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Zack is back

Former Rookie of the Year in fifth, with first in his sights

PUEBLO, Colo. (September 14, 2009) - Last year, Zack Brown re-established himself as a competitor to be reckoned with.

He showed he still had what it took to win on the Professional Bull Riders Built Ford Tough Series when he made a courageous ride atop a very rank bull named Soulja Boy in Billings, Mont.

But staying aboard the high-jumping beast didn’t come without a dramatic fight to the finish. The bull jerked Brown down on his massive front end and the two collided more than once near the end of the 8-second battle. The judges initially disqualified Brown, but he challenged their call and was awarded a score after a review by instant replay.

What made his first-place finish a great story line was the ride occurred at the Rimrock Auto Arena, the same venue that Brown rode in in 2005, when he was stomped by a bull named Grave Digger. The serious accident prompted Brown to retire the same year.

But Brown came out of retirement in late 2006 when he concluded he was “wasting my talent.” Brown worked his way back to PBR stardom over the next two seasons and competed in the 2008 World Finals, his first appearance at the Las Vegas championships since 2004.

Brown also has made lots of headlines in 2009. On the weekend of Aug. 28-30, he helped the United States win the team title at the PBR World Cup in Barretos, Brazil. This weekend, he’s scheduled to compete in the PBR’s Ford Series tour in Springfield, Mo., and he’s ranked fifth in the world title race.

With five events remaining on the 2009 BFTS, Brown is not considered a heavy favorite because he’s more than 3,300 points behind Built Ford Tough Series leader Kody Lostroh. But he still has a mathematical chance of catching up and claiming a gold buckle at the 2009 World Finals, which is scheduled for Oct. 30-Nov. 1 and Nov. 5-8 at the Thomas & Mack Center in Las Vegas.

Brown hasn’t given up hope. He said he plans on winning the remaining tour stops and “that will make it far more interesting in the final outcome.” 

“I’m definitely going for it, that’s for sure,” Brown said. “I can’t worry about things that are out of my control. I just need to simplify things by going to each event and keeping my focus. A person just has to stay confident in his ability to do what he knows how to do.”

Brown knows how to win. This season, he’s finished first at Ford Series shows in Sacramento, Calif., Tampa, Fla., and Albuquerque, N.M. In the world title race, Brown has 6,913 points, 3,356 behind Lostroh.

“I’m very pleased with the way things are going,” Brown said. “It’s just great to know I have the ability to do as well as I have been doing. I’ve been able to take advantage of a great season.”

For Brown, being a world-class competitor at this stage of his life is a moral victory. He was hurt really bad at Billings in 2005 when Grave Digger quickly threw him to the arena floor and stepped on him. Brown stayed in ICU for several weeks after suffering a fractured neck and taking 27 staples in his abdomen.

Today, Brown’s career thrives on his positive thinking, and he has put the negative thoughts about his 2005 injuries behind him.   

“As far as injuries go, it’s something that I’ve always known that were going to be there and I try to keep them as minimal as possible,” Brown said. “But you have to realize that when you do get hurt, and you’re not crippled up too bad and it’s still working for you, then you just need to get on and go ahead and do it. But in my case, when I decided to retire, it wasn’t working for me. But after a while, I realized that I was wasting my talent.”

Though he’s 30, an age when many bull riders are thinking about retiring, Brown is living his dream.

“You have to believe that you can do it and realize that it’s all in your head,” Brown said. “If you can stay mentally tough, it’s a lot easier for you.”

Brown also places a high priority on staying physically fit.

“I actually feel like I’m in better physical shape than I did in earlier years,” Brown said. “It seems like the older I get, the more I’ve been able to physically take care of myself better. I’m paying more attention to that part of my life and it’s working out good. I do exercises such as sit ups, pushups and stuff like that. I try not to watch too much TV. Instead, I do things outside such as going fishing and activities that keep me physically active.”

And speaking of picking up a fishing pole, Brown said he lives in Santa Fe, Texas, near the Gulf of Mexico, because he likes being close to the water. His home also is near two busy Houston airports, which makes it much easier to travel to the PBR shows.

“It’s a good location for what I’m doing now because I’m close to the ocean and the airport,” Brown said “That’s important because I spent 10 years in Hawaii, and it’s important to me to be close to the ocean. If I live anywhere, it’s going to have to be where I can enjoy the ocean.”

But Brown also enjoys picking up his bull rope to taking on some of the world’s rankest bulls, and he’s proven once again that he’s great. Brown, who won the PBR’s Rookie of the Year title in 2004, has 2009 season earnings of $182,606 and $767,799 in PBR career earnings.  

“I have my confidence back,” Brown said. “The love for the sport has definitely come back and it’s part of my whole game plan. More than anything, I have gotten the enjoyment back for bull riding.”

-By Brett Hoffman