The Morning Line – Nampa Round 1 & 15/15 Bucking Battle
By: Slade Long
Brennon Eldred on 25B Trail of Tears:
Trail of Tears is a solid draw for a right-handed guy, and Eldred should like him. Eldred has missed time with injury this year, and he’s drawn tough when he has been on tour, but he could get things going the right way on this bull.
Cooper Davis on 57 Charmed Magic:
This is one of the nicer bulls to ride in the round; he’s been ridden four times in seven career outs. Davis has slipped to No. 4 in the world standings. He missed Louisville and Oklahoma City with an injury, and the other riders at the top of the standings have made the most of it. They have all been on fire for the past few weeks. This bull should help Davis back into the race.
Taylor Toves on 409 Kung Fu Magic:
Toves may not have enough bull to win the round, but he should definitely put a good score on the board. Kung Fu Magic is 2-4 against right-handed riders and spends most of his time on the rodeo trail, away from UTB level riders. He’s one of the best draws available for a right-handed rider.
Joao Ricardo Vieira on 71D Gray Smoke:
Vieira has ridden his last eight bulls in a row, has moved to second in the world standings, and this bull has little chance of slowing him down him. Gray Smoke is unridden in four career outs, but he goes to the left and is pretty smooth. He hasn’t faced anyone of Vieira’s caliber yet.
Jose Vitor Leme on 618D XO:
The biggest problem facing most high-level bull riders today is how are you going to compete with an absolute monster? Leme has single-handedly driven the level of competition at the top way up over the past couple of years. He’s not only been great himself but he’s forced everyone else to up their game to keep up with him. Unless he falls asleep in the chute, this bull probably won’t get the best of him.
15/15 Round
Mauricio Moreira on 679 I’m Busted:
This bull is unridden by anyone not named Joao Ricardo Vieira. He likes the left, but he has a lot of forward movement, and he’s fast. Vieira rode him two weekends in a row earlier this year, but I’m Busted has multiple buckoffs against Cooper Davis and Daylon Swearingen, among others. Tough bull, and Moreira is the underdog in this matchup.
Boudreaux Campbell on 162 The Right Stuff:
The Right Stuff has thrown off his last 26 riders in a row going back to the 2019 World Finals when Jess Lockwood became the only man to reach 8 seconds on him. This bull likes the left, and Campbell likes bulls that go to the left, but he was blanked on two fantastic draws in Oklahoma City last week. This bull will be much, much harder to ride than those.
Derek Kolbaba on D10 Joe Bananas:
Kolbaba has a relatively unknown bull for a 15/15 round. Joe Bananas is 3-0 in his career, and he threw Jose Vitor Leme off in Nampa last fall. He hasn’t posted gaudy numbers, but he’s shown Cody Lambert enough to earn a spot here.
Junior Patrik Souza on 362A Heartbreak Kid:
Souza bucked off this bull about a year ago in Guthrie. He did make it to the six-second mark, and Heartbreak Kid has allowed a few lefties to get to the whistle on him in recent months. This was one of the premier bulls in the business in 2018-2019, but he did not quite live up to his reputation in 2020 and hasn’t been getting big bull scores in two outs so far this year.
Keyshawn Whitehorse on 449 WSM’s Jive Turkey:
This bull really loves to spin, and he puts his heart and soul into it. Once he turns the corner, he steps on the gas and never lets up. He goes to the left and is 16-0 against right-handed riders. Whitehorse has a chance because Jive Turkey has pretty good timing, but even a tiny hesitation or mistake will be too much to overcome on this bull.
Silvano Alves on 409 Mr. Clean:
Alves may come into this hoping for some kind of re-ride option. This bull can be a little troublesome in the chute, and he will be a whole lot of trouble for Alves in the arena. He’s 20-2 in his career and hasn’t given up a qualified ride in nearly two years. The two re-ride bulls in this round are super nice compared to Mr. Clean.
Cole Melancon on 94 First Down:
This is another bull without much of a record. He was at the Glendale event and looked pretty strong. Melancon isn’t exactly on a roll; he’s bucked off his last nine bulls in a row. Having a bull he doesn’t know much about may be a plus here. Guys who aren’t riding their best are prone to overthinking every matchup, but if you don’t know the bull, you can’t do that.
Rafael Henrique dos Santos on 001 Smooth Operator:
Santos bucked off this bull a little over a month ago in Glendale, Arizona (in the Del Rio event short round). Smooth Operator also got the best of Eduardo Aparecido in Sioux Falls, but he is 2-3 against right-handed guys overall this season. The two-time and reigning World Champion Bull is closing in on 100 career UTB-level outs, depending on how they decide to calculate it, but he’s a living legend either way.
Marco Eguchi on 43C- Chiseled:
Chiseled is another top-tier bull who is in the running for World Champion but has been vulnerable to right-handed riders; he’s 1-3 against them this season. This is a great matchup for Eguchi, who can let it all hang out.
Colten Fritzlan on 83E Kapt’n Krunch:
This bull is 13-1 in his career, but he’s far from the most difficult bull Fritzlan could have drawn in a 15/15 round context. J.B. Mauney was 89.25 points on this bull to win a long round here in Nampa last fall. Kapt’n Krunch is a solid performer, but he hasn’t faced that many top-level riders. Fritzlan has a chance, even going away from his hand.
Dener Barbosa on W55 War Fury:
This bull is a less flashy version of Chiseled. He has good timing, is light on his feet, and really leans into a right-hand spin. Marco Eguchi was 91 points on him at the World Finals, and Eduardo Aparecido was 87 points on him in Glendale last month. He hasn’t allowed a lefty to make the whistle, but he also hasn’t faced many lefties in general. He’s almost sure to go away from Barbosa’s hand.
Cooper Davis on 28A Smooth Wreck:
Mason Taylor was 89.25 points on this bull in the short round here in Nampa last October. Smooth Wreck is indeed smooth, but also causes a lot of wrecks. He’s a solid short round-caliber bull with pretty high difficulty, even for the best riders. He doesn’t really have any tricks. His next jump will be a lot like the previous one, but he has enough power to get guys on the ground anyway. He probably goes away from Davis’s hand here, but this is a pretty even matchup.
Jose Vitor Leme on 39D Top Shelf:
Leme has two 90-plus-point rides on this bull in the past month, and neither of them won the round for him. This seems like a guaranteed win, and it may be, but Top Shelf is no pushover. Leme is about the only rider who doesn’t seem to struggle against him.
Joao Ricardo Vieira on 513 Good Night Robicheaux:
Good Night Robicheaux may be perfectly equipped to slow Vieira’s roll. He is 18-1 against left-handed riders and 46-3 overall. He’s one of the hardest bulls to ride in the sport. Vieira has been on him twice and didn’t make it to the two-second mark either time.
Kaique Pacheco on D27 HomeBru:
This is a good draw for Pacheco in every way except one; he will go away from Pacheco’s hand. Derek Kolbaba was 89.5 points on HomeBru in Kansas City. With great timing, good speed and enough intensity to be a challenge for any rider, this bull is rideable but will test Pacheco going to the left.
© 2021 PBR Inc. All rights reserved.