*Note: First off, my apologies to the 20 people that
might have read this blog, that I all but quit after three weeks of
action… Secondly, I hope to do a much
better job at posting – especially with the upcoming 2012 NFR… I hope to bring
some insight to all of you straight from Las Vegas… Stay tuned… (to see if I
can actually beat “4 in a row”… blogs that is…)
BULL RIDING:
Let’s see…
Where to begin… Since my last blog was in May, there is plenty to cover…
1. Cheyenne
Frontier Days – The return of the CBR World Championships.
Wow.
Did I
mention Wow? Really. This was probably the best Bull Riding event
I have ever personally witnessed in my 37 years of witnessing Bull Riding. If you’d like to check the stats visit http://probullstats.com/rodeo/B104
This event ranked in the Top 10 of over 4,700 Bull Riding events on record at
probullstats.com. It was legit. Tuff Hedeman orchestrated the best Bull
Riding I have ever seen in my life.
Not to
mention the return of one of my favorites Wesley Silcox. Wes rode like he was on a mission and though
he missed the 2012 NFR due to nagging injuries affecting his August/September
performance, I believe we have not seen the last of the 2007 PRCA World
Champion. His aggregate on 3 head was
274.5 (that’s an average of 91.5 – for anyone not majoring in mathematics) that
was just .5 ahead of 2012 CBR World Champion and new sensation Josh Barentine
and only a point better than the “King” of the modern era – JW Harris… (that’s
right… I said it…)
2. PBR
World Finals.
Another
record – “Back to Back” World Championships for Brazilian Silvano Alves. This guy can ride. I have to admit, I was pulling for my personal
favorites LJ Jenkins, to pull off a World Championship and Luke Snyder for his
second PBR Finals Average Title… But Heck – what do I know?
The continued
struggle for the PBR is to have a Champion who can speak English… I mean zero
disrespect in that comment, because it is obvious the Brazilian riders have
tremendous talent. Yet, it is a simple
fact, that in order to market their organization, the PBR needs Champions that
can communicate to the American public, in turn promoting the organization and
its mission. The language barrier makes
that extremely difficult.
2012 NFR Predictions:
I am
anxious to see this year’s pen of bulls.
What to Watch For: JW Harris… He comes out swinging…
Cody Teel and Trey Benton – these guys are legit, let’s see how they handle
their first NFR, expect big things.
Don’t Forget: Shane Proctor… enough said…
Don't Count Out: Cody Whitney. He’s been there and done that… He’s healthy
and he has ridden some of the rankest bulls on earth… If he gets on a roll he
could win the average, and that could make things interesting.
A Sleeper:
Tag Elliott. Tough as nails, more
talent and determination than many in the field… If Tag gets started on the
right foot, he is certainly capable of mixing up the average…
BULLS:
Bulls of
the Year 2012:
PRCA – Cat
Ballou – 4L & Diamond S Rodeo Co. – This bull bucks. I believe Ty Murray put his foot in his mouth
during the PBR World Finals when he talked about “Bull Power in the PBR”, then
he later tried to recover reverting to “Rider Power” (which I will partially
consider defensible)… Cat Ballou did not have his best day that evening, they
were still 87.5 points on him and I believe won the round… Ty should do a
little research, prior to that and as I recall, the bull had not been ridden in any BFTS outs…
Everyone has an “off day” and when the “off day” still wins the round… That’s
pretty damn good. The bull should go
twice at the NFR. There’s only about 3
or 4 guys in the field that can warm him up on his best day. We’ll see…
PBR –
Asteroid – Circle T – Wow. It will be
interesting to see how this bull progresses… I recall watching videos on Cooper
Kanngiesser’s phone of this bull bucking a few years ago… I think Cooper was
wanting about $5,000 for the bull then?
Anyway, kudos to Cooper for raising one of the greatest animal athletes
in the modern era…
CBR – Bugle
– Talbert Bucking Bulls. If you’ve been
around the bull biz, you know Bugle. CBR
Bull of the Year is based on money won on the bull. Bugle is the one everybody coming back into
the short round should want to get on.
He had a great year on the CBR Tour in 2012 and under this system is
well deserving of the Bull of the Year.
Not sure on his status for 2013.
RODEO:
The 2012
NFR is swiftly approaching!
One of the
coolest things to hit rodeo in recent history is “Pro Fantasy Rodeo”. It is extremely similar to Fantasy Football
or any of the other fantasy games for the major stick and ball sports.
If you are
an avid fan of Pro Rodeo and are not playing, I encourage you to do so. It will make you watch the NFR - like you
have never watched it before. Guaranteed.
This build “avidity”
– the sport needs to build on and improve “avidity” to attract
sponsorships. Join in on the fun!
For more
information visit http://www.profantasyrodeo.com/
In the
meantime, I will try to bring you an insider’s look from the NFR in Las Vegas…
Stay tuned!
HORSES:
Remember
“Kate”?
Well, let
me say it my favorite way: “Kate’s Hot Sister” – does that ring a bell?
“Kate” is
what my bride prefers to call her (because deep down inside, she is mad that I
came up with such a good horse name) and sometimes I forget my “awesome naming
capabilities” and I revert to the horse’s “nickname”… But in one of the first few blogs I mentioned
“Kate” and the story behind her name…
Anyway, I
am proud to say that in her first full year of PRCA competition in the Bareback
Riding Event, HV 667 “Kate’s Hot Sister” has been selected to her first NFR as
a six year old!
What’s more
amazing is that in 2005 my wife Kirsten put Painted Valley on 7 mares. In 2006, those 7 mares had colts. Of those 7 colts, 2 will be making their fist
appearance at the 2012 NFR and there was a third colt, Painted Bear, who had
some consideration for being selected this year as well. Therefore, it would be safe to say that in
2006, of 7 colts sired by Painted Valley, 3 (or 43%) were ranked in the top 300
horses on earth! That’s a pretty good
debut as a sire!
We look
forward to seeing more of Painted Valley’s offspring in the future! For more on my buddy Painted Valley, follow
him on Twitter @PaintedValley or visit http://www.harryvoldrodeo.com/
COWBOYS:
How about
the Wright brothers? What an amazing
crew of guys. At this year’s NFR you
will see World Champion Cody Wright, flanked by two of his younger brothers
Jesse and Jake. Might I add, that coming
in as the world leader in the Saddle Bronc Riding, Jesse Wright has a great
chance at taking home a gold buckle this year.
Although remember, anything can happen at the NFR.
More over,
you will never meet a better group of people than the Wright boys. Real Cowboys.
Bronc Riders. More importantly,
they are polite, respectful young men who serve as wonderful ambassadors for
the sport of Professional Rodeo. Here’s
to the Wright brothers as they pursue greatness at the 2012 NFR!
MUSIC:
So I’m a
bit behind in the Music category because it moves so swiftly, but here’s a few
that are trending for me recently:
Thomas
Rhett – Beer with Jesus. Listen to this
song… It is greatness. If you can guess what I believe is a hidden meaning in
this song, I’ll buy you a ticket to a perf at the NFR this year. If you think you know the answer, email me: scott@scottjdavis.com (offer expires
11/30/12)
Corb Lund –
Bible on the Dash. This is an awesome
song. Enough said.
Stoney
LaRue – Anything Stoney… But check out his “Live Acoustic” album. Q: When do you record a cover song by one of
the greatest artists ever? A: When you
can do it better than they did… Just download it. Trust me.
Shut Up and
Make it Happen
Scott Davis
