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Meet the freshmen

Nance leads Kingsolver in battle for 2009 Daisy Rookie of the Year

LAS VEGAS (October 26, 2009) - Talk with any professional bull rider in the PBR and they’ll tell you that they grew up dreaming of an opportunity to compete against their heroes on the Built Ford Tough Series.

Simply becoming one of the Top 40 riders in the world is a dream come true that typically doesn’t last for long.
 
They immediately become aware of their surroundings.

Not only are these newcomers – some of whom are still teenagers – riding against former World Champions like Guilherme Marchi, Chris Shivers, Mike Lee and Ednei Caminhas, but they’re also climbing into the chutes and having make 8 seconds on bulls like Bones, Code Blue, Troubadour and Chicken on a Chain.

The rookie class of 2009 spans the globe with riders from four countries, including Australia, Brazil, Canada and the United States.

“Sometimes this season has been like a dream,” said Pete Farley, a 20-year-old Aussie, who followed his older brother Jared to America, “and sometimes it’s been a nightmare.”

For most of these guys – this year 16 riders have made their BFTS debut – this is the first time they’ve been asked to ride this caliber of bull round after round, week after week.

And for some, it comes with dismal results.

Take Elliott Jacoby. The Texas native from Fredericksburg was 0-for-his-first-16 bulls spanning six events before he finally made the whistle. He still was cut from the tour the next day. Five riders – Josh Call, Spud Jones, Joao Sales, Douglas Duncan and Josh Faircloth – made it to the BFTS for one event. There are four riders – Call, Tanner Girletz, Robson Aragao and Faircloth – who have yet to make a qualified ride.

There are 11 of the 16 rookies who have had five or more outs this year and only four of them – Cody Nance, Caleb Sanderson, Skeeter Kingsolver and Farley – have a riding percentage in excess of 25 percent.

Sanderson, who has competed in 16 events, was 18 of 40 for a riding average of 45 percent. Kingsolver, who became a fan favorite overnight, has covered 21 of his 59 bulls in 22 events for a 35.6 riding percentage.

Nance covered 14 of 34 in 12 BFTS events, and two of those came at an event in Pueblo, Colo., when he became the first rookie since 2006 to win a BFTS event in his first season.

“I was like, dang, that came out of nowhere,” said Kingsolver, “but he rides good.”

Added Farley, “That kind of came right out left field. But, like I say, he’s like Skeeter in that he rides good enough to (win). Even though it wasn’t expected of him, it’s not surprising that he did it.”

Three years ago, Austin Meier (Chicago), Kasey Hayes (Tulsa) and Colby Yates (Albuquerque) all accomplished the feat in their first season, yet it was J.B. Mauney who proved to be most consistent that season in winning the 2006 Daisy Rookie of the Year title.

“Pueblo, yeah, it gave me a heck of a lot of confidence and praise God,” said Nance. “Before I got on that bull in the short round, which was Super Duty, Adriano (Moraes) specifically told me I was good enough to be there,  and I believe it.

“I made it to this level, so therefore I believe I belong here, but yeah, Adriano, he pushed it a little bit. I mean, he’s a three-time World Champion, one of my heroes, and for him to say something means a lot.”

Pueblo was just the third event for the Paris, Tenn., native, who made his debut in Worcester, Mass. Because of that win in Pueblo, no one was surprised, least of all Nance, when he won again in Columbus, Ohio.

Nance ended the BFTS by proving he’s a contender to win the 2009 PBR World Finals event average.

He qualified for five of the last six short go rounds, finished the regular season with five Top 10 finishes in 12 events, and has successfully made the whistle in six of the last 10 outs, raising his season average to 41.18 percent.

And his $133,385.54 in winnings gives him a commanding lead for the honor of Daisy Rookie of the Year over Kingsolver, who’s made $75,357.21,. It’s been quite a turn of events in a race that for much of the season was focused on Kingsolver and Farley.

Kingsolver, a 20-year-old from Mclouth, Kan., made his first appearance on the BFTS in Winston Salem, N.C., and while he may not have won the event, he had quite a memorable first round. His first out was on Black Cuervo, which he covered for 8 seconds. With a score of 74.25, he was offered the option of a re-ride, which he accepted, and proceeded to earn 90.5 on Big Iron for the round win.

Unfortunately, El Presidente and then Avalanche put an end to his weekend, but not before Versus broadcaster Justin McKee dubbed him “The Royal Solution.”

“There ain’t nothing you can fault about Skeeter,” Farley said. “He’s proved that over and over again.”

He finished both Winston-Salem and Tampa one spot away from making it back to the short go before an 11th place finish in Tallahassee, Fla., and by the time he earned back-to-back Top 10 finishes in Anaheim, Calif., and Glendale, Ariz., a t-shirt bearing his likeness had become a top-selling item at live events.

