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.