The morning line: Winston-Salem, Round 1 Good fits should lead to plenty of qualified rides

WINSTON-SALEM, NC (February 5, 2010) - Last week in Tampa’s first round, we saw 15 bulls ridden – that’s just a shade under the average for the Built Ford Tough Series. I think tonight in Winston-Salem, with essentially the same bulls and riders, we could see around 20 bulls ridden, which is significantly above average. It’s just a matter of guys drawing bulls that fit them, and there are a lot of those in Round 1.

When a lot of riders make the whistle, having a bull that is a little bit better goes a long way toward getting a round win. In a round full of bulls from North Carolina, my top pick in the round involves a rider from North Carolina on a bull from… northwest Louisiana.

J.B. Mauney on 421 Frosty:
The last two guys to ride Frosty were both left-handed, and both 89.25 points, including Josh Koschel in Tampa last week. That kind of score will bring a big check in this round, and this is a bull that J.B. should be able to ride.

Brian Canter on X1 James:
This is two North Carolina natives squaring off. James is a Jerome Davis bull that has been around a good while. Canter hasn’t been on him in PBR competition, but I’d bet he has seen this bull a lot. With an average score of 87.36 points, James is close to the top of tonight’s pen.

Ned Cross on 465 Outta da Blue:
Another Circle T bull out of Louisiana, Outta da Blue carried Austin Meier to a 89.25 point score in Tampa, and he is ridden fairly often by top-level riders.

Ryan McConnel on 111 Great White:
Great White is a PBR East Coast veteran. His average ride score is 88.5 points, but he hasn’t delivered that kind of score since March of 2008. Since then, he has been ridden only twice – for 86.75 and 87.5 points. Still a good score, but may be a tough test for McConnel.

Ross Coleman on 515 Iron Broke:
Ridden six out of seven times in BFTS competition, Iron Broke is a good bull to get a score on, but he will have to step it up to get Ross a spot in the Top 5 in this round.

Elliott Jacoby on 659 Navajo Rug:
Jody Newberry and Travis Briscoe both got a score on this bull in Tampa. Jacoby should get there, too.

Mike Lee on 5204 White Trash:
This Teague bull has delivered two scores over 88 points this year. His numbers were not as impressive last season, but he is a good match for Lee.

Robson Palermo on 327 Lucky Toad:
This is another Jerome Davis bull that has maybe the worst BFTS record of any bull here. He was out at this event two years ago and earned a bull score of 15 points. Since then he has been to quite a few Touring Pro events and has been impressive. He carried Brian Canter to an 89.5 score in Archdale, N.C., back in August.

McKennon Wimberly on 5R4 Rowdy LJ:
Here’s a bull that can get Wimberly in the money, but is not ridden all that often. He has been ridden in four of his past five outings, though, for 86-88 points.

Travis Briscoe on 5212 Rusty Zipper:
A fairly new bull, but one that Briscoe should ride for 86-87 points.

Luke Snyder on 621 Outta da Red:
Like Outta da Blue, Outta da Red is a Louisiana bull. This is a great chance for Snyder to earn some money in this round if he can hang on.

Austin Meier on 5379 Skid Row:
This bull hasn’t been to the BFTS before, but has been very solid at Touring Pro Events. He is unridden in five PBR outs, but hasn’t faced anyone the caliber of Meier yet.

Stormy Wing on 522 Legacy:
Wing was 85.5 on Legacy in Tampa last week.

Wiley Petersen on 151 Buckshot:
Here’s a Walton and Wagner bull that has only been out three times in the PBR, and… ridden all three times. Look for Petersen to get it done.

Valdiron de Oliveira on 518 Space Chimp:
Since Oliveira rides almost everything, he is always on my list. This bull has carried Elliott Jacoby to an 88.5 score, but more recently Mauney rode him for 86.5 points.

-by Slade Long
(Slade Long, PBR Web Developer and Statistician, has been crunching the numbers on bucking bulls for 11 years.)

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