ARLINGTON, Texas - Bushwacker proved he's stillevery bit as good as he was.
The reigning World Champion Bull hadn't bucked since the WorldFinals in late October, recovering from surgery in early January toremove bone chips from both hind legs.
Saturday night he was marked 46 points in the final round of theDickies® Iron Cowboy III after bucking off event-winnerJ.B. Mauney at 7.22 seconds - the longest he'sbeen ridden since being covered at the World Finals in 2009.
Bushwacker is in fine form after leg surgery, tossing J.B.Mauney just before the whistle in Arlington, Texas, onSaturday.
"Coming back after surgery, I thought it was real good," saidJulio Moreno, who co-owns Bushwacker withRichard Oliveira. "I was hoping J.B. would ridehim. It was good. He really shined, I thought.
"Now I know he still has it. That was my concern. Anybody that hassurgery … what's going to happen next? Well, he did perform."
Moreno and Kent Cox, who hauls and handlesBushwacker from his ranch in Dublin, Texas, confirmed that for theforeseeable future, they will not buck Bushwacker in back-to-backweeks.
'Coming back after surgery, I thought it wasreal good. ... He really shined, I thought. Now I know hestill has it.'
They're looking at Albuquerque, N.M., in late March as his nextpotential appearance.
"Then we'll go to Pueblo (Colo., in mid-May)," Moreno said.
Bushwacker, who currently weighs 1,737 pounds, was a littleheavier than they would have liked.
Cox plans to keep working him out on a daily basis to take alittle more weight off of before his next trip.
"We're going to take our time with him," Moreno said. "We're notgoing to really rush him."
In their first head-to-head matchup of 2012, Bushwacker outscoredhis top rival Asteroid, who was marked 45.5 pointsafter bucking off Austin Meier at the 4-secondmark in the final round.
Moreno thought they might haul Bushwacker to eight Built FordTough Series events, "and see what happens from there. That's allwe can do."
NO. 1 WITH A BULLET: "I'm very relaxed, I feelcomfortable here and, man, I'm having a (heck) of a time," saidJ.B. Mauney, as he made his way through a throngof well-wishers that included his parents Tim andLynne, and his brother-in-law ShaneProctor.
J.B. Mauney celebrates the wn in Arlington, Texas, onSaturday.
But after winning his second BFTS event of 2012 and extendinghis lead atop the world standings to a season-high 495.75 points,he again credited the one person most important to him - hisdaughter Bella - as the reason for his reemergenceas the top title contender.
"I have that little girl at home and she has me calmed down,pretty much," he said. "I stay around the house, I don't go out allthe time anymore, and I guess I grew up a little bit. It's showingup in my riding."
Mauney gutted his way through what was arguably the most difficultsection of the bracket-style format.
After advancing with an 86.5-point ride on WhiteVelvet, he matched up with Perfect Poison,Shepherd Hills Tested and Bushwacker insuccessive rounds before earning a chance to win an additional$50,000 on Buckey.
"It didn't really go like I wanted it to," he admitted. "I endedup winning the deal, but I would have liked to have rode every bullI got on. You know, I rode Bushwacker right to the whistle and hestill got me again. I ended up winning and I couldn't ask foranything more, but I wish I would have done it in a little betterfashion."
It was the sixth time he's matched up with the reigning WorldChampion Bull.
This time he made it 7.22 seconds, but in four of his previousfive attempts, he never made it past the halfway point.
"That bull got to whipping so fast tonight," Mauney explained. "Iwas moving and going, and if I could have kept my free arm sloweddown, I would have been okay. I just got to whipping too much, andhe brought me to the outside and slung me pretty hard on myhead."
Coming off what was statistically the worst season of hisseven-year career - he still managed to finish ranked seventh inthe world - Mauney is off to one of the best starts he's had sincemaking his debut in 2006.
'I couldn't ask for anything more,Everything is going great for me right now.'
He's the only rider to avoid going 0-for-the-weekend in thefirst nine BFTS events of the season, and has finished in the Top10 in six of those nine events, including the past five. In four ofthose five events he's been in the Top 5, including his earlier winin Baltimore.
He's ridden 18 of 28 bulls, which is more qualified rides than anyother rider, and his 64.29 percent riding average is more than 8percent higher than his career average of 55.93, and more than 20percent higher than his 2011 average.
"I couldn't ask for anything more," Mauney said. "Everything isgoing great for me right now."
VALIANT EFFORT: After advancing to the finalround and earning a matchup with Asteroid,Meier got a piece of advice from his fatherRex: "Just stay loose on him, and not to clamp,because he'll go either way now."
In recent weeks, Asteroid has shown a willingness and ability togo left or right. The elder Meier, who works with Circle T Ranchand drives the truck that hauls Asteroid, added, "He's got a littleroll to him it looks like, and to stay square in the middle to goright or left, you know, he's got a little roll to him, so he getsyou leaning and disappears from you."
Austin Meier lasts 4 seconds on Asteroid in Arlington,Texas, on Saturday.
Austin finished second in this year's Iron Cowboy III.
"Oh shoot, it's bull riding," said the younger Meier afterward."J.B. and I both put our hearts out on the line.I'm just glad to be healthy, and will be ready for nextweek."
