South Dakota’s comeback cowboy wins night one of CBR Huron
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HURON — After thirty-eight outs, nine bull riders heard the whistle in front of the South Dakota State Fair grandstands, but it was Timber Lake’s Corey Maier who stole the show riding for 89 points to launch his CBR comeback season on night one of the annual Red Wilks Construction Bull Bash.
“The crowd in Huron never disappoints, it was sure a great win in front of a great crowd,” said Corey Maier, the middle child in the band of three infamous bull riding brothers from Timber Lake.
With his mentor and grandfather Bud Day enshrined in the South Dakota Cowboy Hall of Fame, Maier hails from a family rich in rodeo tradition – his cousins are World Champion bareback riders, Mark and Marvin Garrett, and his brothers Ardie and Rorey are both National Finals Rodeo qualifiers and multiple CBR event champions as well.
It was no surprise to the fans that their South Dakota born and raised bull rider, with a last name synonymous with great bull riding and tough character, is attempting a comeback after a devastating bull riding injury in January of 2016.
“I have been out of the game with injuries a while and I waited till I was 100 percent before attempting a comeback on the Road to Cheyenne tour,” described Maier of his 18-month absence on the CBR tour.
In an odd twist of fate, Maier won the first performance this year on the same bull that Clayton Applehans rode, with the same score, IN last year’s first round of the Huron CBR. Although eight other seasoned riders put up a fight, Maier finished the night with the top score and high praise from the field of elite bull riders who described Maier’s eight seconds as “owning” Jeff Harris perennial bucker, 277 Dirty Little Secret.
“I had not seen this bull before so I watched a video of him this afternoon and I was sure happy to have him; he was a solid bucker,” continued Maier.
The top score of round one earned Maier the right to attempt the Bounty bull, Lyndal Hurst’s unridden Breaking Bad for the $10,000 bonus check. Maier described the bucking beast as a bull that never weakens, Maier said he felt just as strong at 7.5 seconds as he did at the first blow-out jump.
“I have seen this bull several times and knew he had a big jump out of the chutes that loosens most riders up, I gave it everything but he bucked hard every second to win the battle tonight, but I am anxious to try him again and I know I can win,” said Maier who rode 243 for 7.29 seconds, the longest recorded pro out on the CBR World Finals Bounty Bull who also was selected for the 2016 NFR.
Finishing 1.5 points behind Maier was one of the CBR’s hottest products, Denton Fugate of Dixon, Missouri. Fugate, fresh off the CBR World Finals and a Reserve Champion finish in the CBR’s 2017 Year End Horizon Series battle, was 87.5 points on 939 Hazmat, representing Check and Clark bull team.
Third was Casey Kirwan with 87 points on Doc Winston and Corey Melton’s new competitor 405 Drops of Jupiter, a fitting name from this bull’s M.D. owner.
Finishing fourth with an 86.5 was Trey Kimzey who was sporting a familiar perfectly square and solid family riding style on 9100 Kojack (Rawson).
Rounding out the top five was Ryder May’s 86 points on a member of Harris winning team, 33 Tamale - a CBR World Finals bull who Trey Benton rode for 90 points in Cheyenne. A second local bull rider, Kritter Lamb of Timber Lake, was one of the nine that made a qualified ride. He was 80 points.
Try of the Night goes to World Champion bull rider Chandler Bownds who made three big moves to stay on and take 110 Black Mamba (Check and Clark) for 7.71 seconds. A close second to Bownds was Mickey Andrews who challenged Knapp’s very seldom ridden Kookabura bull for a heartbreaking 7.69 seconds.
In addition to the CBR bull riding action, Red Wilks continued his tradition of honoring veterans with a special presentation of an American flag flown over the U.S. Capitol in Washington and a commemorative coin during intermission. Nine veterans from Desert Storm, the Global War on Terrorism, Operation Iraqi Freedom, and Operation Enduring Freedom were honored in front of a very grateful packed grandstand.
Cheyenne Challenge Bull Team Challenge
Harris Bucking Bulls took home the first automatic entry win of the CBR’s Bull Team Challenge Competition along with the $20,000 first prize check. The winning team is owned by Harris Bucking bulls solely and is the first team to qualify for the CBR World Final’s 24 team roster. The Finals event held each year in Cheyenne is worth over $300,000 in prize monies and Harris earned the first of four events that leads directly to the Cheyenne Frontier Days in July.
Competing against a field of 12 teams in Huron, Harris put together a trio of buckers that won the competition with two qualified rides and the team was 4.39 points ahead of the second place team of Rawson Bucking Bulls which Harris also hauled and flanked for his friend in Huron.
215 Lone Wolf was the team’s best bull score with 88.5 points which was impressive given the ride time was less than two seconds. Maier’s 89 point win on 277 Dirty Little Secret produced the second best bull score of his team. Last but certainly not least was four year old L33 Tamale, a CBR Finals bulls that Trey Benton rode for 90 points in Cheyenne. Ryder May was 86 points on him which was enough for a top five finish.
“I was pleased with the performance of my bulls that are just 4 and 5 years old, I will keep the roster the same for tomorrow night’s competition,” said Harris who is now qualified for CBR World Finals with one of his three teams.
Notable outs in the team competition worth a total of $90,000 in Huron was the effort of Mike Seller’s outstanding bull, 361 Black Rat, who ended Trevor Easton’s night in 1.43 seconds. JQH’s Ink Slinger split the high marked bull honors with Knapp’s 27 Kookabura; each was 89 points on a four judge system.
Results CBR Horizon Red Wilks Construction Bull Bash
1, Corey Maier, Timber Lake, SD, 89 points on 277 Dirty Little Secret owned by Jeff Harris Bucking Bulls of Palestine, Texas,$3,225.60. 2, Denton Fugate, Dixon, MO, 87.5, 939 Hazmat, Check & Clark,$2,329.60, 3, Casey Kirwan, Stephenville, Tex., 87, 405 Drops of Jupiter, Scott Winston & Melton Bull Co. $1,4336.60. 4, Trey Kimzey, Strong City, Okla., 86.5, 9100 Kojack, Mike Rawson, $985.60. 5, Ryder May, 86, 33 Tamale, Jeff Harris, $627.20. 6, Garrett Jones, 86, 25 T Wicked Ways, JQH Bucking Bulls, $358.20
Results CBR Huron Cheyenne Challenge Bull Team Competition
1, Jeff Harris Bucking Bulls, 279.49, $20,000. 2, Mike Rawson, 275.10, $12,000. 3, Knapp Bucking Bulls, 273.27, $8,000. 4, Check/Clark, 273.21, $5,000.
Courtesy of Leighann Schroeder at cbrbull.com
Photos:
Dylan Rice of Wessington Springs competes during the opening night of the 2017 Red Wilk Construction CBR Bull Bash at the South Dakota State Fair grandstands.
Next, Kyle Blume of Redfield competes during the opening night of the 2017 Red Wilk Construction CBR Bull Bash at the South Dakota State Fair grandstands.
