PBR Finals - The Las Vegas Experience VII

(I will be doing a seven part series of the seven days in Las Vegas for the PBR Finals. Each day in Vegas will be posted for the next seven consecutive days.)


Music, snooze, music, snooze. And so our last day of the PBR Finals experience started. The plan was to go to Cowboy Church on Sunday morning. The night before I kept asking Tammie "are you sure you want to go", every time she replied "Yes". We have been to Cowboy Church at every BFTS event and thanks to her faithfulness, we were going again. The room was dark, when we got up, because it was so early, the sun hadn't even come up. So we got ready and left the room and headed to the Thomas & Mack arena. The Cowboy Church service was in the fan zone area, in front of the arena.


It was cold outside, but at least it wasn't raining. There was a good crowd on hand, especially since it was cold and the service started at 8:00am. That's early for anything in Vegas. There was great music and Todd Pierce, the Riding High minister, preached a thought provoking service, as usual. When Todd preaches, not only do you feel good being a Christian, you are inspired to do more for the Lord. After the service we spoke with Cody Nance and his wife, Jordy. Cody is such a polite young man and just watching him around some of the kids at the events that we have seen him, we know he will be a loving and caring father.


By the time the service ended and after visiting with riders, families and friends, it was still about two hours before the event. We met up with some friends in the fan zone and just talked about the event, the next event to go to, and what do the numbers mean for the last day of riding. We finally headed into the arena and of course made our way to the PBR merchandise booth to buy our finals memorabilia. Tammie got a blue jean jacket with the PBR logo on the back and inside lining. I must say, she looked good in it. I decided to go with something different, and bought a Dickies Dura Bullfighter jersey. It's the red sleeve one that Shorty wears (hey, he's a fellow Texan).

Finally to our seats and the opening of the event. In this, the last and final opening of the 2010 BFTS season. The PBR introduced the riders, then at the end, the PBR brought in the 2009 PBR World Champion, Kody Lostroh, and had him in the truck bed on top of the moving platform. Then they introduced the current #2 rider, Austin Meier. He came down the Hall of Champions with an American flag around him and made his way to one side of the truck, on the platform. Then they introduced the current #1 rider, Renato Nunes. He also came down the Hall of Champions, but with a Brazilian flag, and made his way into the arena and on the platform, on the opposite side of the truck. It was a great introduction of the previous year champion and the two guys battling to become the new champion. Gave you chills.

Time for the riding and the final day of the season. Due to space and not making this last blog on the finals so long, I won't go over each flight in great detail, but just some of the highlights. One of the highlights was the first rider of the first flight. Pete Farley was having a good finals. He had already ridden 2 of 4 bulls and both going for high scores. This time, it would be another. He scored an 88.75 on Deja Blu, and all but guaranteeing himself a spot in the short go. Jordan Hupp and Paulo Lima got their third scores of the event and made it to the short go as well. In flight 2, McKennon Wimberly ended up getting the highest score of the round by riding Hawaiian Ivory for an 89.25. Dustin Elliott continued his hot streak, by riding his fourth bull of the event, with an impressive 88.75 on Zip Code and punching his ticket to the short go. JB Mauney got his first ride of the event by scoring an 86.00on Braveheart, which had only been ridden once before by Austin Meier.

In flight 3, there were only two rides, Wiley Petersen getting his second score, an87.00 on Over the Edge. This was not going to be enough to get Wiley into the short go. Also, Silvano Alves rode his fourth bull of the finals. He had an 85.50 on Rewind and it placed him fourth going into the championship round. Also, Austin Meier came down on Pandemic in 6.0 seconds. This sealed Austin's fate and he was going to finish second in the title race. Austin had a great year, but just came up short.

In flight 4, Skeeter Kingsolver got his first score of the finals, an 86.50 on Bible Bender. I'm sure Skeeter was glad the finals was over and he can look to being healthy for the start of the 2011 season. In flight 5, Guilherme Marchi continued to show why he will be a contender next year for his second title. He scored an 86.50 on Buffalo Hump and was going to go into the short go as the number three rider. The ride that people had been waiting for, Renato Nunes on Willie Wilco, did not disappoint. Renato made the 8 and got a score of 87.75. Renato was going to go into the short go as the number one rider and as the World Champion. As Renato was finishing his celebratory back flip, no one noticed that the bull was still in the arena, and when Renato landed on his feet, the bull was coming right at him from his right side. He leaped out of the way and everybody had a great laugh at Renato's "near" accident.

