Brian Canter is only 21 years old.

But a generation of bull riders that came before him likens the Tiny Tar Heel to one of their own: Lane Frost. During a Versus broadcast earlier this year, Ty Murray said the comparison has to do with Canter’s “flowing style.”

Not a shade more than the 5-foot-3 he’s listed at in the 2009 Media Guide, Canter’s small stature makes him look all the more terrific on the larger sized bulls.

Crosswired, for example, weighs in at a slim 1,500 pounds.  Canter  is generously listed at 120 pounds. But in Round 1 of the Bass Pro Shops Invitational, he looked as though he was manhandling the soon-to-be five-year old bull.

His 93-point effort was the highest marked ride in an opening round of a Built Ford Tough Series event ever.  It also set the tone for what would become his third event win of 2009.

Canter covered all three bulls in Omaha, earned a total of 815.25 points toward his bid to win a world title and, in the meantime, cashed a check worth $56,022.40. In just his fourth full season on the BFTS, Canter is only $150,000 shy of having earned $1 million in prize money.

“I felt real good coming into this weekend,” Canter said. “Shoot, I’ve been working at it real hard at home trying to get things together.

“I won here last year and I told myself coming in here this weekend, before it even started, that I was going to win it again.”

He’s now won two of the past five events after sitting out Kansas City and Birmingham with a groin pull, and has finished in the Top 10 in four of those five events.

On the year, his riding average is now over 51 percent, and he moved into the Top 10 of the world standings for the first time this season. He’s currently ranked eighth in the world, which coincidentally matches his best finish (2006) to date.

Much of the difference between the past 12 events and the first seven is that Canter has been regularly working out in the gym.

“That’s going to help you out 100 percent,” said Canter, who until the past three months had relied solely on his natural abilities as a bull rider to carry him through a long, grueling 10-month season.

“I mean, I talked to Ty about it and all that stuff. He said the gym will help you out a lot and it shows. Shoot, to win three events this year and working hard it, real hard, you can’t ask for (any) more than that.”

Canter came into 2009 following his lowest finish, 25th, in three full seasons, largely because of a devastating wreck last summer in Paso Robles, Calif., during one of five ESPN Team Shootouts. The horrific wreck came when he was stepped on— it  resulted in a nine-inch long gash on the back of his head, broke his jaw and punctured his eardrum.

“That was the scariest wreck I ever saw someone live through,” said J.W. Hart, who was part of the ESPN broadcast team along with Sam Gore and Sid Steiner.

Because the event took place during the summer break from the BFTS, Canter missed just six events, but was never the same when he returned.

In fact, aside from an Enterprise event in Denver back in mid-January, he struggled mightily in the first seven events this season. He failed to even come close to qualifying for six of those first seven short go rounds, with his best finish coming in Dallas.

 A week after Canter’s first win, which came in Tallahassee, Murray said the Carolina native’s struggles had nothing to do with mentally dealing with his wreck from a year ago, and instead said Canter had simply “lost focus.”

“Ty is one of my close buddies,” Canter said. “He’ll call me about one or two times a week and he tells me to just bear down every time and do what I’m doing.

“I live five minutes from Jerome Davis and, shoot, he tells me what I’m doing wrong and stuff like that and then, Ty, he’ll get on my butt sometimes. He keeps me going. I’m telling you, Ty’s a great guy and Jerome’s a great, great guy.”

“They’re my two pals,” he continued, “my two best buds.”

NEWS AND NOTES

The Land Down Under: According to Dr. Tandy Freeman, Brendon Clark remains in the Intensive Care Unit at Creighton University Hospital after a terrible wreck in Round 2 of the Bass Pro Shops Shootout in Omaha.

Freeman said that “Brendon is better,” but that he’s “not sure yet when he will be moved from ICU, much less sent home.” Clark has a lacerated liver, contusions to both lungs and broken ribs suffered when he was stepped on. The PBR will continue to update the Web site as more information becomes available.

There’s Nothing Funny about Lostroh’s Elbow: Unfortunately, Kody Lostroh did more than break his nose this weekend in Omaha. The Colorado cowboy may have torn ligaments in his riding elbow when it looked as though he hyper-extended his left arm after being hit in the face with a bull horn during Round 1 this weekend in Omaha.

Lostroh, who is currently atop the world standings, is undergoing an MRI this afternoon and the PBR hopes to provide a full report as early as tomorrow afternoon.

If surgery is needed, Lostroh has already said he’ll try switching from his stronger left hand back to riding with his right hand in an effort to continue his season. For those who are not aware, Lostroh began his career riding with his right hand, so while he wouldn’t be at his best, it is believed that he is capable of making the transition.

Not only is the 23-year-old’s quest for a World Championship in doubt, but so too is his place on the World Cup team representing the U.S. this August in Brazil.

— by Keith Ryan Cartwright