ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. ― The Ty Murray Invitational in Albuquerque has been held every season since 1997, making it one of the longest running Built Ford Tough Series regular-season events. From the very first event, Albuquerque has been known for having outstanding bulls. Every PBR World Champion Bull except Bones has appeared at this event at some point in their career.
Bushwacker will be in Albuquerque this weekend, and he’s been the high-marked bull at the Ty Murray Invitational for the past three years running.
PBR Livestock Director Cody Lambert works hard at selecting the best bulls available for every Built Ford Tough Series event and at Albuquerque there are a lot more bulls are available.
“At Albuquerque it’s easier to get the best bulls,” said Lambert. “It’s like the Finals, in that I spend more time cutting bulls off the list. The location has a lot to do with it. It’s centrally located near where a lot of good bulls live and every contractor wants to come to it. A week ago at Tacoma, we kind of had to take what we could get. I did cut a few bulls from the list for Tacoma. At Albuquerque my standards are higher because there are a lot more bulls available. H.D. Page and Jeff Robinson both have a full load of bulls scheduled for Fresno next week. All those bulls will be in Albuquerque, but I’m only using the best of them because we have access to so many bulls. So, those are bulls that are good enough quality to be at a Built Ford Tough Series event, and some of them won’t get an out in Albuquerque.”
Bushwacker has been idle since the Dr. Pepper Iron Cowboy V, and he has relocated from Texas to California. He’s slated to appear in Sunday’s short round.
“Bushwacker went from Texas to Phoenix, and then on home to California,” Lambert said. “Julio Moreno is going to bring him along with four other bulls to Albuquerque. He’s kicking off a run of four straight events. He’ll also be at Fresno, Nampa and Billings.”
We haven’t seen Shepherd Hills Tested since Anaheim, Calif., and he will be in the short round on Sunday as well.
“He had an odd trip in Oklahoma City, and another in Anaheim,” said Lambert. “He’s had a minor health issue, but they’ve given him some rest. They bucked him one time in the past month, and that was at THE AMERICAN in Arlington. He looked like he was back to form. I expect him to do well in Albuquerque – really I expect him to be the second best bull there.”
Among the short-round bulls for Albuquerque is Chad Berger’s 922Modified Clyde – an up-and-coming bull that has been getting some attention.
Chase Outlaw puts up 89.75 points on Modified Clyde in Round 1 of the WinStar World Casino Invitational in Thackerville, Okla.
“He really got noticed at Kansas City,” Lambert said. “He was a Classic bull last year, and was hard to get out of the chute on. Chase Outlaw actually rode him in Thackerville last season. He hipped himself there and went to the right. He’s supposed to go to the left and when he does he has a lot more kick. He’s a rank bull when he goes to the left and he’s a really good bull when he goes to the right. Chad Berger just bought him, along with Cowtown Slinger and Fire & Smoke. Chad Berger only has seven or eight bulls in Albuquerque and they are all new purchases.”
In the long rounds in Albuquerque we’ll see quite a few short-round caliber bulls, including Jeff Robinson’s BIG TEX “ROCKS” and D&H Cattle’s Long John. In Tacoma last week, the riders rode just under 50 percent of the bulls that were out. Look for that number to go down this week due to the amped up bull power in Albuquerque.
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