Cowboys Dancehall - May 9, 2008

With the Built Ford Tough Series (BFTS) event rolling into the Alamodome this coming Saturday and the PBR's "dark" weekend with regards to BFTS events, the PBR tour bull riders have started making their way to south Texas. The Friday night bull riding at Cowboys Dance Hall hosted a couple of current "tour" riders; namely J.B. Mauney, the 4th ranked bull rider in the PBR as well as Australian bull rider Ben Jones.

Mauney, the young cowboy from the Carolinas, is only about 400 BFTS points away from second place in the world standings. Jones first captured the hearts of Americans with his trademark celebration dance witnessed via the PBR's 2007 International Team Event held in his home country.

Bull riding varies from most professional sports in that bull riders will generally compete in a variety of events, both sanctioned and unsanctioned. Aside from sponsorships and endorsements, bull riders must perform in order to get paid. There are no guaranteed contracts like some other professional athletes enjoy. In short, at any given bull riding you could very well see top ranked cowboys competing. My prediction is that the Friday night bull riding at Cowboys Dance Hall on Friday, May 16th could be stacked deep with BFTS cowboys.

The bulls definitely got the best of the cowboys last week. There were only a handful of qualified rides and a couple of brutal wrecks. The Good: Clayton Baetchge continued his hot streak with an 87-point ride for the win on Sid Evans' "Cool Whip." The Bad: J.B. Mauney did not ride his bull. The Ugly: Ronnie Kitchens got in a bad "hang up" after coming off of his bull; he was stepped on and knocked unconscious...scary.

• Bullnotes: L&G Cattle Company's-492 "Skat Jacket" made short and impressive work of former BFTS rider Jason Bennett.

Results (Unofficial)

1. Clayton Baetchge-87-Sid Evans "Cool Whip"
2. Colter Chapman-82-Alan Green Deep South Bucking Bulls "Goat"
3. Juan Baron-81-Davis Wilson "Specalicious"
4. Rosendo Ramirez-79-Davis Wilson "Gillette"

Stock Contractors:
Sonny Arocha's Cibolo Creek Cattle Company
L & G Cattle Company
Davis Wilson Bucking Bulls
Sid Evans Bucking Bulls
Alan Green's Deep South Bucking Bulls

Officials: Jimbo Kimbro, Barry Gullo and Shawn French
Bullfighters: Guy Reid & George Barragan