviously, it was my hometown. Not Arlington, but close enough. At that time, it was the most fans we have ever had in the stands at one time. You could feel it in that building.
“Every fan stayed there until it was all over with and they gave me my prize and my check, and they were continuing to cheer way after the event was over with. Normally people put their cup down and go home. I think it was ultimately as fulfilling for them as it was for me.”
The opportunity to be the first World Finals event winner at a Finals held outside of Las Vegas has not been lost on them.
Yates believes that it will provide all of the riders, even those from outside of Texas, an added incentive when the World Finals begins in less than two months.
“A lot of those guys have the same outlook that I did,” Yates said. “When you get into an iconic building, you want to do some good there, and if you are from there, that gives you more incentive to want to do good, so for sure those guys will be definitely wanting to win. It is still the PBR Finals. The best bull riding in the world.”
Let’s take a look back at Yates’ historic path to victory inside AT&T Stadium nine years ago.
Round 1: Yates (86.5 points on Bad Medicine) defeats Travis Briscoe (6.04 seconds on Bring It)
Yates found out four days before the start of Iron Cowboy that he would be replacing Robson Palermo in the event. When Yates saw his side of the bracket, he knew there was a potential path to victory, but he also would have to face off with 2010 Iron Cowboy runner-up Travis Briscoe in the first round.
YATES: “There were some obstacles I had to face. One of those was, the very first round, I had some bull that hadn’t had many outs on the premier series. He was a good bull. Just a nice 85-point spinner or something. I don’t even remember how many points I was. I was up against Travis Briscoe, who had a really good bull. He bucks off like right at the whistle, but I rode mine and I was like, ‘Oh my God, how did that happen?’
“He would have beat me hands down.”
Round 2: Yates (7.02 seconds on Mad Max) defeats Silvano Alves (6.5 seconds on Say When)
In Round 2, Yates squared off against a young Silvano Alves, who was beginning his march to his first of three world titles.
YATES: “Move on to the next round, and I am up against Silvano, and I almost ride my bull. We both bucked off right before the whistle. Both of us had pretty hard bulls to ride either way. They were tough to get by. His was a bit tougher to get by then mine. I ended up moving on.”
Round 3: Yates (92.25 points on Carrillo Cartel) defeats J.B. Mauney (90 points on Chicken on a Chain)
The third round of Iron Cowboy may go down as one of the favorite moments of Yates’ career for a multitude of reasons. When Yates saw J.B. Mauney had drawn 2007 World Champion Chicken on a Chain, he knew he could be in trouble. Mauney was 1-for-4 previously with Chicken on a Chain, but that one ride was worth 91.75 points.
Could Yates be enough on Carrillo Cartel if he and Mauney both recorded qualified rides?
YATES: “I had Carrillo Cartel, and I knew I could beat J.B. on that bull, but I had to spur. I was having to get everything I could to get as many points as I could out of Carrillo Cartel, and that was exactly what happened. He wasn’t an easy bull, and he had me on the end of my arm, but I was throwing Hail Marys and giving everything I had. That was huge for me. I came into the PBR at the exact same bull riding J.B. Mauney did, but what he was able to do, even at that point, in time from where he started was impressive. He hadn’t won a world title yet, but what he was able to do in the sport. It was like, ‘OK, man, you are going against one of the greatest of all time with a great matchup.’
“In that moment, when I was in the bucking chute, that is what bull riders live for. Those moments. That feeling that you get where you know your back is against the wall and you have to succeed. There are no ifs, ands or buts about it. To be able to conquer the beast – and I am not talking about the bull, I’m talking about J.B. – that was a huge, huge moment. Then for him to be J.B. and come up to me and congratulate me on beating him was another cool thing.”
Round 4: Yates (3.23 seconds on Voodoo Child) defeats Valdiron de Oliveira (3.01 seconds on Perfect Poison)
In one of the rare instances in PBR history where a bull rider used the challenge button to review another person’s ride, Yates’ decision proved fruitful. It appeared as if Valdiron de Oliveira had eliminated Yates during the semifinals when the initial judge’s clock had Oliveira lasting 3.38 seconds on Perfect Poison.
However, Pistol Robinson started yelling at Yates to go hit the challenge button, and a $500 risk would eventually end up being a payday of $52,000.
YATES: “I got bucked off Voodoo Child or something. I was first. Well, then Valdiron was after me, and his time went longer what mine was on Voodoo Child. And I was back there based off the clock and Pistol Robinson was like, ‘Hit the button!’ so I ran up and hit the button. The challenge showed it was less than my time. If I wouldn’t have done that, I wouldn’t have won it. It worked out in my favor.”
Round 5: Yates (2.45 seconds on I’m a Gangster) defeats Austin Meier (2.34 seconds on Bushwacker)
By the time the championship round began, Yates had been on five bulls in less than two hours, and he was exhausted. Sweat was pouring down his face, but he knew he was extremely close to winning the PBR’s second Iron Cowboy. Fatigue could not be an excuse at this point. Yates saw rising bovine star Bushwacker buck off Austin Meier extremely quick, and he knew he just had to bear down at this point.
YATES: “I knew mine very well could happen like that too, but that was a kind of close your eyes moment, grit it out and see if you could get as many seconds as possible. I barely, barely beat him.”
Bonus Round: Yates bucks off Super Duty in 2.32 seconds
Yates had the chance to win an additional $100,000 if he could ride bonus bull Super Duty for the full 8 seconds, but the home state cowboy was in no shape to do so, losing his bull rope almost instantaneously.
YATES: “I won, and it was different. The year before they won like a quarter million, and then this time you had to earn it, so I got on the bounty bull and I lost my rope like the first jump and wasted it all. But no, it was well worth it. It was something I will always remember.”
Follow Justin Felisko on Twitter @jfelisko
Photos courtesy of Andy Watson/Bull Stock Media
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