By Johna Cravens/Fort Worth Stock Show & Rodeo
FORT WORTH, Texas (Jan. 17, 2024) Creek Young rode his way to the championship of the Fort Worth Stock Show & Rodeo’s Bulls’ Night Out with two strong efforts on Wednesday night. Young, the third of 40 cowboys to compete, set a high bar for the long round when he scored 92 points on Pete Carr Pro Rodeo’s National Finals Rodeo (NFR) bull Pegusus.
The Missouri cowboy’s score edged Tuesday night’s event leader Fulton Rutland of Westville, Oklahoma, by two points. Young, who won nearly $100,000 in December at the NFR, admitted he had been staying close to home for the past month, especially during the recent deep freeze. The 92-point ride was a strong re-entry into bull riding for the three-time national finalist.
The riders with the 10 highest scores in the long round earned the chance to compete in a second, short round at the end of the night. Young, by virtue of having the highest score from the long round, was the last to ride. The first nine cowboys in the short round couldn’t stay on for the required 8 seconds.
That meant that Rutland’s short go ride on Tuesday was the only obstacle for Young to overcome enroute to the championship. He needed a score of 85 points to overtake Rutland and came through with an 87.5-point ride on Stockyards Pro Rodeo’s bull named Train Station.
Young’s winnings of nearly $22,000 vaulted him to the top of the Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association (PRCA) 2024 Xtreme Bulls Tour standings with Rutland close behind after adding $17,300 to his early-season winnings.
One of the top stops on the Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association (PRCA) Xtreme Bulls Tour, the event at Dickies Arena features 80 bull riders competing over two nights with 40 riders each performance.
In the junior bull riding for youngsters 10 to 15, Corbin Bunn of Lipan, Texas, and Payte Polito of Marietta, Oklahoma, each scored 73 points to tie for the trophy buckle and $500.
Thursday night at 7:30 the Texas Champions Challenge rodeo comes to Dickies Arena with winners from five iconic Texas rodeos – Houston, San Antonio, Austin, San Angelo and Fort Worth competing in a team format in six events.
FORT WORTH, Texas — The following are unofficial results from Bulls’ Night Out at the Fort Worth Stock Show and Rodeo, January 17, 2024.
Wednesday night first round: 1, Creek Young, Rogersville, Mo., 92 points on Pete Carr Pro Rodeo’s Pegusus. 2, Ky Hamilton, Mackay, Queensland, Australia, 88.5. 3, (tie) Coy Pollmeier, Fort Scott, Kan., and Brody Yeary, Morgan Mill, Texas, 86.5. 5, Chase Dougherty, Canby, Ore., 86. 6, Brock Poulin, Sulphur, Okla., 83.5.
Wednesday night short round: (one ride) 1, Young, 87.5 points on Stockyards Pro Rodeo’s Train Station.
First Round winners: 1, Young, 92 points on Pete Carr Pro Rodeo’s Pegusus, $5.647. 2, Fulton Rutland, Westville, Okla., 90, $4,329. 3, Caden Bunch, Talequah, Okla., 89.5, $3,200. 4, Laramie Mosley, Palestine, Texas, 89, $2,071. 5, Hamilton, 88.5, $1,318. 6, Brady Portenier, Caldwell, Idaho, 88, $941. 7, (tie) Deklan Garland, Marlow, Okla.; Patterson Starcher, Fort Scott, Kan., and Chance Schott, McLaughlin, S.D., 87, $439 each.
Short Round winners: (two rides) 1, Young, 87.5 points on Stockyards Pro Rodeo’s Train Station, $6,777. 2, Rutland, 86.5, $5,773.
Total on Two: 1, Young, 179.5, $9,412. 2, Rutland, 176.5, $7,216. (on one) 3, Bunch, 89.5, $5,333. 4, Mosley, 89, $3,451. 5, Hamilton, 88.5, $2,696. 6, Portenier, 88, $1,569. 7, (tie) Starcher, Schott, and Garland, 87, $732 each.
Jr. Bull Riding: 1, (tie) Corbin Bunn, Lipan, Texas, and Payte Polito, Marietta, Okla., 73 points. 2, Coleman Berry, Poolville, Texas, 70.