In flight 6, there were only two rides, but both memorable because of the bulls that were conquered. Josh Faircloth scored an 86.75 on Big Tex. Big Tex did not have his usual great out, but anytime you can ride him, that's big news. Also, Mike Lee had a great ride on Little Yellow Jacket Jr. and scored an 88.75. The bull had some great moves and Mike made all the right corrections.

The last day of the finals was by far the most fun of any of the days in Vegas and more fun than any live round of bull riding we have ever been to. Flint was as funny as ever, and the riders, at the urging of Flint, really loosened up. Dustin, Shane, Travis Sellers and Guilherme all had fun dancing and playing up to the crowd. Some because they were doing well and having fun, others because even though they were not riding well, decided to have fun anyway, knowing the start of next season is only a few months away.

The PBR Finals Championship Round: These riders lay it all on the line for this, the chance to ride at the PBR Finals and to make it through a grueling number of days riding bulls, to have the opportunity to be in the last short go of the season. A powerful bull pen and the riders fortunate enough to be the ones that made it this far. Out of the 15 riders, there were five successful rides. Mike Lee was the first to get a ride with a 91.00 on Perfect Poison! People were screaming and cheering every jump and, of course, the first time the confetti had been flying today. Not to be out done, Robson Palermo (remember he was carried out on a stretcher the day before with what the doctors said might be broke neck) handled RMEF Gunpowder & Lead for a whopping 91.25!! Just three riders later, Paulo Lima sat atop MoeBandy.com for an 87.50. Paulo could barely walk, as he had tore his PCL in his knee, days before in the competition, but you don't need to walk to ride the bull. Paulo, literally had to drag himself out of the way of the bull once he dismounted. Two riders later, Wesley Lourenco, the new Brazilian sensation, rode Unabomber for a 90.50! The third 90+ point in the short go and the third time the confetti flew. Then Silvano Alves, the number 4 rider coming into the short go came out of the chute on I'm Back. He looked good then started to come off the left side of the bull. I thought for sure his ride was over. However, I don't know how, but miraculously he was able to use his opposite leg and strength and pulled himself back on top of the bull!! He was doing all of this as the bull continued to buck hard. He made the 8 and received an 85.25 which put him number two in the finals.

The final three had come to the chutes to climb on their beast and beasts they were. Marchi's bull was Bones and he jarred Marchi to the bone when he came out of the chute. The clock read 2.0 seconds. Bones had an outstanding out. Dustin Elliott had Mellow Yellow, a bull he had ridden for 89.25 in San Antonio earlier this year. This rematch went to the bull. Dustin lasted 6.3 seconds but just could not make that last 1.7 seconds. Then the last rider, the World Champion, the leader of the event, Renato Nunes. Renato had already won the title, and the event, but still had some unfinished business - a date with Major Payne. Renato had been the hottest rider in the finals. Major Payne was in the running for Bucking Bull of the Year and had a great out in an earlier round. Everybody was on their feet. The chute opened, Major Payne came bucking hard out of the chute and Renato came off in a quick 1.7 seconds. The bull hit Renato, but he was able to get away, with help from the bull fighters. The event came to an end and even though Renato did not ride his last bull, he became only the second rider in PBR history to win the finals and the title in the same year. Also, Bones, with his stunning out with Marchi was able to squeak by Major Payne and Bushwacker as Bucking Bull of the Year.

We stood at our seats as Renato was brought up on the center stage and presented the $250,000 check for being the finals winner and the $1,000,000 check for being the World Champion. One thing I noticed as the media was finishing the pictures, Kody Lostroh made his way onto the dirt and to the bottom of the ramp. He politely asked the security if he could go on the stage. He then waited a few minutes, then moved to Renato to congratulate him as the new PBR Champion. They shook hands and gave each other a quick hug and Kody then made his way off the ramp. Also, just a another note, when Renato was bucked off of Major Payne and just before he was carried off to the main stage, Austin Meier, the guy coming in as the world's number 1 rider, came up to Renato and congratualted him.

