Sage Kimzey Makes History While Splitting Xtreme Bulls Win With J.B. Mauney
In a career littered with ProRodeo records, bull rider Sage Kimzey notched another one Tuesday night.
By splitting the win with J.B. Mauney at the Spanish Fork (Utah) Fiesta Days Xtreme Bulls, Kimzey became the all-time leader in PRCA Xtreme Bulls Division 1 victories with nine.
“It is kind of crazy, to be honest,” Kimzey said. “These are premier stand-alone events, and to have nine of them on my resume is pretty special for sure.”
Kimzey, 26, was tied with Matt Austin for the Division 1 record for career wins.
On Tuesday night, Kimzey shared the win, thanks to his 91-point ride on Powder River Rodeo’s Top Shelf in section one.
“I had never been on that bull, but I had seen him around a bunch,” Kimzey said. “I was excited to have him. The bull really bucked around to the left. He had me moving and working the whole time. I never had a really great seat on him, but it was all good.”
Mauney answered with a 91-point ride on Powder River Rodeo’s Flight Risk in section two.
“It was about time, this makes me feel a little better to win the Xtreme Bulls,” said Mauney, 34. “I’m just taking it one bull at a time and entering as many as I can and having fun. That was the third time I had been on that bull and the first time I rode him. He bucked today. He moved into the left, and he was kind of around the end of the gate, and I met him around to the right and (he) had a big ol’ jump back around to the left. Luckily, I was there when the whistle blew.”
It was Kimzey’s first Division 1 Xtreme Bulls win since June 20, 2019, when he captured the Reno (Nev.) Rodeo Xtreme Bulls title. Kimzey has won a PRCA-record four Xtreme Bulls Tour titles (2015, 2017-19).
Kimzey and Mauney each pocketed $11,201.
“This was very important to get a win like this,” Kimzey said.
Kimzey will remain in second in the PRCA Xtreme Bulls standings with $54,055. Mauney, meanwhile, should scoot up into the top three of the Xtreme Bulls standings with $26,105.
Kimzey also will add to his lead in the PRCA | RAM World Standings with $141,144. Kimzey won six world titles in a row from 2014-19 and was fifth a year ago.
“There’s pretty much a direct 1-to-1 correlation whenever you look at who is doing well in the (world) standings and who is doing well in the Xtreme Bulls standings,” Kimzey said. “If you want to be at the top of (the world standings) you have to do well at these Xtreme Bulls events.”
Mauney entered Tuesday fifth in the world standings and should move up one spot with $88,866 after his Spanish Fork performance.
Mauney has been on a heater the last month. He earned $20,920 for winning the Reno Rodeo June 26, added another $17,105 by winning the Pikes Peak or Bust Rodeo in Colorado Springs, Colo., July 17 and another $11,201 in Spanish Fork.
“I went back to having fun, that’s what it boiled down to,” said Mauney about the key to his recent victory binge. “You ride bulls because it is fun, you don’t do it to make a living when you start out. When you take the fun out of it, it becomes a job. I went back to having fun, and shoot, it seems like it’s working out.”
With the split, Mauney and Kimzey join Clayton Sellars (San Angelo, Texas, and Reno), Fletcher Jowers (Austin, Texas), Dustin Boquet (San Antonio) and T.J. Gray (Del Rio, Texas) as winners on the 2021 Division 1 Xtreme Bulls Tour.
Courtesy of PRCA