Bad show
Portland exposes weaknesses in top riders
PORTLAND, Ore. (October 5, 2009) - There are several ways to define “pressure.”
When
it comes to professional bull riding, the two most applicable
definitions would be “a constraining or compelling force or influence”
along with “urgency, as of affairs or business.”
The
pressure starts to mount now,” said Ty Murray, at the onset of the
championship round of the GoDaddy.com Invitational this past weekend in
Portland, which was broadcast nationally on CBS.
The
nine-time World Champion was referring to the Top 3 riders – Kody
Lostroh, Guilherme Marchi and J.B. Mauney – and anyone else who expects
to challenge them for this year’s world title.
But
if Portland proved anything, it proved all three of them have
weaknesses they will have to contend with between now and the eighth
round of the World Finals.
There
are two Built Ford Tough Series events remaining – Columbus, Ohio, and
Uncasville, Conn. – and the Top 3 are within 972.5 points of one
another.
“This is the strongest race we’ve ever had,” Murray said. “You’re talking about such a tight race that every bull counts.”
Lostroh,
who has been atop the world standings since finishing second in St.
Louis, was 0-for-2 this weekend. His two buckoffs meant that he missed
qualifying for the championship round for the first time since missing
the Worcester, Mass., event.
In
spite of winning last week in Ontario, Calif., Lostroh has found
himself out of position seven times in the past four BFTS events. In an
interview televised on CBS, Lostroh told Leah Garcia that both bulls
this weekend – Team Equine’s High Roller and Hope So – got him back off
his rope and sitting on the pockets of his pants.
A
technically sound rider, Lostroh needs to be out over the front of his
bull and leading with his riding shoulder, which he injured four weeks
ago in Reno, Nev., in order to keep from having it come out of place.
However, in questioning his durability, Murray noted that Lostroh “took some really hard jerks on that arm in both rounds.”
There
are a maximum of 15 more bulls for Lostroh to have to get on – seven at
the last two BFTS events and another eight during the Finals – and
Murray expressed enough doubt that he predicted Lostroh would finish
third in the world standings.
Like Michael Gaffney, Murray believes Marchi will become the PBR’s first ever back-to-back World Champion.
Marchi
had an opportunity this weekend to seriously close the gap on Lostroh
after he finished Round 1 in fifth place, but he bucked off in Round 2
and his 85.5 on Boomtown wasn’t enough to get back to the championship
round on one bull.
Marchi
came down off of Major Infraction in 5.3 seconds. The defending World
Champion was able to make his first countermove, but was unable to make
the second correction.
“It
just keeps getting more interesting,” said Murray, who added that
Marchi missed a huge opportunity. “Every single bull counts. This is a
race that could come down to one bull.”
Justin McKee agreed, adding, “It could come down to the difference between an 85 and a 90-point ride.”
Mauney,
who has now bucked off four of his last six, came down in Round 1
before managing an 86 in Round 2 on Old Glory to make it back in the
12th position. With the fourth-to-last pick in the draft, he selected
Copperhead Slinger.
He
was never set, and when the bull turned back, Mauney got hit in the
elbow with a horn and came off in just 1.9 seconds—his quickest buck
off since Albuquerque, when Wild Nights got him on the ground in 1.8
seconds.
None
of the three seemed overly concerned about their individual
performances in Portland. As Murray said, “The top guys learn to
control their emotions.”
That
said, they need to have better results in Columbus, especially
considering that six other riders ranked in the Top 10 were in the
short go. And four other qualifiers are in the Top 20.
Next
weekend, the BFTS will be in Columbus for the Cooper Tire Invitational
presented by Copenhagen Bull Riding. The two-day event takes place
Saturday night and Sunday afternoon at the Nationwide Arena.
The regular season then finishes the following weekend with a three-day affair in Uncasville at the Mohegan Sun Arena.
“Only time will tell,” said Mauney.
NEWS and NOTES
Road to Vegas: All
roads are leading to Las Vegas! At this time of the season the PBR is
all about the World Finals, which is Oct. 30 through Nov. 8. Call for
ticket information or log onto www.unlvtickets.com to order your tickets for what will be one of the tightest finishes for the world title. —by Keith Ryan Cartwright