Bull Notes - Baton Rouge, LA
LSU Livestock Show & Rodeo
February 2001

Herd: Harper, Auger, Lecile, & Rudy

Notes: The two perfs I saw at Baton Rouge were the 13th and 14th consecutive perfs in nine days for this outfit. They have to be getting tired... They don't get to go home yet either, as they have Birmingham next week, and are taking some of the better bulls to the Columbus, GA PBR.

The arena in Baton Rouge has tall concrete walls and no way to get up but the ladders about every 25 feet. Leaves the judges with no choice but to stand way out there by the first ladders, and that leaves the bull fighters with even fewer options. Like... run, die, or climb up a judges back. They used to have some wooden chutes here that were so deep you had to squint from the sudden burst of light when they opened the gate. I'm not sure who designed this arena, but his wife must have ran off with a bull rider before he got the job.

There's no question that this herd is weaker than it has been in the past few years... James Harper has shown a knack for finding and buying good bulls, and I would think he still has some infuence here... but the fact is that rank bulls are getting scarce with so much demand for them. James said he has about 40 head of three year olds at the house that look promising. It takes a special bull to hang with this outfit for long, because they don't get to sit in the pasture much. They have to like riding in big trucks. Rumor is that they are going to sub some bulls for at least the TV round at the Montgomery, AL tour rodeo. Bulls that are used to being on TV... better wear your riding britches.

As if there wasn't enough controversy over the loops rule, One kid that placed here obviously had his inside loop from the start, and they didn't call it. Maybe the judges were too far away, and granted the kid never really got out of shape enough to give himself away. It looks like guys are sure going to get away with it more often than not. If that makes you upset, you might as well learn to live with it. Without a third judge who's willing to call it, it's tough to get it rung up. In this particular case, I sure would have called it from where I was sitting.

Saturday Matinee-------------

Bulls: (delivery)

1103 Whammo (R)
This little brindle sure didn't want to buck here. Or at least didn't want to spin. He can really be a good one if he stays hooked, but looks just plain miserable if he doesn't. I think they marked him a 19 on one side.

08 Candy Man (R)
08 is usually a pretty good draw in this herd. Here he came around to the right just nice. Little bull has plenty of kick, but can feel welly. It's just not that hard to make the corner on him, and guys tend to over ride.

139 Marantha (R)
Everyone should have seen this former NFR bull by now. I know if you draw him somewhere, you should go. The judges must have a thing for brindle horned bulls, as they put a 22 on him here. I was thinking more like 19-20, but I'm not a judge. Darran Robertson was 84 on him, won 2nd at the rodeo, and I think he was a little surprised to be that many. Pretty good bull, but not what you would call a rank dude.

4W Firecracker (R)
Becoming a pattern bucker. His pattern is a big circle. Yuck-o. They 17'd him here.

X66 Dez (L)
Hunk-o-Junk. Has been bucky in the past. Used to walk on his front end and buck a little. Not here. they 18'd him.

116 Yellow Dog (R)
Hunk-o-Junk II. Has also been bucky in the past, but the way he bucked here, he would get culled out of most practice pens. They 15'd him.
Latin name: Bovinius crapola

F83 Doo Dad (L)
This little red bull turned back to the left and was sweet. Don't know that you could ask for a much nicer trip. 80 points and placed on him.

F15 Wipeout (R)
Jumped about 12 inches off the ground and rolled. Pretty yuck-o

40 Exodus (R)
Little black bull really got it on. He was a little flat, but he had a some gas, and stayed hooked till he threw his guy off.

420 Gusto (L)
Another black horned bull that was WHOOFY. Turned back to the left and bucked. He hipped himself and that fouled him up a little, but he had bucking on his mind. Had a little move forward to him after he got away from the gate. This was the only bull out in the Matinee perf that looked like an NFR quality bull.

