Riding in his third CBR Shootout appearance, Tyler Taylor followed Tuff Hedeman's advice to ride three bulls and take home the largest purse of the season as he won his first Road to Cheyenne event at the CenturyLink Center in Bossier City, Louisiana, on Sunday.

Hedeman returned to Bossier with his signature event, the Eldorado Resort Casino Shreveport Tuff Hedeman Championship Bull Riding, with 25 elite cowboy athletes in a classic two-hour event that has entertained fans for 15 years.

"Slide up there and do my job and don't worry about the lights or the money," was Tuff Hedeman's advice to the Stephenville, Texas bull rider just moments before he was presented with a $23,050 jumbo check, a Hyo Silver custom engraved buckle and a CBR prize package on the floor of the arena in front of a packed house.



Taylor rode past five world champions and 10 Wrangler National Finals Rodeo qualifiers to win both the second and third rounds on his way to earning his first Road to Cheyenne tour event. A season-high sixteen bull riders rode one, six succeeded on two and Caleb Sanderson and Tyler Taylor were the only competitors to conquer three and split the richest event prize package of the CBR season -- $48,500.  

"The Lord blessed me tonight and I knew it was my time to win, and I know I can be one of the best bull riders in the world," said an ecstatic Tyler Taylor at the out gate. "I just have to keep believing in myself."

Round One

Eli Vastbinder, the No. 2 rider out of the chutes and in the CBR world standings, took the early lead after posting 90 points on 169 Crimson King (Loe/Melton). Four more competitors would post scores in section one, including Wrangler National Finals Rodeo qualifier Cody Rostockyj, who turned in a rousing ride on 3112 Dirty Blonde, a new bull on tour this season with the Brown Ranch bull team.   

The consistency of the cowboys continued in section two with five scores, including Tyler Taylor's first ride of 88 points on 138 Cracker Jack (Hudgins). Taylor admittedly had to hustle to get the score as 148 got him in the well a little before he adjusted to finish the eight seconds on his first attempt of this bull.   

"I had seen him on other tours, really good had a lot of timing, right there around to the right, I kind of got into him a little, but he was smooth," said Taylor. "I got kicked out to finish and get a score."

Sanderson of Hallettsville, Texas, made his first ride of three on Benny Cude's -929 No Hands and was 87.5.

Navajo Nation champion rider Cody Jesus, competing in his first Road to Cheyenne tour event since winning the average and qualifying last week in Rio Rancho, turned in 88 points on Y9 Final Judgement (Burleson/Barnett). Section three saw five more qualified rides including world champion Sage Kimzey's smooth 87.5 on Hurst's 3713 Cheecho.

Semifinals

The CBR Bull Team Challenge bulls fought back in the second round with only six of the 12 semifinal contenders making the whistle.

Corey Bailey was the first to ride two, tallying 87 points on Red Solo Cup (Silent 7) and a 174 on two. Kimzey would follow with 86 on Cude's 21X1 The Duke to tie Bailey in the average. Rorey Maier kept his 77 points on Hurricane Harry (Hudgins) for 164.5 on two.

Sanderson took the lead in the semifinals with 88 points and 175.5 on two after riding Harris's Dirty Little Secret. But Taylor was next and he knew opportunity was knocking.

I got Flab Slab in round two and he is the old veteran bull on tour, heck he might be older than me," said Taylor. "I was 90 points on him and he felt great, just up and down with lots of timing, I was super happy I got him.

Jesus matched Taylor with 89.5 on L33 Tomale (Ray Ludtke) and they were both 178 on two. Rostockyj would buck off followed by the first round leader Vastbinder who was matched with the rankest bull of the night, 22 Cowboy Cut from Rhon Brown.

Shootout Round

Taylor picked first followed by Jesus, Sanderson and Kimzey, who was battling the flu as well as the bulls. Kimzey bucked off Big Lew in 3.47 seconds in the only rematch of the final four-man round. Sanderson, having his best performance on the Road to Cheyenne, hustled for the entire eight seconds to earn the first score of the Shootout, 87.5 points on 79 Rojo (Melton). Riding third was Jesus in his second consecutive Shootout Round and was whipped down in 3.23 seconds from Hurst's 343 Rio.

With one rider left, Taylor went to work.

"I was number one coming back in the four man, and I had seen Lyndal's bull (343 Rio) a bunch, but I picked the one I didn't really know, cause it keeps my mind fresh, keeps you from thinking about it too much," said Taylor of his winning eight second winning ride aboard 831 Restraining Order owned by Rhon Brown, Brown Ranch. "He was rough in the chute now, but they got me out."

World Standings Race

Kimzey continues to dominate atop CBR world standings leaderboard, where he has been parked since the fall CBR run. Vastbinder added 90 points with his first-round win, while third place Campbell and fourth place Jeff Askey were bucked off. Though Kimzey remains at the top, Vastbinder continues his hallmark style of consistency that will keep Kimzey looking over his shoulder with six regular season events left on the schedule and five rounds of the CBR World Finals at Cheyenne Frontier Days. Taylor breaks into the top 10 and the eighteen-year-old Jesus, who won the average in Rio Rancho, becomes a contender after adding two more qualified rides in his CBR debut. Sanderson will make a move in the standings after earning three scores in Bossier.

Bull Team Challenge Competition

It was a tight race in the bull pens of Bossier with nine teams turning in two qualified rides with less than four points separating the top seven team three-bull scores and only .08 points between first and second place. The bull team of Scott Burleson and William Barnett earned the Bossier Bull Team buckle with 280.38 points. Their winning run included two qualified rides from Y9 Final Judgement and 264Z Houdini Martini with Jesus and Dustin Bouquet piloting the CBR regulars. 2079 Cowtown Cartel anchored the team's rank bull score of 89 points with Rostockyj lasting 5.88 seconds in his first matchup on the CBR's 2106 Bull of the Year.

Mike Rawson was second with 280.30 and two qualified rides from 9100 Kojack and J159 Leroy Brown. Jeff Harris and partners Rafter B and Rockin C were in third place with Hurst Pro Rodeo sliding in fourth with 278.62. The Champion Bull was Loe/Melton Bull Company's Crimson King and Jaynes Gang Flab Slab, each with 90 points rides in the semifinal match ups.

Cowboy Cut turned in the rankest score of the night as he bucked off Vastbinder in the semifinal round and earned 90 points from the four-bull judge system in place at the CBR.

Bossier Shootout Results

1. Tyler Taylor, Stephenville, Texas, 88.5 on 831 Restraining Order (Brown). $23,050.00
2. Caleb Sanderson, 87.5 on 79 Jojo (Winston/Melton), $13,450
3. Cody Jesus, Sawmill, AZ, 0, 343 Rio (Hurst)
4. Sage Kimzey, 0, Big Lew (Brown).

Bossier Average Results

1. Tyler Taylor (on 3), 266.5, $23,050.00
2. Caleb Sanderson, 263, $13,450
3. Cody Jesus, 178, $2,250
4. Sage Kimzey, 174, $2,250

Bull Team Results

1. Burleson/Barnett #1, 280.38 pts, $20,000
2. Rawson #2, 280.30, #12,000
3. Rafter B -- Rockin C/Harris, 279.10, $8,000
4. Hurst Pro Rodeo, 278.62., $5,000.

CBR Road to Cheyenne takes next weekend off and resumes on February 18 in El Paso, TX, for the Casa Ford El Paso Tuff Hedeman CBR, the 11th stop on the CBR's televised tour.

Information provided by Championship Bull Riding

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