Bushwacker (bull)
Bushwacker #13/6 (born June 1, 2006) is a three-time Professional Bull Riders (PBR) "World Champion Bull", winning the title in 2011, 2013, and 2014. His three titles match the record established a decade earlier by Little Yellow Jacket from 2002–2004.[1] He was awarded the PBR Heroes and Legends Celebration: Brand of Honor in 2016. He has been referred to as the "Michael Jordan of Bulls."[2] In 2014, PBR co-founder and Director of Livestock Cody Lambert compared Bushwacker to the likes of Secretariat and Seabiscuit.[3] He is to be inducted into the Class of 2020 in the Bull Riding Hall of Fame in August.[4]
Country | United States |
---|---|
Breed | American Bucking Bull |
Brand | 13/6 |
Sex | Bull |
Color | Red w/ mottled white face |
Weight | 1,700 lbs |
Born | June 1, 2006 Marysville, California |
Years active | 2009–2014 |
Sire | A67 Reindeer Dippin |
Paternal grandsire | Naccarato Breeding |
Paternal granddam | AN #11 |
Dam | Lady Luck |
Maternal grandsire | Diamond's Ghost |
Maternal granddam | Ratjen Breeding |
Breeder | Flying U Rodeo, Cotton Rosser, Cindy Rosser, Julio Moreno |
Owner | Julio Moreno, Julio Moreno Bucking Bulls |
Notable riders | J.B. Mauney, Thiago Paguioto, Markus Mariluch |
Honors | |
PBR Brand of Honor 2016 | |
Awards | |
PBR World Champion Bull 2011, 2013–14 |
Background
Bushwacker was sired by #A67 Reindeer Dippin and Lady Luck.[5] Reindeer Dippin was born and raised in Maryville.[5] Reindeer Dippin was the Bucking Bull of the Finals at the 2004 NFR.[6] Reindeer Dippin's father is from Naccarato breeding on his sire's side and his mother is AN 11, an #34 Oscar's Velvet daughter.[7] And Oscar's Velvet is sired by the ProRodeo Hall of Fame bull Oscar.[8][9] Lady Luck's father was Diamond's Ghost.[10] She was raised by David Fournier and acquired by Mikel.[10] David Fournier and Julio Moreno traded a few heifers each year at the American Bucking Bull, Inc. (ABBI) event in Weatherford, Texas – one of these was Lady Luck. "Julio told me, 'You know, Bushwacker’s out of one of your cows' and when he (first) showed it to me, I knew exactly which one. "But I had gotten rid of her mother already," Fourner said.[11]
Bushwacker was born in Marysville, California, on June 1, 2006.[12][5] In 2008, as a two-year-old, he moved to Stephenville, Texas, to work with the late handler Kent Cox. Kent Cox hauled and raised many of Julio Moreno's bulls since 2005.[5] Bushwacker is currently owned by Julio Moreno of Julio Moreno Bucking Bulls. Now retired, he is used for natural breeding and may have as many as 20 cows with him in the spring. Moreno maintains a Facebook page devoted to Bushwacker.[13] Bushwacker has a Twitter account also, but it has been inactive since 2014 when he retired. Bushwacker's last public appearance was at the PBR World Finals in 2016.
Sire #A67 Reindeer Dippin (US) 1999 |
Naccarato Breeding(US) | ||
---|---|---|---|
AN #11(US) | #34 Oscar's Velvet | Oscar (ProRodeo Hall of Fame bull) | |
Dam Lady Luck(US) |
#780 Diamond's Ghost (US) | ||
Ratjen Breeding (US) | |||
Career
His notoriety was cemented during a PBR-record streak of 42 consecutive buckoffs, and 56 buckoffs in all levels of competition.[14] It started after being ridden by Thiago Paguioto, and after that, no one would stay on him again until August 2013, when J.B. Mauney was finally successful in riding him after nine previous tries.[15]
Bushwacker is a bull who spent the majority of his career on the Built Ford Tough Series (BFTS), the major leagues of the PBR. Bushwacker only bucked in the Championship rounds and the 15/15 Bucking Battles, which means only the best riders got to try him. According to Probullstats.com, he had 87 outs with 3 qualified rides at all levels of competition. Of those, 66 outs and 2 qualified rides were on the BFTS.[16] In October 2009, Markus Mariluch was the first to ride Bushwacker in the PBR for 88 points in Las Vegas, but this was not on the BFTS. Then, also in October 2009, Thiago Paguioto was the first to ride Bushwacker on the BFTS in Las Vegas for 89.75 points, and then his buckoff streak started after this ride. Then, the 42 buckoff streak was broken by J.B. Mauney on the BFTS at Tulsa, Oklahoma, for 95.25 points. The bull scored 46.75 on the ride. Bushwacker would not be ridden again, and he retired after the PBR World Finals in 2014.[17] That record of 64 buck offs in 66 BFTS outs ranks him eighth in all-time buckoffs to date.[18] His career BFTS buckoff percentage is 96.969 percent.[18] He also earned an average bull score of 46.162 points.[18]
Throughout his six-year BFTS elite career, Bushwacker "became a world-famous superstar". During his retirement in 2014, PBR co-founder and Director of Livestock Cody Lambert compared Bushwacker with other preeminent animal athletes Secretariat and Seabiscuit. When asked what Bushwacker has meant to the PBR, Lambert took his remarks further. He immediately placed Bushwacker in an exclusive class of PBR legends, alongside others like the first and three-time World Champion Adriano Moraes or two-time World Champions Chris Shivers and Justin McBride.
