Nearly $50,000 Won at Fort Worth’s Bulls’ Night Out
By Johna Cravens
Two 87.5-point rides gave Louisiana’s Dustin Boquet the championship and more than $13,500 at the Fort Worth Stock Show & Rodeo’s 2020 Bulls’ Night Out. FWSSR photo by James Pfifer
FORT WORTH, Texas – The second night of Bulls’ Night Out at the Fort Worth Stock Show & Rodeo showcased some of the top bulls and bull riders. Forty riders competed in the first round with the best 10 scores returning for a second round.
Parker McCown of Montgomery, Texas, set the pace in the first section when he scored 88 points on 4l & Diamond S Rodeo’s bull Foolish & Cruel. He held the lead for the night until the third section.
That’s when Foster McCraw of Navasota, Texas, the bull riding winner of the final rodeo at Will Rogers Coliseum last year, rode Big Rafter Rodeo’s bull Living Life for 89 points. Two riders later Cole Melancon of Paris, Texas, matched McCraw when he tallied 89 on Stace Smith Pro Rodeo’s bull Torch.
Wyoming’s Hawk Whitt came close to the lead with 88 points on Stockyards Pro Rodeo’s bull Soy El Fuego in the fourth section.
That set up an exciting short round with the top four riders having a great opportunity to win the event. Any one of the four could take the overall lead away from Louisiana’s Dustin Boquet by scoring at least 87.5 points.
But the bulls had other ideas. The first six riders hit the dirt before the eight-second buzzer sounded. Whitt also bucked off, then McCown got the sellout crowd in Dickies Arena cheering when he went the distance on 4L & Diamond S Rodeo’s bull Monte Walsh.
McCown’s score of 83 gave him 171 total points and tied him for third overall. McCraw bucked off and Melancon was the final cowboy to ride. The two-time National Finals Rodeo (NFR) qualifier made a good ride on Rafter G Rodeo’s bull Market Garden, but was offered a reride because the bull fell.
Melancon then rode a second bull that also stumbled badly enough for the judges to award a reride. Hoping the third time would be a charm, Melancon climbed on Andrews Rodeo’s bull Chupacabra but the bull won the matchup.
That meant Boquet who competed on Tuesday night was the overall event winner and took home more than $13,500. Australia’s Ky Hamilton, a 19-year-old sophomore at Sul Ross University, was second overall and earned over $10,300. Ty Wallace, a former NFR bull rider who has spent most of the past two seasons on the injured list, earned almost $7,700. Bulls’ Night Out is part of the Xtreme Bulls Tour of the Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association and featured nearly $50,000 prize money.
The following are results from Wednesday night’s final performance of Bulls’ Night Out in Dickie’s Arena at the Fort Worth Stock Show and Rodeo, January 22, 2020.
Second Performance: 1, (tie) Cole Melancon, Paris, Texas, on Stace Smith Pro Rodeo’s Torch, and Foster McCraw, Navasota, Texas, on Big Rafter Rodeo’s Living Life, 89 points each. 3, (tie) Parker McCown, Montgomery, Texas, and Hawk Whitt, Thermopolis, Wyoming, 88 each. 5, Tyler Bingham, Honeyville, Utah, 86.5. 6, Jordan Hansen, Ponoka, Alberta, Canada, 83.
Short Round: (one ride) 1, Parker McCown, 83.
Total on Two: 1, McCown, 171
Overall: First Round: 1, Ty Wallace, Colbran, Colo., 89.5 points on 4L & Diamond S Rodeo’s Relentless, $5,520. 2. (tie) Cole Melancon, Paris, Texas, and Foster McCraw, Navasota, Texas, 89, $3,680 each. 4, (tie) Parker McCown, Montgomery, Texas, and Hawk Whitt, Thermopolis, Wyoming, 88, $1,656 each. 5, Dustin Boquet, Bourg, La., 87.5, $920. 6, Ky Hamilton, Mackay, Queensland, Australia, 87, $736. 8, Tyler Bingham, Honeyville, Utah, 86.5, $552.
Short Round: (four rides) 1, Trevor Kastner, Roff, Okla., 88 points on Rafter G Rodeo’s Night Prowler, $4,416. 2, Dustin Boquet, 87.5, $3,435. 3, Ky Hamilton, 85, $2,576. 4, Parker McCown, 83, $1,840
Total on Two: 1, Boquet, 175 points, $9,200. 2, Hamilton, 172, $7,054. 3, (tie) Kastner and Parker McCown, Montgomery, Texas, 171, $4,293 each. (on one) 5, Wallace, 89.5, $2,147. 6, (tie) Foster McCraw, Navasota, Texas, and Cole Melancon, Paris, Texas, 89, $1,580 each. 8, Hawk Whitt, Thermopolis, Wyoming, 88, $920.
Jr. Bull Riding: 1, John Crimber, Decatur, Texas, 82 points. 2, Slate Allen, Decatur, Texas, 77. 3, Gauge Negrotto, Fort Worth, 75. 4, Colt Jackson, Keller, Texas, 72.