This past weekend the West Coast hosted two events in three days. First stop, Portland, Oregon for the Portland Invitational on Friday night. Although the Oregon fans only had the one night, it was an exciting one. Great rides and great bulls made for a super event.

Round one saw the Built Ford Tough Series leader Guilherme Marchi hit the top spot again as he was awarded a score of 90.75 after he rode Flying U/Moreno Bucking Bulls’ Hawaiian Ivory. For what it’s worth, I sure like this bull of Moreno’s. Clayton Foltyn and McKennon Wimberly tied for second and third with scores of 88.25. Foltyn rode the Chad Berger/Clay Struve bull Almost Famous. Wimberly covered Frank the Tank, owned by John and Lacey Berger/Clay Struve.   

There was also a tie for fourth and fifth. Austin Meier rode Little Bo, owned by 4C’s/Sills/Barker. Dusty LaBeth rode a Priest Creek Ranch bull, Mr. Deeds. Meier and LaBeth scored 87.50.

Kody Lostroh tames the great Troubadour. Andy Watson photo

The Championship Round was a super one. Kody Lostroh won the round when he rode the previously unridden Troubadour to a whopping 93.50! Julio Moreno owns Troubadour. Unfortunately, this candidate for Bull of the Year injured himself during this outing. He was to be taken to U.C. Davis, and as of this writing I do not have anything to report on his condition. I certainly hope we see this wonderful athlete back to full strength soon.

Marchi rode Copperhead Slinger, owned by Chad Berger/Ryken/Larson, to a 92.25 to be second. A newcomer to the tour, young Jarrod Craig kept the 90-point scores going when he rode All In to a 90.50. Naccarato Bucking Bulls owns All In. Valdiron de Oliveira was fourth after riding the Don Kish Bucking Bull Wolf Can II to a score of 89.50.

At the end of the night the leaders for the event standings were Marchi, Lostroh, Craig, and Meier.

With his win, Marchi extended his lead for the BFTS standings. Travis Briscoe is second, Lostroh third, Robson Palermo fourth, and de Oliveira fifth.

Right after this event it was time to travel north to Tacoma, Washington. The action continued to be hot with many good rides. Brazilian Renato Nunes won the first round. He rode Nasty Town, owned by Red Knection K Bucking Bulls, to a score of 90.50. Colby Yates was second with an even 90 on Tighty Whitey, owned by Kaycee Simpson. Chris Shivers and Dustin Hall tied for third and fourth with scores of 89.75. Shivers rode Don Kish’s bull Blood Sucker, and Hall covered Why Not Minot, owned by Chad Berger/Roger Ward.

Yates improved his position from round one, moving from second to first with his ride in this second round on Aces Heart Breaker. He received a 90.50 on the Cory & Horst/The Western Group bull. Shivers moved up a slot as well. He was second after his 90-point ride on Almost Famous. Chad Berger/Clay Struve own that good bull. Jarrod Craig hit the board again, duplicating the third place finish he got in the Championship Round in Portland. This time he was 89.50 on the bull owned by Big Bend/Flying Five Rodeo Company, Fire Bird. Fourth was Pistol Robinson. He scored an 89.25 on Golden Ghost, owned by Don Kish Bucking Bulls.

The short go was amazing. There were so many strong bulls here that the likes of Reindeer Dippen and Dr. Proctor, so often seen in the Championship Round, were relegated to the second round instead. Four men rode their bulls, all of them receiving over 90 points for their efforts.

Chris Shivers wins his first event in two years. Andy Watson photo

When the dust settled, J.B. Mauney found himself at the top of the heap of the Championship Round. He rode Chad Berger/Clay Struve’s Say I Won’t Gunner to a huge 93.25 score. This bull was unridden until Mauney changed all that. Guilherme Marchi was second. He drew Copperhead Slinger for the second event in a row, and received the same score of 92.25. With that ride, Marchi has ridden 15 of his last 16 bulls. More impressive perhaps, is that his score was his seventh 90+ ride of the season.  

The ever-popular Shivers rode the great bull Cooper to a 91.25 to be third. Chad Berger/Clay Struve/Julie Rosen owns Cooper. The final man to ride in this short go was de Oliveira. He scored a 90.75 on the Don Kish Bucking Bulls’ Fine Wine.

The event went to Shivers, and in grand style. He was nine-and-a-half points over the second place rider. Amazingly, this was his first win in two years. It was just a matter of time however, as Chris has been riding really well of late, and is healthy. And not to be outdone by Guilherme, Chris has his own little statistic. His score on Cooper was his 70^th 90 point ride – quite an accomplishment!

De Oliveira was second in the event standings, Mauney third, and Marchi fourth.

The title of bull of the event went to the same bull for both Portland and Tacoma. Diamond G Rodeo Company Inc.’s White Magic garnered big scores from the judges, a 47.50 in Portland and a 47.25 in Tacoma. Congratulations to Steve and Cyndi Gilbert on their great bull.

White Magic shows why he was the best bull of both events. Andy Watson photo

As far as the BFTS standings, Marchi holds his lead, and Briscoe is still second. Lostroh dropped down to fourth though, as de Oliveira moved ahead of him into third. Mauney is fifth.

There were some injuries along the way. Both LaBeth and L.J. Jenkins sustained concussions on Saturday and did not ride the next day. Mike White got stepped on and is probable for Albuquerque. Adriano Moraes is suffering from a chronic back problem that was aggravated in Portland, and is not competing.

Albuquerque is two weeks away, and for those who are a bit beat up, the timing could not be better.

Be safe and God Bless,

Viva La Raza,

Barb.