P1 Crown Royal (L)
If you'll look back at the Jackson notes, this bull was on the list as P1 Rafter. Whatever they name him, he's still P1 I guess, and he's a brindle horned bull that turns back to the left. If he stays hooked I believe you could place on him, but I haven't seen anyone take him that far. Chris Coody had him here, and he's pretty sticky, but he only made a couple of rounds.

Saturday Night Perf----------------

41 Bandelero (R)
Red muley that was pretty swift in Jackson, was slower here and didn't stand a chance of tossing expert cow tamer Chad Castillo. I can't remember which way the bull turned back, but he stayed hooked, and Mr. Castillo showed him the hardware. Bull was kind of weak, but they called out 81 for a score... I'm thinking that might be the rest of those difficulty points they owed Chad from Jackson.

Chad needs to work on his evasive skills if he's going to last until December.

F6 Copenhagen Hard Copy (R)
Here's one everybody knows. Here, he went to the right and didn't have his best day, but was still good enough to place high on.

H6 Whammy (L)
I've now seen this bull three times, and I think it's safe to say he's going to turn back to the left and then reverse it and weaken up at the end. Here's the strategy: Get by the reverse, and then start whipping your free arm and moving your head around like he's really yanking the tar out of you. Probably net you a few extra. Maybe 80-81.

Don't forget to get by the reverse first... Ask Doug Vincent.

201 Rewind (L)
This is a little red bull with crooked horns that looks like 122 Red Wine. He usually comes around to the left pretty close, which he did here, but he didn't have enough kick. Got kind of lazy - dragged his old butt, and looked hard to ride, though Ryan Grandi handled him pretty well.

16 Cousin It (R)
Cousin It is a skinny little red bull that bears a resemblance to Elsie the Cow. He scattered out across the middle of the arena, but they called out a 79 score for the guy... If that's correct, Cody Spells must have had some ride points thrown at him.

-16 Ernie (R)
Saw this one in Lafayette, and he was a weak duck. He was quacking here too; he turned back right there and stayed... I didn't hear the score, but it couldn't have been too good - he was pretty weak.
Mexican name: El Quacko

49 Stone Hinge (L)
I'm not sure what a "Stone Hinge" is, but I do know that there is a big pile of rocks in England called "Stonehenge"... This black bull turned back to the left and jumped out of it. One of the weaker ones in this perf.

4X General Electric (L)
Mousy colored muley that usually spins, but didn't here. Went back and forth down the front of the chutes and didn't get over 6 inches off the ground. Yuck-o-rama.

532 Raspberry Wine (R)
This wino looked pretty electric. Plenty of action, but forgot to kick.Turned back, but didn't want to stay and got to rearing real bad. Didn't look too easy to twist and probably would have been enough to place on.

W Wayne's World (L)
This is a fat red muley that looks like something you would pick for the practice pen. Curly eyelashes and rubber feet. He's built funny, in that he's long in the front end and short in the back so that when you put your rope on him, it's right in the middle of his length. Guys that like to set their rope back a little might be sitting on the flank on this bull, and he already has a hard enough time getting his butt in the air as it is. Turned back to the left and bogged down... Looked kind of lazy.

73 Rampage II (L)
73 was a little big for these chutes, and they had a little trouble getting out on him. When he did get out of there, he BUCKED. NFR Baby E's here we come. Have to see what happens after he gets rode first though... might find out next week at the Columbus, GA PBR.

490 Smart Aleck (L)
Flat horned brindle really left out of there and we didn't get to see much of him. Quick buck-off. Looked like he was going to go left.

A23 Nitro (L)
Another bull everybody knows. I can't see what there is to dislike about him. Looks like he rides good. Not as crazy acting as he was when he was younger, here he just turned back and got it on to the left. Versus lefty Scott Breding, he didn't stand a chance. 85 Points and won it.

122 Red Wine (L)
Another "wine" bull. Wine is pretty popular in Louisiana... plenty of winos around here. This one usually gets some air and is a good draw. Doesn't cover much ground. The guy that had him here - Ty Joslin - looked like Mr. Sticky. Made a pretty good ride. I didn't catch the score, but I would have had him placing.

Slade Long
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