Brady Portenier Walks Away with George Paul Memorial Xtreme Bulls Title
Brady Portenier has one trip to the Wrangler National Finals Rodeo under his belt and it’s a place he would like to return.
He helped his cause and them some at the 44th George Paul Memorial Division 1 Xtreme Bull Riding in Del Rio, Texas, April 30.
In a matter of 30 minutes, Portenier climbed on the back of two of the sports best bulls and made them count. In the long round, he rode 4L & Diamond S Rodeo’s Blood Alley for 89.5 points, punching his ticket to the 10-man championship.
The Caldwell, Idaho, cowboy wasn’t done shining in the Texas lights. In the finals, he tamed 4L & Diamond S Rodeo’s Space Unicorn for 87 points. That performance secured the second Xtreme Bulls win of his career with 176.5 points on two head. It was a matchup he’s been looking forward to for over two years.
“I’ve been on that bull before, but didn’t get the job done,” said Portenier, 27. “I do a pretty good job of having a short memory with these bulls, it can be both good and bad.
“I knew what he was, but honestly I couldn’t remember a ton about the previous ride. So, I just went at him jump for jump and it worked out in my favor.”
The fall and winter rodeo run didn’t go quite as well as Portenier had hoped. He went into Del Rio outside the top 50 of the PRCA | RAM World Standings with $11,994 earned so far this season. His win at the Xtreme Bulls event put $11,630 in his pockets alone.
That 16 seconds of work nearly doubled his season earnings in 2022. He said it’s a win like this that can get a cowboy pointed in the right direction with the summer run right around the corner.
“I’ve definitely had better winters in the past, but like I tell everyone you never know when it’s going to be your chance to win. You are just as liable to stay on him as he is to buck you off, so you might as well go out there and try a little bit,” he said.
“This win will a hundred percent give a guy confidence going down the road. Those little aches and pains don’t hurt as bad as they used to.”
Portenier’s last trip to the Finals came in 2020, when he finished ninth in the world standings. He said if there’s one thing he knows, it’s that it takes consistency if you want to punch your ticket to Las Vegas when the season ends in September.
“Consistency is the name of the game in bull riding,” Portenier said. “To me that’s what it takes to be good bull rider and qualify for those big events. Hopefully I can put it all together the rest of the season.”
Courtesy of PRCA