STEPHENVILLE, TEXAS - Gene Melton had planned to spend Easter weekend here all along.

The veteran bull man was going to scout out the 3- and 4-year-old bulls competing in the third annual Farm Bureau Spring Fling Touring Pro Division event at Lone Star Arena. Just before leaving home, though, he made a last-minute decision to take Little Combat with him.

The young bull came out on top among the 75 bulls competing last weekend.

"It looked like it was going to be pretty close to me," Melton said. "I don't get my hopes up until they're over."

Pim Rosa is catapulted by Little Combat last weekend in Stephenville, Texas.

In the end, Little Combat scored 89.75 points to beat out Boyd 335, who was marked 88.75 points for a similarly impressive out Friday night. Rounding out the Top 5 bulls were Hous Back, Carney Man and White Lie.

"It was just our turn," Melton said Saturday night after clinching the first-place buckle.

Classic bulls are scored by six judges, with the high and low scores being discarded.

Little Combat was marked with a high of 22.75 points, two low scores of 22.25 points, and three 22.5-point scores to beat out Boyd 335, who had a low of 21.5 points and a high of 22.5 points.

Brad Boyd, who owns Boyd 335 along with Toby Floyd, said it was only the fourth time they had bucked their bull with a rider on his back, and it was his first time in competition.

"Every time we buck him he keeps picking up the pace," said Boyd. "He'll be on TV one of these days."

Boyd, who serves as President of the ABBI, said the entire pen of bulls looked good this weekend.

"There are some fantastic bulls you're going to see at the Built Ford Tough Series," he said.

Boyd 335 dumps Chon Miranda in Stephenville, Texas, on Friday.

The two-day event featured plenty of riders with Built Ford Tough Series experience, including Rubens Barbosa, Reese Cates, Ben Jones, Matt Bohon, Cody Campbell, Jordan Hupp, Harve Stewart and event-winner Markus Mariluch.

Mariluch, who was one of several riders to enter both nights, was the only one to cover two bulls.

He recently competed at BFTS events in Glendale, Ariz., and Albuquerque, N.M., and because of his win here, will appear this weekend in Indianapolis.

Circle T Ranch and Rodeo will have a truckload of bulls - including Asteroid - out on a three-week trip beginning this weekend in Indianapolis, moving west to Iowa, then east to Uncasville, Conn.

Melton said he'll let Little Combat stay home in Keatchie, La., to rest.

"I won't have him on this run," Melton said. "It's a long, grueling run."

Little Combat has been to a few BFTS events, and Melton said he'll have him back out on the road soon.

When asked if he thought Little Combat was good enough to compete in the first short round of BFTS events, Melton said, "I hope so." He added that it depends on what other bulls are in the pen, and said the bull has had an off-day.

Melton remains confident that Little Combat is among the contenders for the Classic title, which pays $250,000 to the winner at season's end.

"Everybody wants to win that," Melton said. "That's a lot of money."

NEWS & NOTES

CATES PLOTS RETURN: Reese Cates was competing in Stephenville this past weekend. The 2008 Rookie of the Year has one injury exemption left at the BFTS, but said he is not planning to use it until he has enough money won at the TPD to get the call as one of the Top 5 money-earners.

Once he's at that point, he'll use the exemption the week before the following cut, which would give him six events to ride his way into the Top 25 of the world standings.

He's currently ranked 47th in the world and is outside of the Top 100 in the TPD standings. In the meantime, he's been working at a rural Mississippi auction house 30 miles south of Memphis, Tenn.

HART HOSTS ROPING: J.W. Hart was also at the Spring Fling as one of two cowboys on horseback roping bulls. This weekend, he'll be hosting his annual Tie Down Pasture Roping in Marietta, Okla., at the Hart Cattle Co. Pens.

The event is Saturday, April 14, at 11 a.m. The cost to enter is $225 per three-man team with saddles being awarded to the winning team (with 100 or more entries). For more information, log onto Facebook.

COLEMAN TO SCHOOL YOUNG RIDERS: The recently retired Ross Coleman announced that the first-ever Ross Coleman PBR Bull Riding School will take place June 2 and 3 in Henrietta, Texas. According to his Facebook posting and tweets, there will be bulls for all skill levels, and rides will be filmed for playback. The event will coincide with the SAYiWON'T Rope-N-Ride.