When Wesley Silcox learned the name of the bull he'd have to ride in the finals of Sunday's Professional Bull Riders Enterprise Classic Sunday, he knew he had a chance at the weekend's top prize.
"I was really happy," said the Payson native of drawing White Magic, a bull several referred to as "the rankest bull alive" and a front-runner for the bull of the year award. "He's a good bull. I've had him twice before, but he bucked me off both times. I guess the third time is the charm."
Silcox qualified for the finals with a 90-point ride on Mr. Aloha and then topped that by earning 91.5 points atop White Magic. The 22-year-old said he's new to PBR events and didn't know how much money he'd won, but he enjoyed the show, which features more than two hours of bull riding only. The top 10 scores qualify cowboys for the finals and then those 10 ride again. The scores are added together and the top point-earner from both Saturday's and Sunday's shows at EnergySolutions Arena wins the title.
Silcox earned the weekend's top prize with 181.5 total points, while Justin Sanderlin was second with 176. Josh Koschel, who rode Saturday, was third with 165.5 points.
Silcox, who is ranked fifth in the PRCA world standings, said riding twice in the same day wasn't as tough as it looked.
"Once you get off the first one, you're all warmed up," he said with a smile.
His success in the PBR event doesn't count toward his PRCA earnings, but he said it "felt great" to win in front of a local crowd.
"I'm just getting into these PBR bull-riding events," Silcox said. "The bulls were great."
In addition to crowning the top bull rider, the event also rewards the animals with a top bull award. A four-year-old named Fine Wine won top honors both days and earned the weekend's top prize. The owners of the bulls pay entry fees of $1,000, and then the top 10 bulls earn prize money. That aspect of the competition is overseen by American Bucking Bulls Incorporated, which is owned by stock contractors and the PBR.
"Right now when you go to the finals, the bull has the ability to earn $250,000," said Don Kish, who owns Fine Wine and two other bulls that competed in this weekend's PBR event. "As a stock contractor, you now have another avenue to make money. In a bull's life span prior to this, if a bull made $50,000 he was a good bull."
The ABBI was purchased by several stock contractors and the PBR four years ago, and Kish said the competitions have only grown in popularity and profitability.
"It's getting there," he said of the ABBI, which acts as a registry for the bulls that compete in the system. This weekend's event featured 3- and 4-year-old bulls, and five of them came from as far away as Hawaii.
"We had three of our bulls in the top 10," said Randy Shippy of South Dakota. "We made just enough money to go to another one of these."
Kish and Shippy said they'd prefer their bulls allow a rider to stay on just long enough to allow judges to see their athletic ability. In fact, if a rider stays on less than 1.9 seconds, the bull can buck again if the owner wants to pay a cowboy $100 just to ride so the bull can be judged.
"I come to throw every one of them off," said Kish. "They're like your kids. You raised them up and you want to see them win."
Shippy agreed that he'd rather have his bull be unrideable, but if a cowboy happens to stay on, then a 90-point ride will serve a bull better.
No cowboy has ridden Fine Wine to the eight-second whistle yet. Still, Kish is reserved about his bull's chances of attaining elite status.
"The truly, truly greats, well, you don't find them every day," Kish said. "The odds are a million to one ... Fine Wine has all the makings, he has the athletic talent, but will he be able to take the pressure? He has the signs of being a great, but it's too early. This is just a proving ground."
And what happens if a bull does earn big money and top honors?
"If they do well in the arena, they get rewarded with lots of girls," said Shippy.
This is the first year the Days of '47 has offered a PBR event, but organizers said they'll likely try to offer the bull-only show again next summer.
E-mail: adonaldson@desnews.com