Second chance lands bull rider in third place at Days of '47
"It depends on the guy," said Pahlke, who won the night's competition with a score of 86.5. "I'm the type of guy who is going to try get himself in the best position to win. You have to do all you can to win."
Saturday night the bulls in the finals were so tough not one of the 12 riders managed to stay on. Pahlke's winning score came in the qualifying round on a bull named Cat's Meow. He respected Stewart's decision to ride a second bull in the preliminary round despite scoring 70 points on the first bull. He was offered a re-ride when the bull stumbled. Stewart scored 85.5 points on the second bull, Blue Moon, which was good enough for third place.
"I came in here to win first," said Stewart, a 20-year-old Texas native. "I wasn't going to win anything with 70 points. If I ever have a chance, I'm going to take it."
That paid off as the finals were so brutal only one man even came close to staying on for the required eight seconds. That was Douglas Duncan, another Texas cowboy, who stayed on Old Yeller 7.56 seconds.
Tate Stratton qualified for the finals with a score of 83.5, good enough for fourth place despite being unable to stay on Tighty Whitey, a bull that was awarded second place by judges. Stratton, who also rides bulls at PRCA rodeos said he's just grateful to be taking chances again after nearly a year and a half of time off due to injuries.
"I got hurt last April (groin injury) and just when I started coming back, I fractured my eye," he said. He went back to school and finished in December in animal science. But instead of putting that degree to good use, he bought his PRCA card and started riding bulls again.
"I love it," said the 23-year-old. "I missed it. It drove me absolutely insane not to be riding. I couldn't watch it on T.V.; I couldn't talk to my friends who did it. I just love riding bulls."
Andrew Heaps knows a little about loving a sport from the sideline. Heaps was smacked in the neck by a bull last year in the same PBR event hosted by the Days of 47 Rodeo at EnergySolutions Arena.
"I thought I had a broken neck," he said. "They took me in an ambulance up to the hospital and I thought I was going to be alright."
After x-rays confirmed he didn't have any broken bones, he started wondering when they might release him. But a severe concussion, doctors said, would require him to stay in the hospital overnight.
"I was sitting there by my grandma and all of a sudden I couldn't talk," Heaps said. "I could think in my head what I wanted to say, but I couldn't talk. I started freaking out a little bit. It scared me pretty bad."
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