We made our way over to the press conference. We had been to every press conference, so why stop now. Renato was introduced as the 2010 PBR World Champion. There were more reporters and camera's at this press conference than had been at previous ones. Renato talked about the finals and he was excited about the win, but it still hasn't sunk in and he doesn't "feel" any different. He said he had a "hump" (instead on lump) on his head from Major Payne and was laughing that he didn't want to ride Major Payne again. There was a question about the back flip in the long go and the bull nearly running him over. He laughed about it and said after the back flip he looked up and said he was surprised and he was ready to get back on the bull and ride some more. Renato talked about retiring to Brazil and getting a big ranch, but not anytime soon. People wanted to see the buckle, and as Renato was showing it, he said "anybody want to buy it". He was really funny, not just in this press conference but all of them. Ty Murry was in the crowd and Renato pointed to him and said that he (Ty) believed in him. Ty came up and the reporters snapped away with the numerous cameras.

After saying goodbye to Renato, a group of us made our way to get something to eat. We talked about the entire week and what had just happened. The highs, the lows and the riders, the fans and just about everything in between. I want to say a special thanks to Deana, Dave, Sheryl and Reggie. Your friendship, in and out of the PBR is valued and not only are you great PBR fans, but great people as well.

We made our way back to the hotel and changed as we had a date to go see the play The Lion King. We very much enjoyed the play. I remember watching the animated Lion King with my kids when they were younger, but that had been long ago and wasn't quite sure if a live play would be that good - it was. After the play we went to a nice dinner and some gambling and finally back to the hotel. Our PBR Finals experience was coming to an end. This was our second finals, 2009 and now 2010. Although the finals last year was more meaningful, this finals still had thrills, chills and spills. We will be back next year and know some other friends have already gotten their tickets as well. The new 2011 season starts in January, in New York City. We just made the decision to make the trip to New York. We wanted to see the start of the season, live, and it will be our 29th anniversary, so why not spend the anniversary doing something we both enjoy!!!

PBR Finals - The Las Vegas Experience VI

(I will be doing a seven part series of the seven days in Las Vegas for the PBR Finals. Each day in Vegas will be posted for the next seven consecutive days.)

We had spent five days in Vegas up to this point. Depending on what time of the day you asked me, it seemed as though we just got here or it seemed like we had been living in Vegas for awhile and just going about our business. Either way, it had been a fun journey so far, as most every PBR event we have been to.

Today started out by making a trip to the Hard Rock Hotel to the fan zone for the second TeamPBR meet and greet. Tammie had already gotten her signatures for her finals book, but still wanted to get a few more signatures on other pictures she had for the riders. The meet and greet was from 8:00 am to 10:00 am. Since we had already been to the first meet and greet, we didn't need to get there at the early time. By the time we made our way to the Hard Rock, it was about 8:45. Tammie went into the fan zone and I made a few business calls, got something to eat, and spent a few minutes in the casino. You do know that it's important to get a "feel" for the different casinos. :) I made my way out to the fan zone around 9:45. Tammie had already talked to many of the riders and was sitting with McKennon Wimberly. McKennon was looking at Tammie's photo book and she just sat down by him as he was signing autographs. As I approached, Harve Stewart's mom and dad had just walked up and we talked for a few minutes. We had tried to get together for lunch, but with their busy schedule and ours, it just hadn't worked out. Nevertheless, it was interesting talking to them. Over the last two years, not only have we gotten to know the riders, but their families as well. It is great to meet and talk to the parents of the riders. We talk about bull riding and their son's, but we also just talk about family and things that have nothing to do with bull riding.

As the meet and greet ended, more people started to pour into the fan zone, as the draft was about to begin. The draft was going to consist of some really good bulls, but according to Cody Lambert, they are all really good bulls. :) Renato was the first pick and he went with SoulJa Boy. This is a bull that he has ridden, but in his last attempt on the BFTS, SoulJa Boy put him on the ground in quick order. But this was the old Renato, not the one that looked bad in the last five events of the regular season. He had his "Mo Jo" back. Some of the Interesting picks were: Ross Coleman on Top Notch, Chris Shivers on Cat Man Do, Jason O' Hearn on Copp Hou, Sean Willingham on Hee Bee Gee Bee, Jody Newberry on Bushwacker (oh no!), Guilherme Marchi on Priceless and Valdiron de Oliveira on Super Duty. Again, as has been all week, Cody Lambert had his witty comments going about the bulls and riders. He was good all week during the draws/drafts.

