There were those who came to Sacramento injured, those who wound up injured, and three who went into the first short round atop the leader board.

But it was Ben Jones who left the ARCO Arena with the lead after the first two of four rounds of competition at the Sacramento Invitational.

“I’m just taking it one bull at a time,” Jones said. “One jump at a time.”

Jones covered Juicy Fruit in the opening round for 86.75 points, followed by riding Hot Stuff for 89.25 points for a two-head total of 176 points.

Reigning World Champion Renato Nunes, who said he didn’t feel the pain of his broken riding hand after his first-round effort on Magic, rode Straight Jacket for 85.5 points. His 172.25 points put him in second, followed by Silvano Alves (170.75) and Austin Meier (161).

Shane Proctor was tied with Jones and Nunes for first after Round 1, but came down early off of Red Hot in the short round.

There were 20 qualified rides in the long round, and four in the short round. However, Friday night was as much about injuries as it was about the rides.

Nunes will have X-rays on Monday, and will likely be out four-to-six weeks after having his riding hand stepped on at a Touring Pro event in Denver. Luke Snyder and Kody Lostroh were both injured at the same event. Snyder is out this weekend with a concussion, while Lostroh reinjured his left elbow.

Meier, who turned down a re-ride option, said he’s dealing with a torn ligament in his right shoulder. The injury happened during the PBR World Finals.

Ned Cross missed a chance at riding in the short round after separating his left shoulder earlier in the night, but that didn’t stop him from asking, “Did I get a score?” His 85.25 points was eighth in the average, but there was no word regarding whether he’ll compete Saturday night.

The latest update from Dr. Tandy Freeman is that Jody Newberry, who was stepped on after being bucked off of Zip Code, was knocked unconscious and received a “complex laceration of the left ear.”

According to Freeman, Newberry was reported to be awake and responsive upon his arrival at UC-Davis Medical Center.

The final two rounds of the event will get underway Saturday night, beginning at 10 p.m. ET.

— by Keith Ryan Cartwright