Success puts hope in South Dakota Bull Riding Rookie

HURON, S.D. - Aug. 29, 2014 - PRLog -- There is no doubt that with 11 years of Championship Bull Riding in Huron, hundreds of thousands of dollars in cash and prizes, and over 600 bulls, the annual two day Red Wilk CBR Bull Bash at the South Dakota State Fair has legendary status.

As the first stop on the Road to Cheyenne Tour, the championship here has launched many careers and sets the pace for the Championship Bull Riding season.

In front of a boisterous standing room only crowd, a South Dakota bull rider was the only cowboy to ride two bulls in the CBR’s 3 round tournament style format.

Even though he bucked off his final bull, Rapid City native Tanner Bothwell gathered enough points in front of a friendly home town crowd, to launch him to the top of the CBR World Standings for The Road to Cheyenne 2014-15 season.

 “I had seen Sage (Kimzey) ride him twice, so I knew what he was supposed to do, but I tore some ligaments in my wrist and had been riding with my right hand,, I switched back tonight to the left because I had a better chance of riding him with my left hand,” said Bothwell from the sports medicine room where he was receiving ice therapy treatment.

Corey Bailey of Paris, Tennessee opened the South Dakota series winning night one on Lyndal Hurst’s Iron Horse. While Bailey picked up the win he failed to make the whistle on the $10,000 bounty bull, Dakota Rodeo’s 02 Beaver Creek Beau.

But it was a different night for the second performance. Raining all day in Huron, the arena conditions were not perfect, but by show time the rain slacked off and the guys were ready to ride.

In front of a packed grandstand, the bucking bulls took over the competition, and the arena.

Native son, and Horizon Series Champion Kritter Lamb, Whitehorse, South Dakota, attacked first with a 90.5 on Mike Rawson’s White Wolf, but the gumbo like mud made the dismounts challenging and Lamb landed against the bucking chutes resulting in a broken leg.

Both Bothwell and Bailey answered the high marked score with a 91 and 92 in round one, but with only 6 qualified rides in the long round, Tuff Hedeman was forced to bring back 6 additional riders to the semifinal round based on the time they accrued in round one. With three finding the whistle in round two, Hedeman would advance one rider based on time to the final Shoot Out round.

The stage was set for newcomer Taryl Smith, veteran cowboy Cooper Kanngiesser, night one Horizon series winner Cory Bailey, and in house favorite Tanner Bothwell. But the Shoot Out round would live up to its name.

One two three the first three guys bucked off and Bothwell had the opportunity to be the hero in Huron, but Bothwell bucked of Ben Favre’s great bull 908 Hijacked. “It felt great to ride in my home state, thank you for all your support, said Bothwell to the crowd following the event.

With no bull rider making a qualified ride in the Shoot Out round, the money from the Huron event will carry over to the October 4^th event in Conroe, Texas, making the Conroe CBR worth over $50,000 to the bull rider who makes the whistle in the last round.

Busy on the other side of the ride in South Dakota was JQH Bucking Bulls of Amarillo, Texas. JQH Bucking Bulls witnessed three great rides on their three great bulls to clear the field by 9 points in the first Million Dollar Bull Team Challenge of the new season. Traveling with the same trio of bulls, Jones attributes good draws and a great event to his success.

“We were fortunate to draw three bull riders that matched our bulls, and both did their jobs well,” said the husband and wife team of Skip and Elaine Jones following their second career team championship.

The Road to Cheyenne continues in Conroe, Texas on October 4^th with the For more information contact Leigh Ann Schroeder at 940.902.1112 or cbrbull.com

Huron Results

Round One

1, C. Bailey, 92 points on Evil Knieval. 2, T. Bothwell, 91 pts on No Hands. 3, (tie) K. Lamb 90.5 on White Wolf. 4. Taryl Smith 90.5 on Jack Tar. 5, (tie) C. Rostockyj and T. Chandler, 89 points. Round Two - 1, C. Kanngiesser, 91 pts on Boogie Man. 2, Ardie Maier, 89.5 pts on Raptor. 3, T. Bothwell, 87 pts on Top Shelf.Shoot Out Round - No qualified rides

Bull Team Results:

1. JQH Bucking Bulls, Amarillo, Texas

2. Rawson and Shippy, Martinsville, Texas

3. Mid-States Rodeo/Elite Bucking Bulls, Dickinson, North Dakota

4. B & M Bucking Bulls, Dekalb, Texas