After the draft, we made our way over to the Rider Relief Fund auction tent. Tammie was disappointed that someone had put down a higher bid than hers on Kody's glove, but we increased her bid, so she is now the higher bidder. She was still the highest bid on the Cord McCoy shirt.

The auction ended at 3:00 pm and although you didn't have to be present, we wanted to wait around to see if she is going to get the glove. So we met up with friends (which also were bidding) and had lunch. We ate at a deli there in the hotel. Not only did I eat a sandwich and drink, but a got two chocolate covered strawberries, a chocolate cake, and chocolate gelato. I think it was safe to say that I had a chocolate craving. :) We sat around talking about the PBR but also just had a great time laughing and talking about family and other none bull riding subjects. It is good to sometimes clear your mind and get away, even if for a few minutes, and enjoy the fact that you are in a fun place, Vegas. I know some don't like Vegas, the lights, the hustle and bustle, but I think it is a great city to just unwind and take it all in.

Well ..... 3:00 pm was approaching. We made our way over to the auction tent and Tammie again was disappointed to find out that someone had over bid her on the Kody glove. The amount had gotten high, so she changed strategies and put a bid in for Mike Lee's chaps. There was only four minutes till the end of the auction. The bidders looked like a swarm of buzzards circling their soon to be meal. I swooped in and made the decision to submit another bid on the glove. Just as I did that, the guy that we have been bidding against came in and put another higher bid. Tammie had to grab me and tell me not to put another bid in. The guy was putting some serious money on several items, and if he wanted it, it was going to out bid everyone. I had to pull back and not reach for the pen. The auction ended. Tammie was disappointed she didn't get Kody's glove, but was very happy to get Cord's shirt and Mike Lee's chaps. We respect both of those guys and it was great to get something and the money go to a tremendous cause.

Time was getting short, as it was 3:30 before we got out of the fan zone. We headed back to the hotel, did a quick change and headed to the Thomas & Mack arena. Tonight was a unique opening. The Kabuki was dropped and on one side of the arena there were Indians and they were doing a dance with blacklights and fog and hoola hoops (I knew Indians were good with horses, but not hoola hoops. lol). After the Indians did their dance, which was cool, the attention went to the other arena on the opposite side, were they talked about the Cowboys, with a number of Cowboys around a campfire. The pyro started and the introductions of the riders. After the riders were introduced, the cowboys around the campfire pulled off their cover and it was past champions and past riders. Then Adriano Moraes and Jerome Davis were introduced as well. Nice opening and introductions.

The lights came on and the fourth day of bull riding started. In flight 1, Ross Coleman was the first rider and also the first successful ride. He scored an 87.00 on Top Notch. There was only one more scored ride in the first flight, which was an 86.00 by Beau Hill on Tighty Whitey. In flight 2 there were only three rides, but two of them were memorable. Two time PBR Champion Chris Shivers got his third score of the event, an 89.00, on Cat Man Do. This was Cat Man Do's last time to buck and he did himself and his owners proud. Pete Farley also scored an impressive 89.00 on Back Bender. Jordan Hupp rounded out the scoring in the second flight with an 85.75 on Wine Hu. A couple of surprising buck offs were Jason O'Hearn coming off of Copp Hou in just 2.1 seconds. Wesley Lourenco showed he is human after all. Wesley had ridden his first three bulls, but came flying off Kabookie in 3.2 seconds.

