PUEBLO, Colo. ― If you want to start a passionatedebate between bull riding fans, just ask them to namethe greatest bucking bull of all time.
It's a question that comes up fairly often andrarely will people agree on the answer. Asked 20 years ago, you'dget some of the same answers astoday― butthere are a lot more modern-day buckers on most people's shortlist. With an explosion of interest in the bloodlines of the greatbulls (aided by the American Bucking Bull Inc. DNA registry), thereare more breeders than ever before working to produce the nextgreat bucking superstar who could join the list.
So many different factors go into a bull's careerand legacy:the quality of cowboys he had to face, the events hebucked at, the miles he was hauled, his longevity, the quality ofhis contemporaries and the amount of media coverage he received(was it before or after events were broadcast, for example). As inmany sports, there may never be a clear way to compare athletesfrom different eras to get a definitive answer.
We posed thequestion,"who is the greatestbull," to some of the most hardcore bucking bullfans― those onthe ABBI's Facebook page. The two most mentioned bulls wereLittle Yellow Jacket andBodacious. Other bulls who fans considered amongthe most elite in the world were Chicken on aChain, Red Rock,Dillinger, Rooster,Pacific Bell and BlueberryWine.
The 2007 World Champion, Chicken on aChain, was admired for his extreme athleticism despite hishuge size. Blueberry Wine, who never actually wonBull of the Year, was honored for his huge heart and talent despitehis small stature. Red Rock was distinguished forhaving 300 outs before finally being ridden by LaneFrost. Dillinger was a PBR World ChampionBull (2000 and 2001) and is the No. 1historically ranked bull onprobullstats.com (Bodacious is No.2).
PBR World Champion bulls Bushwackerand Asteroid are among the favorites of bullscurrently bucking. Both Houdini and WhiteSports Coat were frequently mentioned for their prowess assires and the amount of great bucking offspring that now carrytheir bloodlines. Some international suggestions wereChainsaw (Australia) and ElHuracan (Mexico).
Other favorites include SmokelessWardance, Bones (2008 and 2010 WorldChampion Bull), Reindeer Dippin, Tornado, RedWolf, Wolfman,Gunslinger, Hammer, BigTex and Mossy Oak Mudslinger (2006 WorldChampion Bull).
Whether you agree or disagree with ABBI fansselections (and you can add your opinion on American Bucking Bull'sFacebook page), the top two bulls deserve to beexamined moreclosely.
Bodacious lived from 1988-2000 andwas dubbed "The World's Most Dangerous Bull" thanks to his habit ofjerking guys down and then head butting them. After riding (orrather trying to ride) Bodacious, many cowboys no longer had thefaces they were born with and he was ultimately retired for being"too dangerous" in 1995. He lived out the rest of his life on SammyAndrews' ranch, where he is buried and fans still come to honorhim.
Poems have been written to Bodacious, rock songsrecorded about him and even big mountain skis have been named afterhim. Although records and stats weren't kept quite like they arenow, general consensus is that he was attempted more than 130 timeswith just 10 (same say fewer) cowboys ever making the whistle onhim. Clint Branger andTuff Hedeman were two of the cowboys to achievethis, unfortunately Hedeman also neededfacial reconstruction after his 1995 PBR Finals matchup with the great bull. Bodacious was thePBR's 1995 World Champion Bull, PRCA Bull of the Year and inductedinto the Pro Rodeo Hall of Fame.
No bull has perhaps inspired such a large fanfollowing in history as Little Yellow Jacket.People respect LYJ for being the PBR's only three-time WorldChampion Bull (2002-2004) and for having such a long and storiedcareer. Born in 1996, he passed away in 2011- the same year he wasthe first honoree of the PBR's Brand of Honor. He is the bull whois immortalized in bronze in front of PBR headquarters (as voted onby the fans ―ditto for Adriano Moraes who is sculpted on thebull's back).
With a buck off rate of more than 83percent, he was not only a favorite of fans, but of cowboys lookingto win big. He and Michael Gaffney combined for96.5 points in 2004, a score that tied the PBR's record. LYJperhaps first became a household name in 2003 in his muchpublicized match-up with Chris Shivers. Shiverswould win $1 million if he could ride the great red bull. LYJbucked off Shivers in 2 seconds, earning $50,000for his owners at the time ― Berger, Taupin andTeague.
Some of the greats who did make it to the whistle onLYJ include Owen Washburn, WileyPetersen, Jim Sharp, BrendonClark, Cody Whitney, TravisBriscoe, Jason Bennett, HeltonBarbosa, Jesse Schellhamer andJody Newberry. Gaffney and CoryMcFadden were the only two cowboys to ever cover him morethan once. The legendary bull is now buried at Tom Teague's ranchin North Carolina.
With the growing popularity of social media, manyhistoric rides can now be watched on YouTube. Even if you've neverseen some of the animals mentioned as contenders for "greatest"buck before, you can often find some past performances that you canjudge for yourself ―and draw your own conclusion.
Whether you list these twopowerhouse bulls among your top picks ornot, they are undoubtedly two of the mostinfluential animals in the history of thesport and will remain near the top ofmanyfans' lists for years to come.
To learn more about bucking bull bloodlines,visit AmericanBuckingBull.com.