Joe Frost Rides Three to Claim First CBR Title

BOSSIER CITY, La. - March 15, 2015 - PRLog -- Beating the odds against a bull that has beaten him in two previous attempts, Joe Frost, Randlett, Utah, rides his arch rival, 063 Half Nutz to claim his first CBR buckle, check, and title at the Eldorado Resort Casino Tuff Hedeman Championship Bull Riding in Bossier City, Louisiana.

Riding on a special invitation from Tuff Hedeman, Frost and his younger brother Josh, made their first appearance on the Mahindra Road to Cheyenne televised tour in Bossier City which features a popular three round tournament-style competition.

“I really liked the format, I think cowboys thrive getting on bulls back to back. It really fits me, I grew up riding one right after another. At home that’s how we practiced, my Dad loaded, flanked, and opened the gate and we would just keep getting on”, said the twenty-two year old cowboy who finished second at the National Finals Rodeo and second in the year end standings for the Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association (PRCA) in 2014.

With eighteen qualified rides, including three in the Shoot Out round, the roster of bull riders that included twelve rookies riding against thirteen veterans, was in a four way tie after round one. Joe Frost, Cody Teel, Corey Bailey, and Cody Rostockyj, were all 88 points on their first draws followed by Neil Holmes’ 87.5 on White Lightening, a bull from Mike White’s Elite bull team. Jacob O’Mara, one of two riders from Louisiana, was 87 points to advance as did Corey Maier and Eli Vastbinder with a pair of 86’s.

Bringing back three on time ridden, twelve bull riders headed to the second round with Jacob O’Mara, the Baton Rouge cowboy, thrilling the crowd with his 90.5 round winning ride on Elite Bucking Bulls perennial bucker, Karaoke, who has never failed to do his part in fetching the last four cowboys to ride him, 90 point plus rides in CBR competition.  Eli Vastbinder (89.5) and Cody Rostockyj (88), both Team Mahindra cowboys, would place second and third in round two followed by Joe Frost (87.5), Corey Maier (86.5) and Sage Kimzey (84).

“My second bull (Western Hauler’s Bad Tattoo) jumped right into my hand, which should have been good, but I have had trouble lately with bulls turning back into my hand; the first 7 seconds felt as good as it gets, I was just lucky to stay on the last second”, said a smiling Frost holding his $10,000 check.

With six cowboys riding two, Frost was the last rider to advance to the final four Shoot Out round with a 175.5 on two and as fate would have it, a bull he had bucked off of twice, including once at the 2014 NFR, would be the last bull left after the average leader Jacob O’Mara chose 526 One More Dip. Rostockyj’s would pick 8388 Seeing Red and Vastbinder’s selected the usually unridden 8043 Penny Lover.

Pitted against a bull from Pete Carr and Box K Cattle Company, Frost found himself in a position that was very familiar.

“It was the third time I have drawn 065 Half Nutz, I bucked off of him at the NFR at 7.9 seconds and then in Ft Worth earlier this year at 1.2 seconds. I was determined to ride thru the whistle tonight, whatever it took, my instincts just took over”, said the multi generation bull rider from the Frost family. Frost’s cousin is none other than Lane Frost, the 1987 PRCA World Champion bull rider, whose life was depicted in the 1993 film 8 Seconds. Joe Frost, the younger Frosts namesake and grandfather, was Clyde (Lane’s father) Frost’s brother.

Frost, never venturing off his rope, would strike first posting a 91 on Half Nutz, a bull ridden only one other time in his career. Next, Eli Vastbinder would make the 2014 Bucking Bull of the Year, Penny Lover, look easy with an 89.5 point score. Cody Rostockyj would get jerked off his rope with a particularly rank trip of 8388 Seeing Red, the same bull Teel won Rio Rancho on earlier in the season. And then there was one.

The Louisiana cowboy rode Craig and Barrett’s One More Dip, a bull who was last ridden by another Louisiana cowboy, World Champion Josh Barentine in July in Cheyenne at the CBR World Finals. O’Mara made a spectacular ride and was 90.5 points, leaving him half a point behind and Frost would be crowned the 2015 Eldorado Resort Casino Tuff Hedeman CBR Champion.

In addition to lucrative prize money, bull riders accumulate points On the Road to Cheyenne which qualify them for the World Finals, which will be held in Wyoming in July as part of the historical Cheyenne Frontier Days celebration. Cody Teel moved to the top of that list tonight surpassing Wyatt Rogers by 3.5 points for the #1 ranking in the CBR World Standings. The rider who ends the world finals at the top of the standings will be crowned the CBR world champion and receive a $100,000 bonus.

Tonight’s competition was also part of the CBR Million Dollar Bull Team Challenge (BTC). With a prize purse of $45,000, bull owners compete with three bulls that are featured during the first two rounds of competition. The bulls receive points for their performance in the arena. Additionally, the time the bull rider stays on is added to the bull’s score and at the end of the night, the owner with the three highest-scoring bulls, Championship Pro Rodeo/Craig/Barrett and Kevin Ruggs, take home the $20,000 check. “I was pleased with all three of our bull’s performances tonight, especially 9100 Kojack”, said Brett Barrett. Kojack who ended Brennon Eldred’s night at 4.2 seconds in round one. Barrett who strategically bucked 050 Gold Buckle and Kojack in the first round, with 2014 bucking bull of the year runner up in the semifinal round, won his second team title of the 2015 Bull Team Challenge Competition. Craig and Barrett who also provided two of the four bulls in the Shoot Out Round were the 2014 Reserve World Champions in the CBR’s BTC.

Champion Bulls of the night were Benny Cude’s Cadillac Red and Mike Rawson’s Little Shyster with rank scores of 90.5 each.

High Marked Bull of the Event was Carr Pro Rodeo/Box K’s Half Nutz with 90.5. The Mahindra Road to Cheyenne Tour coninutes on March 28^th at the Kansas Star Chute Out in Mulvane, Kansas. For more information contact Leigh Ann Schroeder, 940.902.1112 or leighann@theshortround.com. For round by round scoring see cbrbull.com/events.

Bossier City Bull Team Results

1.      Championship Pro Rodeo/Kevin Ruggs          285.64   $20,000
2.      Silver Creek Rodeo/-D Cattle/Vogele Bulls 2  282.72   $12,000
3.      Elite Bucking Bulls          281.80   $8,000
4.      Folds/Winston/Strickland/Melton Bull Co         279.80   $5,000