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Nevada cowboy wins Reno Xtreme Bulls title
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Colin McTaggart won the Reno (Nev.) Xtreme Bulls stop on June 18 at the Reno-Sparks Events Center. The Las Vegas, Nev., bull rider bested a talented field, which included the reigning world champion and former world champions.
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By Bob Welch/Special to ProRodeo.com
The Reno stop of the Xtreme Bulls Tour presented by B&W Trailer Hitches is filled with history. It was in Reno, Nev., in 2006 when reigning World Champion J.W. Harris burst on the scene and marked an Xtreme Bulls Tour-record 96-point ride on Werewolf. Four years ago 2005 World Champion Matt Austin won five of 10 Xtreme Bulls stops in 2005, Reno was one of them.
The 2009 edition on June 18 was also noteworthy. Colin McTaggart will be the first Xtreme Bulls champion to win a title without having the highest-mark ride of the event. Here’s how it played out:
In the first round, McTaggart drew Western Rodeo’s old campaigner Rough and Ready.
“He’s been a great bull for so long that I was just hoping he would have the kind of trip that he ended up having,” McTaggart said. “It worked out he was still a really good bull to have and obviously, make some money on.”
The judges marked him an 85, which turned out to be the best ride of the night. Jarrod Ford turned in an 83 and Casey Baize had an 82.5. In sum, there were only six qualified rides in the semifinal round, so six cowboys from the field were drawn into final round.
Among them was Tyler Johnston, a Montana circuit cowboy who has never rodeoed hard. He drew Growney Brothers Rodeo’s West Coast Offense. In a fast-moving, exciting ride, he wound up with an 88-point ride.
No one else rode.
The star of the short round was not a cowboy, instead a pen of bulls and in particular Flying U’s Bring It, who dispatched Chris Roundy on the first jump. The judges marked the bull two 24.5s out of 25.
McTaggart drew Big Bend’s Firebird, who Clayton Foltyn won last year’s Xtreme Bulls Reno stop on with a 95-point ride.
“That bull is big and he bucks hard. That was the third time I’d been on him,” McTaggart said. “I rode him once, he bucked me off (at the 2008 Wrangler National Finals Rodeo) and he bucked me off tonight. He bucked harder than he ever has before.”
But because the Xtreme Bulls winner is the cowboy with the best score on two and Johnston, who was drawn into the Final round and therefore could not qualify for average earnings, the title fell to McTaggart.
While it’s not the way the Las Vegas cowboy would have liked to have won his first Xtreme Bulls title, the added money to his world standings total might propel him to his third Wrangler NFR.
“I was 25th coming into this, so this should give me a pretty good boost,” he said. “It was tight from 25 through about 10. A win like that is always a big boost. My summers are always better than my winters, so I’m pretty excited to have it start off like this.”
What’s more, he did it with a pulled groin suffered at the Clovis (Calif.) Rodeo.
“I gave it some time off and it’s been working, but after a night like this it got jerked on pretty good,” McTaggart said. “I’ll go ice it and hopefully it’ll hold together. I’ve always been real lucky about being healthy. I’ve never had to really set out, so sitting out those five weeks with my groin killed me. I’m just going to give it some time off and hope it holds up through the summer.”
The Reno Xtreme Bulls stop will be broadcast at noon (ET) on July 5 on ESPN2. The program will re-air at noon (ET) on July 25 and July 26 on ESPN Classic.
The Reno Xtreme Bulls competition was the sixth of eight regular season stops on the 2009 Xtreme Bulls Tour. The Tour Finale is set for Sept. 5 in Ellensburg, Wash.
For more information, click here to go to the Xtreme Bulls page.
Reno Xtreme Bulls
Reno, Nev., June 18
First Round: 1. Colin McTaggart, 85 points on Western Rodeos’ Rough And Ready, $4,251; 2. Jarrod Ford, 83, $3,259; 3. Casey Baize, 82.5, $2,409; 4. Marcus Michaelis, 79.5, $1,559; 5. Joe Meling, 75.5, $992; 6. Jordan Hooton, 75, $709; no other qualified rides.
Short Round: 1. Tyler Johnston, 88 points on Growney Brothers’ West Coast Offense, $2,740; no other qualified rides.
Average: 1. Colin McTaggart, 85, $7,085; 2. Jarrod Ford, 83, $5,432; 3. Casey Baize, 82.5, $4,015; 4. Marcus Michaelis, 79.5, $2,598; 5. Joe Meling, 75.5, $1,653; 6. Jordan Hooton, 75, $1,181.
Total payoff: $47,738. Stock contractors: Rosser Rodeo Company, Flying U Rodeo Company, Growney Brothers, Western Rodeos, Big Bend Rodeo Company, Flying Five Rodeo Company. Rodeo secretary: Cindy Moreno Rosser.
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