It was a huge difference from last year, when Meier collapsed outof exhaustion and could barely stand on his own by the end of oneof the most grueling formats in professional bull riding.
"A big part of it is my conditioning I've done in the off-seasongetting here," said Meier, who added he's "stronger, faster,healthier than I was last year.
"Last year, my very first bull absolutely wrecked me out andreally kind of just did it in for me. This year, even though itlooked like I got wrecked out bad, it'll be a little bit sore, butthat was just a bump in the road. That wasn't nothing, and I wasable to still go on."
Austin Meier, using both his trademark power and a renewedfocus on technique, goes 4 seconds on championship-contenderAsteroid in Arlington, Texas on Saturday.
Meier said that other than Mulligan Man, whomhe stayed on for 5.06 seconds to advance to the final round, thedraw fit his riding style, and he had a chance to come through theelimination process with a win.
He did become the first rider in 22 attempts to coverRango. His 91-point-effort was the high-markedscore of the event.
FEELING A DRAFT: The first Backseat Buckersauction and draft, which was held Saturday afternoon at CowboysStadium, was a resounding success. The contractors bid a total of$1.4 million in purchasing the 100 ABBI futurity bulls who willcompete at five events for $500,000 in prize money.
Gary Long bid $98,000 for the No. 1 pick, andreceived a new Ford pickup for the winning bid, as did Boyd &Floyd Bucking Bulls, when Long selected **No. 119,**who was raised on their ranch outside Stephenville, Texas.
The first 10 draft bids raised nearly $500,000 and surpassed $1million with the 46th.
"If you have the No. 1 pick, you go right to the bull you want,"Long said, "and you don't have to say, 'Oh (darn), I should havegone a little higher with the my bid.' And then you throw in atruck. What more?
"I need one. Well, my wife needs one - a nice clean one."
'If you have the No. 1 pick, you go right tothe bull you want, and you don't have to say, "Oh (darn), I shouldhave gone a little higher with the my bid." And then you throw in atruck. What more?
Long said he didn't have a ceiling when it came to bidding for thefirst pick. He joked that "we're talking about estate planning. I'mat that point in my life. It's grandkid money. They got a littleless money now coming their way."
Each of the participating contractors had an opportunity to watchvideos for every available bull. Long said he spent a lot of timeviewing each video and assembling a list of bulls he was interestedin. He also consulted with Monty Samford andKent Cox in ranking the top prospective 2-year-oldbulls.
Hall of Fame quarterback John Elway was the firstof several celebrity contracts to submit a winning bid. He got theninth overall pick, followed by his close friend WayneGretzky, who is widely regarded as the greatest hockeyplayer of all-time, with the 11th pick. Baseball Hall of FamerReggie Jackson, who once hit three homeruns in asingle World Series game for the New York Yankees, bid for the 13thoverall pick.
Other celebrities included the Boomer EsiasonFoundation, Chad Ochocinco and BearPascoe, a tight end from the Super Bowl winning New YorkGiants.
JUST IN TIME: "I was pretty flustered I wasn'tgoing to get to come," said Harve Stewart, who wasborn and raised in nearby Stephenville. He originally missed thecut for the 24-man draw in Arlington, but that all changed onThursday when Stewart got what he called "the call."
Upon returning from a trip to Guatemala, Mike Leehad his injured right knee reexamined, and it was determined he hadtorn the PCL. He'll miss 12 to 14 weeks.
Stewart said he was talking with Colby Yates, whowon last year's Iron Cowboy event, and the Fort Worth native toldhim he too was a late alternate. This was Stewart's first timecompeting at Cowboys Stadium.
"I was on vacation," he joked, "and now I'm here to work."
ALL OUT: Renato Nunes dispelled any notion thatthe second rider in each of the Iron Cowboy matchups would evenconsider conserving energy. The 2010 World Champion said he was notworried about the time of the riders he faced. "I'm focused onmaking a ride," he said. "If I make a score, then I get points(toward) winning the world title." Nunes made it to the Elite 8round before being eliminated by Marco Eguche.
Renato Nunes made it to the Elite 8 in Arlington onSaturday.
IN ATTENDANCE: McKennon Wimberly, who has yet tosee the dentist after being hit in jaw Monday at a local practicepen, and Proctor were among some of the top bullriders not competing in the Iron Cowboy who were on hand for theevent.
Dakota Beck and last week's event winnerChase Outlaw were also in Arlington. Outlaw wonhis first BFTS event at Reliant Stadium in Houston, but was steppedon after dismounting his final bull. He said he was sore early inthe week and "could hardly move," but on Thursday he woke up "andfelt fine."
THE PARTY NEVER ENDS: Luke Snyder, the reigningLast Cowboy Standing, is one of more than a dozen PBR riders,bullfighters and staffers who will be in Thackerville, Okla., fortonight's Kid Rock concert at the WinStar World Casino. Snyder andShorty Gorham will be driving a Ford Super Dutynorth to Detroit for this year's Last Cowboy Standing Saturday atFord Field, but not before joining in-arena announcerBrandon Bates and others for the concert.
WATCH LAST COWBOY STANDING next Saturday at 9p.m. ET on NBC Sports Network.