Smith Gets the Cash, Rostockyj Takes the Lead on the Mahindra Road to Cheyenne

WEATHERFORD, Texas - Sept. 7, 2015 - PRLog -- Taryl Smith, the only CBR bull rider representing the state of North Dakota, posted three consecutive scores Sunday night to win the second stop,worth $50,500 on the CBR’s Mahindra Road to Cheyenne tour presented by Navajo Nation Parks and Recreation in Window Rock, Arizona.

In only his second year to qualify for the CBR’s televised tour, twenty six year old Smith took home his first event title and more importantly, $28,080 and 261 valuable points towards qualifying for the CBR World Finals next July at Cheyenne Frontier Days. Riding three bulls he had never attempted, and riding in just his seventh event on the premier tour, Smith defines his style as riding them jump for jump and not setting traps.

“CBR has some of the most consistent bulls and they give you an opportunity to win at each event,” said the bull rider who was suffering from food poisoning during the entire event.

The 2016 CBR Season began in Huron, South Dakota on September 3, much like the 2015, with no bull rider posting a score in the final round thus rolling over the majority of the $30,000 purse to the second tour event, Window Rock.

The CBR’s three round tournament style format requires a rider to post a score in the final round to win the bulk of the purse or the monies advance to the next tour event. It was the second time in CBR history the riders had the opportunity to ride for over $50,000 in a single night’s performance.

Newt Brasfield and Demond Haynes both led the way with 89 points in round one where nine riders posted scores to advance to round two. Haynes, riding as an alternate, rode EG’s 1925 Painkiller, owned by Amy West, while Brasfield advanced riding the seasoned bull, 1160 Mr. Wilson, representing the Rhinestone Rebel bull team.  Army veteran Juan Alonzo and CBR Horizon Series Champion Cody Rostockyj put up a pair of 88’s on K & G’s 9100 Kojack, and Mike Rawson’s 107 Jail House Socks, a rematch for Rostockyj. Corey Bailey edged out Smith by half a point followed by the qualified rides of Wyatt Rogers, Dixon Hesstetoon and Mickey Andrews.

With over $50,000 on the line, the pressure of the contest kicked in and only three riders heard the whistle in the semifinal round. Rostockyj won the round with an 87 on M & M’s 132 Blitz and took the lead in the average, 175 on two. But Brasfield edged him out by half a point riding K & G’s One More dip for 86.5. But the cowboy known on tour as “Mr. Consistency”, Taryl Smith would hang in there with an 85 on cowboy favorite, K & G’s Rajun JT.

With three cowboys riding two, the fourth to qualify for the final four Shoot Out would be Demond Haynes who advanced on his round winning 89 points from the first round.

Drafting bulls for the third and final round of the CBR’s tournament style format is the wild card factor that determines the outcome of the “shoot out” round. The cowboys select their bulls in order of their average score which gave Brasfield the advantage.

Based on statistics, Brasfield selected Jones and Ferguson’s 165 Sam Crow to set the pace. Rostockyj picked 1085 Domino, a rematch from the Cheyenne World Finals, and with Smith being sick behind the chutes, he asked Rostockyj to select his final bull as well. With two bulls left, Smith got 051 Something Else of Silver Creek Rodeo leaving Haynes with the Jaynes Gang’s TNT15 Foreplay.

With the power and intensity of the bulls selected by four time World Champion Tuff Hedeman, increased for the final round, only two of the four riders would survive. Rostockyj would strike first with an 88 on Domino.. Smith would answer with 90 points on a 3 time CBR World Finals bull, 051 Something Else. Haynes would buck off and then there was one.

Adding to the drama, Brasfield would be awarded a re-ride on the unridden in two years of CBR competition bull, Dougie. With $50,500 waiting for him at the end of 8 seconds, Brasfield would hang on for 6.78 seconds, coming down just shy of the 8 second whistle and the pot of gold.

After 24 hours of food poisoning, Smith would be declared the winner of the CBR Window Rock event and feel a little better taking home the lion’s share of the doubled purse, $28,088.

“The bull had a hard corner, then leveled out, but he got stronger with each rotation,” said the recovering bull rider who spent the night in the airport trying to get home about his winning ride.

The win put Smith second in the CBR World Standings and after two solid performances on the Mahindra Road to Cheyenne, Mahindra Young Gun, Cody Rostockyj, takes the early lead with 350 points, 111 points ahead of Smith. CBR and PRCA World Champion Sage Kimzey is in third place with Newt Brasfield and Juan Alonzo rounding out the top five with 177.5 and 175.5 respectively.

“I am healthy, working out, and looking forward to the rest of the 2016 season,” said Rostockyj regarding his early lead.

The CBR bull team challenge owners also made the long journey to the desert in search of points to qualify for the CBR World Finals. Silver Creek Pro Rodeo secured the win on their first try of the season with 285.28 points. Brad Vogel bucked 16 Crabby Abby, 871 Hell Pony, and 052 American Fire for the win. American Fire posted the second highest bull score of the night at 91 points, bucking off Juan Alonzo at 4.91 seconds in the semifinal round. 871 Hell Pony advanced Corey Bailey with 87 points in round one, while Jared Long bucked off of 16 Crabby Abby at 7.87 seconds.

Billy Jones sent the rankest bull score of the night to Window Rock, 807 Hokey Pokey who was 91.5 as he bucked off Jared Long in the semifinal round at 4.89 on the clock. Champion Bull of the event was earned by 051 Something Else as he carried Demond Haynes to the win round one with 90 points. Individual round scoring available on cbrbull.com

Bull Team Challenge Results

1.      Silver Creek Pro Rodeo, 285.28 pts,$20,000
2.      Jaynes Gang,283.14 pts,$12,000
3.      Clark View/Rawson, 281.18 pts,$8,000
4.      Elite Buckin Bulls 1,280.58 pts,$5,000