As the first round of the Jacksonville Invitational was set to begin earlier tonight the excitement around town and inside of the Veterans Memorial Arena was at an all-time high. The top 35 bull riders in the world have had a tough time over the past few weeks as the bull power they have faced has been fierce. This weekend the caliber of bucking bulls will take a step back a bit and give the cowboys facing them a little bit of a break as the east coast bull power is not quite where it has been across the country on the west coast.
This weekend will include two days of intense bull riding action in three rounds of competition. Tonight’s round was the first of two qualifying rounds that will determine who will be invited into the championship round tomorrow afternoon. That being said, the final round that awaits the top 15 bull riders in the event standings will include many bulls that have remained unridden while a majority of the field will be filled with bulls from stock contractors Jeff Robinson and K Bar C Bucking Bulls. This means that the bull power will be on full display and that the bull riders who advance better come into the round on their “A” game to be able to last the eight seconds needed for a score!
Jake Gowdy Competes In Jacksonville
Photo Credit: Rockin’ K Photography
As the 2017 Professional Bull Riders Built Ford Tough Series continues to progress the new up and coming athletic talent that we are seeing this year is leaving us in awe of what is happening down on the arena floors each and every weekend. Many of these Built Ford Tough Series rookies are taking full advantage of the opportunities that have been given to them and are quickly climbing up the world championship standings in search of their first PBR World Finals qualification this coming November in Las Vegas.
One of those cowboys, Jake Gowdy, is proving that he is going to do everything he can to stay on the elite tour for the foreseeable future. After moving up to the Built Ford Tough Series he has given everything he has and it has proved to be a positive sign for this young cowboy. Coming into tonight’s first round he sits in the number 28 spot in the world standings and looks to progress up the ranks even more this weekend here in Jacksonville, Florida while taking part in the Jacksonville Invitational!
Koal Livingston Takes Home The Round One Win In Jacksonville
Photo Credit: Andy Watson / Bull Stock Media
Once things were all said and done earlier tonight, it was apparent that the bull riders came into Jacksonville more focused and determined than ever to rebound from an absolutely dismal performance just a week ago. As I said earlier, the bull power here on the east coast was not as powerful as those that they paired up against while on the other side of the country. Tonight was a night to regain some much-needed confidence and figure out how to get bak on track to move forward throughout the rest of the first half of the season.
Tonight the top 35 bull riders in the world came into the weekend following a St. Louis event where only 31 rides were made in an astounding 118 attempts. This figured out to only 26% which is well above the average range of around 35% that normally the fans see at other events. Tonight, the tide was turned as 20 of the 35 riders were able to make it to the eight-second buzzer and carry a score over into tomorrow afternoon’s second round. Although there were 20 qualified rides only one could come out victorious as the round winner. Tonight that man would be 18 year-old Koal Livingston after he was able to ride K-C/Josey McElroy Bucking Bulls/Spark-lin Acres’ Ram It to the eight-second mark and carry a round winning score of 87.50 points over into tomorrow afternoon!
Complete Break-Down Of Qualified Rides In Round One Posted Below:
Koal Livingston (87.50) Guilherme Marchi (87.00)
Luciano De Castro (87.00) Dakota Buttar (86.50)
Claudio Montanha Jr. (85.25) J.B. Mauney (85.25)
Chase Oulaw (85.25) Matt Triplett (84.25)
Rubens Barbosa (84.25) Fabiano Vieira (84.00)
Brady Sims (84.00) Mike Lee (83.75)
Ryan Dirteater (83.50) Stormy Wing (83.25)
Stetson Lawrence (83.25) Kaique Pacheco (83.25)
Eduardo Aparecido (83.25) Derek Kolbaba (83.00)
Dener Barbosa (81.25) Reese Cates (80.00)
After a round one where things seemed to be getting back on track for the top 35 bull riders in the world we look ahead to tomorrow afternoon’s second and championship rounds that await them. Hopefully, these cowboys can carry on the strides that they have made her tonight and continue to make the adjustments, both mentally and physically, that they need to make to start riding the bovine athletes that are placed underneath of them. We will all find out together tomorrow afternoon if tonight was a fluke or if the tides are changing in the ranks of the Built Ford Tough Series!
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