In flight 3, there were eight riders, but only one score, which was Dustin Elliott getting it done on Paleface with a score of 87.25. Dustin continued to come to life after having a disappointing season, money wise. Luke Snyder came off in a fast 1.4 seconds on Cracker Jack and Travis Sellers challenged his ride time of 7.8 on Tomahawk, but after review it was officially upheld at 7.84 seconds. In flight 4, Kody Lostroh continued to have his troubles and came off of Power Line in 4.4 seconds. As it turns out, this was Kody's last attempted ride of the finals. He doctored out the last day with a concussion. Two impressive rides, one by the rider and one by the bull happened in this flight. Sean Willingham scored an 89.00 on Hee Bee Gee Bee. This is the same bull that garnered Dustin Elliott the round win on the first night. The impressive bull was Bushwacker. Bushwacker dumped Jody Newberry in just 2.2 seconds. We have been fortunate to see many of Bushwacker's outs this year, in person. With this out, Bushwacker won Classic Bull of the Year and was in the running for Bull of the Year. He is always impressive.

In flight 5, there three scores, including the highest score of the night. Silvano Alves stuck it to Pop Knot for an 87.50. Just two riders later Guilherme Marchi the second highest score of the night on Priceless, with a 90.00 ride!! It was great to see Marchi doing so well after the injury troubles this year and the dismal finals of last year. Later in the flight Robson Palermo had a tremendous ride on Hustlin and was rewarded with a 90.50!!! The happiness of the ride turned to horror, quickly. Robson came down awkward on his head and shoulder and laid on the dirt for quite some time. The medical team took him out on a stretcher and it was thought that he may have broken his neck. We got the news early the next morning that he just had sprain and nothing broken.


In the flight 6 we had the top five riders. Renato had moved to second in the standings, so he moved ahead of JB in the riding order. Ryan McConnel lasted 7.1 on Bad Blake and although he started the finals with an 88.25 and much promise, he faded and didn't get another ride the rest of the event. Valdiron missed a great opportunity and was bucked off Super Duty in 7.2. JB was off a quick 2.4 seconds and was now 0 for 4, after going 8 for 8 in last years finals. Renato continued to ride and ride well by getting an 89.00 on SoulJa Boy. Austin was up and if there was any hope of staying in the race for the title, he had to have this ride. He came out of the chute on Secretary of Soul and after just a few seconds started to come off the side, somehow he righted himself back on the top of the bull. However, he started to come off the side of the bull again. For the next 4 seconds Austin showed one of the most gutsiest rides that anyone has ever seen. As each second ticked away, the crowd was screaming and cheering for him to make the 8. The buzzer sounded and the standing crowd was giving him his just recognition for the effort that he put out. The scored was only a 76.25, because of Austin being out of position most of the ride, but the effort was outstanding. The event was over for the night, but with Renato's and Austin's score, the night ended on a high note.

We promptly made our way to the press conference, which the two in the conference were Renato and Austin. The reporters asked about the title race and Austin said he knew if he had any shot at the title, he had to ride. Both Austin and Renato talked about their friendship and their admiration for each other as a competitor. Austin talked about his ride on Secretary of Soul and the fact that he was not going to give up and the bull was going to have to stomp on him in order to get him loose. Renato discussed the fact that the last time he was on SoulJa Boy he bucked off and it was good to get a ride and good score on him.

After the press conference, we made our way over to the Hard Rock Hotel for the draft. The draft as with most of the drafts/draws started a little late. It was a chore getting the riders to the different Hotels because they were all spread out. With that said, the hard Rock Hotel was the closest hotel to the Thomas and Mack arena.The most surprising pick in the draft was Valdiron picking VooDoo Child. If was able to get a score on Sunday and head into the short go with three bulls ridden, he could finish #2 and still had a slim chance to win the title. With Valdiron picking VooDoo Child, a very difficult bull to ride, his chances of moving up from the fourth spot for the year, decreased. Good match up picks in the draft were Wesley Lourenco on Highway 12, Pete Farley on Deja Blu, Robson Palermo on Paycheck, Brendon Clark on Charlie Bullware, Guilherme Marchi on Buffalo Hump, Josh Faircloth on Big Tex, and Mike Lee on Yellow Jacket Jr..

After the draft we stayed and talked to a few riders and some of the family members of the riders. We then made our way back to the hotel and grabbed a bite to eat. Being on Vegas time also means you eat at very odd hours. Normally we eat dinner between 7pm and 8pm. In Vegas, dinner is usually between 11pm and 1am. After dinner, it was quickly up to the room and off to bed. Tomorrow was going to be the earliest start for the day. Cowboy Church started at 8am which means getting up before the sun rises.