Kingsolver finished with three Top 10 finishes, including a fifth-place finish in Anaheim, and is the second highest ranked rookie at 31st in the world standings.

It’s likely his status would be better, but he missed four events after breaking his ankle in Nampa, Idaho.

“The main deal is riding like you can,” said Kingsolver, who was in awe of getting called up the BFTS. “It’s great to be here, but I belong here. When I first got on (tour) I had a little bit of nerves going on, but I’m settled in and just doing what I do now.”

Farley made his BFTS debut the same week as Kingsolver.

Both youngsters were called up as alternates following the cut that came after Dallas. But unlike Kingsolver, it took the Aussie three events before he made the 8-second whistle.

It was streaks of two and three events without a ride that Farley referred to as being like a nightmare. That all changed for the 20-year-old a week later in Oklahoma City, when he covered three of four bulls and finished the event in eighth place.

“When I first got the call I was intimidated,” admitted Farley, who said that until the summer break he had forgotten to simply have fun, “but now I feel like I’m here and I feel like I belong. I just need to keep riding bulls.

“Before (Oklahoma City) I hadn’t been doing too good, and that’s when I realized this is what I want to do and that’s all I want to do.”

It’s amazing to think what a difference a year can make.

Though it didn’t count as a BFTS appearance, Farley’s first experience competing in this environment was in 2008 when he was a member of Team Australia at the World Cup in Chihuahua, Mexico. It was a bit overwhelming for the then-teen who bucked off all four bulls.

As frustrating as it may have been, the experience clearly paid off this year when he again rode in the World Cup, but this time with better results. Competing in Barretos and riding in front of 80,000 screaming Brazilians, he covered four of six and showed the world he can ride with the best, even with extreme pressure to perform.

“It’s a different level on the Built Ford Tough Series,” said Farley, who added that the adjustment has been more mental than physical, “and there’s times where you can be riding good and still get thrown off, and that’s a pretty plain and simple fact, so you just keep your confidence up and go out.”

One rookie who has only begun to gain some momentum is Sanderson.

“He’s coming into his own here on the Built Ford Tough Series,” said Justin McKee, the weekend of the 26th event in Reno, Nev.

More importantly, with just over $60,000 earned, he was one of six rookies who qualified for a trip to Vegas. Joining him will be Nance, Kingsolver, Farley and Elliott Jacoby, who at 41 in the qualifier standings made it by virtue of Ryan Dirteater’s season-ending injury.

A sixth rookie competing in Vegas, Thiago Paguioto, will make his BFTS debut after winning the Brazilian title. Paguioto enters the Finals having earned $69,407.74 in his home country.

Clayton Baethge will also be in Vegas as the third alternate behind Billy Robinson and Reese Cates, last year’s top rookie, and ahead of Mike White and Dusty Ephrom.

But when it’s all said and done, it’s about more than confidence. It’s about truly feeling as though they belong. Success now and in the future comes with not being intimidated by their opponents — man or beast.

“If I didn’t think I was capable I would have stayed home,” Farley said, “and I’d still be Australia somewhere.”

“When I first came on tour that was the main thing I was going to focus on—making sure I don’t let myself feel like I don’t belong,” Kingsolver said. “I feel like I’ve done a good job with that. Now that we’re getting near the end of the year, I need to step up and win one of these events and do good at the World Finals.”

“At the moment my only goal is to make sure I’m in Vegas,” added Farley, “and whichever rookie does the best in Vegas will win.”

Nance is long on talent and, in spite of being a newcomer, is certainly not lacking any confidence in his riding ability at this level.

“I got the Finals to look at,” said Nance, “and I still got a chance to win the world.”

Kingsolver has a plan of his own. “I plan on being the (Daisy) Rookie of the Year if I do my job, and I will.”

FIRST YEAR MEMORIES

The call that changed his career: Skeeter Kingsolver was just returning from an Enterprise event he won the night before in Fairfax, Va., when his cell phone rang. “I got off the plane and I was picking my truck up from where you drop your truck off at, and [Senior V.P. of Competition] Jay Daugherty called me,” Kingsolver recalled. “They told me it was coming, but I didn’t believe it. All them guys was saying that I was going to go to Winston-Salem, so I was excited. I called everybody in my phonebook, pretty much.”

Brotherhood of Bull Riding: When Pete Farley first found himself on the BFTS he had his older brother Jared Farley to show him the way. “To travel with him made things a lot easier and I wasn’t stuck on my own somewhere,” said the younger Farley, who admitted it took a few weeks to adjust to life on the road without Jared. “We had been inseparable so it’s kind of different going off on your own.”

NOTE: This article was originally written for the current issue of Pro Bull Rider magazine and has since been updated with the final stats at the completion of the BFTS last weekend in Uncasville, Conn.

—by Keith Ryan Cartwright