"He is as important to the sport as any of the riders we have ever had and more famous than most of them and more well known," Lambert said. "We will have all of the great bulls from now on, and all of the great bull riders from now on, and we will never replace Bushwacker or Chris Shivers or Justin McBride or Adriano. We have fans that don’t know any of the riders' names that know Bushwacker," Lambert said. "Lots of them. It's a level that no animal has taken it to so far – until Bushwacker."[3]
Retirement
Moreno retired Bushwacker from competition in October 2014 after winning his third World Champion Bull title.[19] When the PBR awarded Bushwacker the PBR Brand of Honor, Julio brought him to "accept" the award in person in Las Vegas during the PBR World Finals in Oct-Nov 2016. The PBR actually built a stage for Bushwacker inside the South Point Hotel, Casino & Spa where the awards were held. This is the first time an animal has been on stage to receive an award for the PBR. J.B. Mauney attended and spoke fondly about his longtime rival.[20]
"I hung on to him long enough for them to say I made the whistle, but in my eyes he is the greatest bucking bull there will ever be," Mauney said. "People will raise bulls their entire life and they will never have a bull like Bushwacker. It couldn’t have happened to any better gentleman that I know than Julio Moreno." Mauney and Bushwacker met 13 times in Bushwacker's career. Bushwacker bucked Mauney off in all but one of those rides. The always superstitious Moreno said, "I thank J.B. J.B. was on him 13 times and Bushwacker’s number is 13. It kind of worked out good like that."[20]
Honors
- 2009 ABBI (American Bucking Bull, Inc.) Reserve Wild Card Champion[21]
- 2010 ABBI World Champion Classic Bull & $250,000 winner.[21]
- PBR World Champion Bull Contender 2010[12]
- 2011 Mikel Moreno Bull of the PBR World Finals[12]
- 2011 high marked bull 9 times[12]
- 2011 PBR World Champion Bull[22]
- 2012 PBR World Champion Bull contender
- 2013 PBR World Champion Bull[22]
- 2014 PBR World Champion Bull[22]
- Just the 2nd bull to win World Champion Bull 3x
- Holds the PBR BFTS record for 42 consecutive buckoffs[21]
- Awarded 2016 PBR Heroes & Legends Celebration: Brand of Honor[21]
References
- "Little Yellow Jacket Sets the Standard". PBR.com. Retrieved April 1, 2016.
- "Bushwacker is the Michael Jordan of Bulls". Newsweek.com. Retrieved April 1, 2016.
- "Bushwacker ready to be honored in Las Vegas". Professional Bull Riders. Retrieved November 18, 2016.
- "The Bull Riding Hall of Fame Class of 2020". The Bull Riding Hall of Fame. Retrieved February 9, 2020.
- "Professional Bull Riders - Looking back at Bushwacker's career". Professional Bull Riders. Retrieved January 26, 2017.
- "Flying C Livestock - Bucking Bulls and Heifers - Reindeer Dippin". www.flyingclivestock.com. Retrieved January 26, 2017.
- "Featured Bull: A67 Reindeer Dippin". Rank. June 21, 2011. Retrieved January 29, 2017.
- Design, Born to Buck Web. "Breeder's Connection - Champion Bucking Bulls - Lot #01". www.thebreedersconnection.com. Archived from the original on July 1, 2018. Retrieved January 30, 2017.
- "Oscar - Pro Rodeo Hall of Fame". Pro Rodeo Hall of Fame. Retrieved January 30, 2017.
- "Flying C Livestock - Bucking Bulls and Heifers". www.flyingclivestock.com. Retrieved January 26, 2017.
- "Professional Bull Riders - Bloodlines for the greatest". Professional Bull Riders. Retrieved January 29, 2017.
- Cartwright, Keith Ryan (December 2011). "A Tale of Two Champions: Kent Cox and Bushwacker" (Nov/Dec 2011). The American Bucking Bull.
- "Julio Moreno, Owner Of PBR Champion Bucking Bull Bushwacker, Talks With Jason Hetland". YouTube. March 2, 2014. Retrieved January 26, 2017.
- "Moreno congratulates, then challenges Mauney". Professional Bull Riders. www.pbr.com. Retrieved February 26, 2018.
- "The Streak Slayer". PBR.com. Retrieved April 1, 2016.
- "13/6 Bushwacker (17903) bull profile & stats". probullstats.com. Retrieved January 26, 2017.
- "Out List for 13/6 Bushwacker (17903)". probullstats.com. Retrieved January 26, 2017.
- "Bushwacker to receive Brand of Honor". Professional Bull Riders. Retrieved January 31, 2017.
- "Buck stops here: Famed bull Bushwacker to retire". usatoday.com. Retrieved April 1, 2016.
- "Bushwacker and Mauney team up for surprise". Professional Bull Riders. Retrieved January 26, 2017.
- "Professional Bull Riders - Brand of Honor: Bushwacker". Professional Bull Riders. Retrieved January 25, 2017.
- "Past PBR World Champion Bulls 1995 to Present". probullstats.com. Retrieved April 1, 2016.
External links
- Bushwacker stats Bushwacker's profile on Probullstats
- Bushwacker Facebook page
Videos
- Julio Moreno, Owner Of Bushwacker, Talks With Jason Hetland YouTube Video
- ESPN E:60 Bushwacker ESPN TV Show clip YouTube video
- Bushwacker: 'He is Muhammad Ali' (PBR) Official YouTube video
- Bushwacker: The PBR Legend to Retire (PBR) Official PBR video