ANAHEIM, Calif ― It shouldn't come as a big surprise that we'll see almost the same set of bulls in Anaheim, Calif., that we saw last week in Sacramento, Calif. PBR Livestock Director Cody Lambert obviously planned to use the same group of bulls, many of whom are from Texas and Louisiana, and as far away as North Carolina. The bulls who didn't perform up to par in Sacramento won't appear here, and a couple of Texas contractors who weren't in Sacramento, Cody Ohl and Scott Accomazzo, are bringing their bull power to Anaheim.
Each season, we keep up with how bulls are marked compared to all other bulls. For the last couple of seasons, Bushwacker and Asteroid have dominated that list. Neither has five outs yet this season, but of the bulls that do, Jeff Robinson's Lightmaker's Rango is in the lead, with an average marking of 45.5 points.
"I don't think he'll hold on to that lead once Asteroid and Bushwacker reach five outs," Lambert said. "I don't think there are any other bulls around that are in the same league as those two. Rango can have his day where he ties them, and he sometimes doesn't get the credit he deserves ― he throws a lot of guys off quick. If they were able to ride him a little further he would be right there within a half point of the top two bulls a lot of times. Occasionally he has a trip where he's a little easier to ride, and they do ride him, and so far that's kept him out of serious contention for World Champion Bull."
As for Asteroid, we'll see him in the Built Ford Tough Championship Round in Anaheim. He dispatched former World Champion Mike Lee rather handily in the 15/15 Bucking Battle in Sacramento.
"I don't think 46 points was enough for the out that Asteroid had with Mike Lee," Lambert said. "I would have had him a little higher than that."
Two relative newcomers to the Built Ford Tough Series will be featured in Anaheim as well.
Marlene Henry's Mickey Mouse hasn't seen a lot of action on tour, but when he have seen him, he's been a solid 22-point bull.
"He's earned it too," Lambert said. "He's got some big, wild jumps. He can be a little bit of an eliminator, but if they ride him long enough, he's going to turn back and buck."
Jeff Robinson's 793 RMEF Bugle II is another newcomer who has stood out in competition this season. He's averaged more than 22 points in five outs, and has denied Shane Proctor and J.B. Mauney ― two of the most efficient riders so far this season.
"He does the same thing every time too," Lambert noted. "He's around to the left with lots of kick and lots of action. J.B lost his rope on him, all of those guys made it around the corner, but nobody's ridden him. He's stronger than he looks."
Another bull that caught Lambert's attention in Sacramento is Kevin Loudamy's 164 Great White. He will appear in the championship round in Anaheim. Great White had two of the best outs of his career in Sacramento, throwing off Chase Outlaw in the 15/15 round and Edevaldo Ferreira in the championship round.
Follow Slade Long on Twitter @ProBullStats