Here's the update for the second round. I have to say I've been to a lot of bull riding events, including every one in the Reno area since 1995 and this was the single best performance I've ever seen in terms of the quality of rides and the enthusiasm of the crowd.
TATE STRATTON MOVES INTO XTREME BULLS NATIONAL FINALS LEAD
RENO, Nev. -- It was moving day at the Xtreme Bulls National Finals presented by Reno-Tahoe Saturday night and nobody moved higher than Tate Stratton of Stanley, N.M.
Stratton followed his 90-point ride in Friday night¹s first round with an 89 Saturday to take the overall lead in the event with 179 points.
It was a wild ride on the Don Kish bull Dark Side, which jumped into the back of the chute before backing out and having a more normal trip.
³He knocked me a little silly and I guess my second instinct kind of took over for a couple of jumps there,² Stratton said. ³Then he turned back into my hand and that worked out just right. I was a little woozy after I got off.² He¹ll have a few hours to recover before getting on another bull. The third round starts at 2 p.m. Sunday with all 50 riders competing. The top 15 from the first three rounds will then advance to the Coors Championship Round, which will crown the champion of the $2.6 million Xtreme Bulls Tour, presented by Coors.
It¹s still anybody¹s title to win as 17 riders have covered both their bulls. That includes Xtreme Bulls standings leader Matt Austin, who tied for the highest score of the night with a 91-point ride on Don Kish¹s bull Tuff Target. Veteran Mike Moore also turned in a 91, riding on the Kish bull Loose Cannon.
³I didn¹t know that bull at all, but he had that ŒK¹ brand on his side saying he was a Don Kish bull so I knew I¹d better have my hammer cocked,² said Austin of Wills Point, Texas, who also leads the Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association World Standings.
³I thought I was bucked off a couple of times, but I just tried my guts out and made it to the whistle.² While Austin is assured a berth in the Wrangler National Finals in December, Moore is hoping to make a run at another berth and knows a big paycheck in Reno can get him into the top 15. The 2003 Xtreme Bulls Champion from Kankakee, Ill, has been battling injuries all season.
³I should really be at home right now,² he said. ³My groins are all torn up, but if I can get a big check out of here, that could make my year and get be into the top 15.² Austin and Moore, who both earned $4,441.50 for winning the second round, have 176 points on two bulls and are tied for third place behind Stratton and Davey Dyke of Fremont, Iowa, who rode Western Rodeo Company¹s bull Black Smoke for 90.5 points Saturday for a two-day total of 177 points.
³I needed that really bad,² he said. ³I¹m sitting around No. 15 (in the world standings) right now and if I were to win a big check, that would really help.² A point back of Austin and Moore are Howdy Cloud of Kountze, Texas and Bryan Richardson of Dallas, both at 175. Kenny Westrope Jr., of Hazelhurst, Miss., is a half-point behind them at 174.5.
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Xtreme Bulls National Finals
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The Xtreme Bulls Tour was created by PRCA in 2003 to give its bull riders the opportunity to compete in a high-profile events with a $100,000 purse at each stop. The Xtreme Bulls National Finals will be televised nationally on ESPN and ESPN 2 at the end of the month. ESPN is the flagship network of the Xtreme Bulls Tour.
The Xtreme Bulls National Finals is a Lazy E Production. For more information on Lazy E Events, contact the Lazy E Arena, 9600 Lazy E Drive, Guthrie, OK 73044, (405) 282-RIDE, (800) 595-RIDE or visit
www.lazye.com.
FIRST ROUND PAY OFF-FRIDAY OCT.14,2005
1) Jake Littlefield, West Point, MS (95) $4,441.50 2) Wesley Silcox,
Payson, UT (92) $3,405.15 3) Tate Stratton, Stanley, NM (90) $2,516.85 4)
Bryan Richardson, Dallas, TX (89) $1,628.55 5) Danny McDowell, Jena, LA
(88) $1,036.35 6) Howdy Cloud, Kountze, TX (87) $666.22 7) Steve Woosley, Spanish Fork, UT (87) $666.22 8) Davey Dyke, Fremont, IA (86.5) $444.15
SECOND ROUND PAY OFF-SATURDAY OCT.15,2005
1) Matt Austin, Wills Point, TX (91) $3,923.32 2) Mike Moore, Kankakee, IL
(91) $3,923.32 3) Chad Castillo, Stephenville, TX (90.5) $1,727.25 4) Bobby Welch, Gillette, WY (90.5) $1,727.25 5) Davey Dyke, Fremont, IA (90.5)
$1,727.25 6) Jason Legler, Pierce, CO (89.5) $740.25 7) Kenny Westrope, Hazelhurst, MS (89) $518.17 8) Tate Stratton, Stanley, NM (89) $518.17
2005 XTREME FINALS TOTAL MONEY
1) Jake Littlefield, West Point, MS $4,441.50 2) Matt Austin, Wills Point, TX $3,923.32 3) Mike Moore, Kankakee, IL $3,923.32 4) Wesley Silcox, Payson, UT $3,405.15 5) Tate Stratton, Stanley, NM $3,035.02 6) Davey Dyke, Fremont, IA $2,171.40 7) Chad Castillo, Stephenville, TX $1,727.25 8) Bobby Welch, Gillette, WY $1,727.25 9) Bryan Richardson, Dallas, TX
$1,628.55 10) Danny McDowell, Jena, LA $1,036.35 11) Jason Legler, Pierce, CO $740.25 12) Howdy Cloud, Kountze, TX $666.22 13) Steve Woosley, Spanish Fork, UT $666.22 14) Kenny Westrope, Hazelhurst, MS $518.17