The Morning Line – Sioux Falls Round 1

By: Slade Long

Colten Fritzlan on 522 Vertigo Spy:

This matchup favors the rider more than any other in this round. Vertigo Spy is extremely rider-friendly for a bull at this level, and he’s especially friendly to right-handed riders; he’s 2-6 against them. Fritzlan hasn’t exactly been on a roll since winning the American in early March, but he has a draw he can definitely do something with.

Jose Vitor Leme on 169 Peep Show:

Like many other top-tier riders in this round, Leme has what looks like a tough draw. Peep Show is 14-1 against left-handed riders. He likes the right, and he’s not the smoothest bull in the world. He has a lot of action and can reverse his spin on a dime. No bull alive is a class above Leme, but this will not be a day off for him.

Silvano Alves on 509 Kyno:

Alves isn’t exactly setting the world on fire this season, but he’s doing better than he did the last couple of years up to this point. He has the same overall riding percentage as Colten Fritzlan, a better percentage at PBR events, and he’s ranked higher than Fritzlan right now. Like Fritzlan, he’s also drawn a bull who really leans his way. Kyno has been pretty vulnerable to right-handed riders.

Cooper Davis on 644D Secret Weapon:

Davis is competing with an injury to his riding hand thumb, which seems like a big deal until you realize that most guys who have made it this far in the sport have dealt with riding-hand injuries a lot. Bull riding is hard on the hand. When you have a hand problem, what you don’t necessarily want is a bull with a lot of backup constantly pushing the weight of your body against your riding hand. Most stress to the riding hand in a normal ride occurs between the time the bull’s front feet hit the ground coming down and leave the ground coming back up. When you see bulls duck under themselves making a corner, or seem to crash down hard on their front feet and launch back up without any forward movement, these are bulls that really put a lot of pressure on the riding hand. Secret Weapon is one of this kind of bull, and he’s pretty good at it. He is a tough matchup for anyone here, even without a riding hand injury.

Kaique Pacheco on 55 Wooden Nickels:

In a round with many good draws for right-handed riders, Pacheco drew one that goes to the left and can be tricky. Wooden Nickels can want the rider to the inside of the spin, and Pacheco will have to take care not to override this bull. Pacheco is one of the best at bulls that go away from his hand, and he doesn’t tend to override bulls. He’s also ridden nine of his last 10 and was half a second away from 10 of 10.

Jess Lockwood on 500 Throw Down:

Lockwood is 3-for-11 on the season and needs to make some noise. He doesn’t have a perfect draw here, but like Leme, he can turn bad draws into good scores. This bull can be a little tricky, and he’s 2-0 against lefties.

Marco Eguchi on 913 Monkey:

Eguchi doesn’t have a qualified ride since January, but he may cash in. Monkey can be good enough to win a round on, and he’s partial to right-handed opponents; he’s 4-4 against them. He carried Eduardo Aparecido to an 89-point score and third place in a round at the World Finals.

Rafael Henrique dos Santos on 428 Outlaw:

Santos bucked off this bull last fall, but he should still be the favorite. Outlaw is 3-7 against right-handed riders, making him one of the nicer draws for any righty. He was snappy enough to toss Jose Vitor Leme in Kansas City, though.

Kyle Jones on 87C Sun Country:

Jones needs a break, and he might get one. Sun Country is one of the best draws in the round for lefties; he’s 6-7 against them. Jones has just one qualified ride at the UTB level this season, and that was back in January. This is drawn up to be a tough round for riders, and even the top guys have tough matchups. Anyone with a good draw has a big opportunity here.

Joao Ricardo Vieira on 506 Just Another Gangster:

This bull is almost certain to go to the right, but Vieira has a chance. He’s been pretty good on bulls that go away from his hand for the past couple of years, and this one should have good timing. The bad news is he’s only given up two rides in 19 career outs.

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