Oh, how the mighty have fallen

This past weekend seemed to shock all JB Mauney fans after seeing his past two performances. The North Carolina cowboy went 1 for 3 and finished 15th this past weekend in Oakland, CA. That would be bad enough but sadly that is not the worst of it. His second biggest contender for the world title, Valdiron do Oliveira, finished second to no other than current world number one Guilherme Marchi. The ground that Mauney had worked 2 weeks to gain all of a sudden was cut by almost 800 points. With only three regular season events left before the finals Mauney can not afford to let this happen again. With a 3,000 point deficit Mauney needs to average at least 900 points per remaining event going into the finals. This is going to mean that Mauney will have to win almost every round and win at least one of the events. Even after achieving this Mauney will still only be at level with Marchi, meaning he will have to out ride Marchi in every round of the finals to have a chance at being this years world champion. Now, don't get me wrong this situation is completely plausible and may happen. The fact of the matter is Mauney will have to work hard and ride hard to do it and if any young rider on tour can do it, he can be that man. 

Opportunity Knocking

This weekend in San Antonio, TX one up and coming bull rider will get his chance at the big time in the PBR's Built Ford Tough Series. Cowboys Dancehall which normally hosts an amateur level event weekly will be host to a Discovery Tour event. What makes this event special compared to the rest of the minor league tour events is that the winner of this event will get an automatic bid to the BFTS event in Cincinnati, OH the following weekend. This opens the door for the winner to go to the event and possibly win enough money to stay on tour and make a shot at being a regular fixture on tour next season. This is the kind of opportunity that most cowboys can only dream of. The reality of it is that this is going to be a cut throat competition with the cowboys putting out 3rd, 4th and 5th efforts to make the whistle. This is the first time where an opportunity like this has been presented to the cowboys and I have no doubt in my mind that they will pull out all the stops to be the one to go to Cincinnati and go play with the big boys. Now I attend Cowboys weekly for their bull riding event so I will without a doubt be there cheering on one of the regulars because I know how much this opportunity means to them. 

The Cowboy Try

Tis the season highlight reels are made of. As the BFTS regular season comes down to the last 6 events the only thing that matters is the rides. No matter if  it is for points to win the world title, or just simply enough to make the trip to Vegas.  This was most well displayed this past weekend in Jacksonville. JB Mauney on a mission to gain as many points on Guilherme Marchi won his second event in a row and in doing that went 6 of his last 6 bulls. On the other end of the spectrum you have Harve Stewart who going in to this past weekend was the man on the bubble as far as qualifying is concerned earned enough money to move up ten spots on the list and finished 2nd. Another outstanding performance came from virtual unknown Clayton Foltyn who was attempting to earn enough money for Vegas finished 6th and earned $4,360.00 putting him in the race for the finals. Ask any rider how many points he has or where he stands in the qualifying standings the most common answer is "I don't pay attention to that stuff I ride one jump at a time and let it all line up." Now that the finals are on the mind every rider knows not only where he stands but the status of his competitors as well. And it seem that with their minds on what they need to do the riders are holding on just a little harder. I think the guys that are thinking this now need to apply that hold on or miss out on Vegas mentality to the whole season and see how beneficial that might be. 

Victory at long last

If any time is the best time to become a bull riding fan the time is now. As we grow within 6 events of the finals men start to worry about where they stand in qualifying money and points. This determination brings about a new level of determination and try among the riders to make it to the most prestigious event with the hopes of becoming the new world champion. Men who would normally just give up if a bull

So after waiting 27 events to make his mark JB Mauney said loud and confidently that he was not letting this year end without making a statement. The past two weeks Mauney has won both events and covered all 6 of his bulls. He is on a hot streak that not even world number 1 Guilherme Marchi can handle. Due to the wins these past two weeks Mauney has gained over 1,000 points on the current world leader. With 4 events left in the regular season it is legitimately possible that Mauney could become the world number 1 entering into the first weekend of the finals. This of course would have to mean Marchi bucks off every bull from here to the finals but that could happen if he continues to perform the way he has these last few events. And with 4,800 points realistically obtainable at the finals Marchi may just again become the bridesmaid for yet another year. Although this is possible it is hard to say what the outcome will be and we will all just have to wait for that final night in Vegas when that last bull is bucked. The next event is this weekend in Oakland, CA with 3 rounds of action and opportunity. We will without a doubt be in for non stop action from this point on so hold on tight and enjoy the ride.