The Longhorn Bull Bash is still proving to be the best bull riding series in the area.

Rodeo Director Coleman Peveto presented one of the best shows in the current series at the Texas Longhorn to date. Peveto brought Justin Wolfe and Cory Casto, members of the Professional Bull Fighters association.

Including regular bull fighters Bubba Tacker and Bobby Williams rounding out the bull fighting staff at four, there was more than ample cowboy protection Friday night.

Another innovation that Peveto brought to the arena was bringing in two experienced riders, Landis Hooks and Danny Dugas as judges. The judging duo brought a new perspective to the judge’s jobs.

Hooks and Dugas have ridden a lot of the bulls that are being brought to the Longhorn each week and know what to look for with the paring of bulls and riders.

Peveto is using his nearly 40 years in the rodeo business to keep each show fresh and exciting.

Kolby Jones was the first rider of the night and drew one of the biggest bulls in the pen. The big black bull came out of the chute with a hard charging move that turned into a high buck that proved too much for Jones to cope with. Jones went down just shy of the eight second buzzer.

Following Jones was Johnny Minix. Minix is still trying to get his form back after a severe back injury. Minix is a capable rider, but he is just not back in shape yet. Minix held on through two spins, but the third hard spin to the right was just too much for him to hold through.

He was about two seconds short of eight.

Third rider of the night, Jonathan Brown, set the pace for the night when he scored 81 points on an exciting ride that had all the elements a good ride should have.

When the gate opened, gateman Joey Broom, a former bull fighter distracted the bull and spun him to the left and started the spins. After two spins the bull bucked a few times, shaking but not dislodging Brown.

Brown hung on through all of those moves and Hooks and Dugas liked what they saw and gave Brown the good score.

Neil Holmes came out as rider number five on a bull that clearly had a lot of Brahman blood.

The bull was an off white color with black rings around the eyes and the hump of a Brahman. Holmes’ bull was nearly as large as the show opening black bull.

Slightly smaller than the black bull he was just as hard charging and high bucking. Holmes held on for eight seconds, but Hooks and Dugas scored him at 70 points.

Possibly it was a matter of Holmes not being in clear control of the ride.

Following Holmes was Sterling Johnson. Johnson’s bull came out of the right hand delivery and moved to the fence and stayed there for the majority of the eight seconds.

There were times when Johnson’s right leg was brushing the fence. Johnson hung in through the rough ride and ended up making eight with a score of 77 points.

81 points was the high score of the night until Josh Barrentine blew out on another big bull. Barrentines’s bull was another heavy bull with good moves. The bull was fast and had a lot of high, hard bucking motions. Barrentine held on and maintained good control. The last move of the eight second period was a buck with a high kick that nearly took the lights out. The judges got together and scored the ride 82 points, putting Barrentine in first place.

The hard luck ride was Dawson McKee. McKee drew a good bull that was capable of giving a good performance and high points. McKee is a good rider that is capable of scoring in the money on any night. McKee is also a rider that can have some bad luck.

The bull was making some consistent moves that McKee was more than capable of countering. The combination of bull and rider was putting on a good show. Then the hard luck happened. McKee appeared to lose the grip with his right leg.

A fraction of a second later McKee was around the bull’s neck looking like a bull dogger instead of a bull rider. As he unwrapped off of the bull and hit the ground the buzzer sounded. He missed scoring by only a fraction of a second.

Josh Durant followed McKee. Durant is a good rider and a past series winner at the Longhorn. Durant’s draw was a bull that he could have scored on, but not this night. Durant came out of the chute looking a little out of balance. He went down in about three seconds. That is out of character for Durant, but in bull riding anything can happen at any time. It was tough luck for a good guy.

The last rider to score would be 12th Josei Bossier, new at the Longhorn. On his debut ride he drew an average sized bull that made average moves. Bossier made the last second or so of his ride hanging on the bull’s left side. He hit the ground after the buzzer sounded, but being so out of control for his ride his score was an unimpressive 59 points.

Rodeo Secretary Elizabeth Jackson figured the payoff for three places as paying $440 for first, $264 for second, and $176 for third. Jackson also has the task of totaling the overall points standing for the series.

For now the points are so close that the standings are too close to call. It is another of those “anyone can win” series.

The series will end on April 17, followed by a concert by Cross Canadian Ragweed. Tina Cotton is once again adding $2000 to the finals, along with another custom buckle by Broken Arrow Buckles. Each series Peveto designs the one of a kind buckle, making the Longhorn bull riding series unique in the area.