BILLINGS, Mont. ― A couple of riders who are way down in the points standings - Brant Atwood and Jason Malone - have a chance to jump up the ladder here in Round 1 with a couple of great bulls.

J.B. Mauney on -7 Jordan's Jacket:
Marco Eguchi was 88.5 points on this bull in Tacoma, Wash. Jordan's Jacket has been ridden more often by left-handed riders, and he likes to spin to the right, but he's got a very good timing, and doesn't have a lot of up and down. Riders at this level should be able to handle him regardless of which way he spins, and riders who are good enough to be in the hunt for a World Championship should be able to handle him pretty easily.

Reese Cates on 548 Mambo #5:
This Canadian bull is making his Built Ford Tough Series debut here. He's been ridden twice in five career Touring Pro outs. He can turn back either way, but he doesn't have the speed or the snap and kick that will give riders much trouble at this level. Cates should get an easy score here.

Silvano Alves on 861 Bucking Fantastic:
This is another Canadian bull. He's a little better than Cates' bull ― Bucking Fantastic is one of the top 5 highest marked bulls at Canadian PBR events right now. He's used mostly in short rounds there. But, the top level guys should ride him most of the time. He can spin either way, he's pretty snappy, but he's also pretty honest. He's the type of bull a lot of the top level riders should be getting on for practice. Look for Alves to make the whistle and probably place high in the round here.

Joao Ricardo Vieira on 959 Black & Blue:
We only have two records on this bull from the Touring Pro Division this season. Matt Bohon rode him, and Mike Lee came down at 6.32 seconds. Vieira doesn't play around. He pretty much makes the whistle on everything short of the very best bulls. He doesn't let any average bull get the best of him.

Brant Atwood on 867 Bringing Sexy Back:
This is another Canadian bull, and this one is no pushover. He's been ridden just once in 12 career outs. He should be one of the better bulls in this round, and he should remind you of Shepherd Hills Trapper. He's got a similar style, but he's not quite as good at it. Atwood will have his hands full here.

Renato Nunes on 101W Closing Time:
Closing Time is making his Built Ford Tough Series debut here. He's been ridden three times in 10 career outs, and he's 0-2 against the top riders. Nunes should easily get a score here.

Jason Malone on 83 Santiago:
Malone is a lefty, and this is pretty much a dream bull for any lefty. He's not easy. Mauney has ridden him twice this season, but no one else has. For a guy like Malone, trying to make his mark at this level, this is a big moment waiting to happen. If he can get the job done here, he'll be rewarded with a round win.

Sean Willingham on 302 Sic 'em Sam:
This bull has been ridden in 4 of his last 5 Built Ford Tough Series outs going back to October 2011. Chase Outlaw rode him in Fresno, Calif., and Albuquerque, N.n, and Marco Eguchi rode him in Tacoma, Wash. Eguchi is the only right-handed rider who has made the whistle on him. Willingham needs scores, and this won't be an easy one.

15/15 Bucking Battle:

Fabiano Vieira on 654 Stanley FatMax:
They've met twice and Vieira lasted a total of 3.42 seconds combined. FatMax was ridden in the 15/15 round in Winston/Salem earlier this season by Jordan Hupp. He's never been ridden by a lefty in 61 career outs. Three right-handed riders have made the whistle on him.

Kody Lostroh on W1 Buckey:
Back in March 2010, Mike Lee was 88.75 points on Buckey in his Built Ford Tough Series debut. In 35 outs since then, Buckey has not allowed another left-handed rider to get a score on him, and a lot of them have tried. Buckey is a very honest bull. He's big and strong and he has about all the up and down bucking motion any rider can handle. When he adds the spin to it, he becomes pretty difficult to ride. He's not a particularly fast bull, and he's getting up in age. Lostroh will have his hands full here, but he's not a huge underdog here. Buckey doesn't really have anything Lostroh can't deal with.

Luke Snyder on 656 New Holland PowerStar:
This is one of a number of bulls in this round that have a very high level of difficulty. He's been ridden just once, way back in the beginning of his career. He's 41-1 overall. At the beginning of this year, PowerStar looked like one of the top five bulls in the PBR, but his last couple of trips have been less impressive. When we last saw him in Fresno, Calif., with Ben Jones, he was just weak, He wasn't really even good enough to be at a Built Ford Tough Series event.

Ty Pozzobon on 20U Shepherd Hills Tested:
Last time we saw Shepherd Hills Tested was in Arlington, Texas, with Austin Meier, and he was just unrideable there. Pozzobon is a lefty, and that should work in his favor on this bull, but he needs Tested to have the right kind of day for him to get a score here. Specifically he needs him not to have those long distance jumps leading into the spin. If this bull doesn't throw in a wicked first jump or two, a lefty has a chance on him. It won't be easy no matter what.

Emilio Resende on 5 Chocolate Thunder:
Robson Palermo had this bull in the short round at this event last season, and it's hard to imagine a bull trying harder than Chocolate Thunder did. He turned back both ways, had speed, kick, and forward movement as he reversed the spin. He put Palermo down handily. Chocolate Thunder doesn't get around as much as some of the other bulls, but he's unridden since the 2011 World Finals, and he averages just more than 44 points per out.

Joao Ricardo Vieira on 73 Buck Wild:
The trick with this bull is to get away from the chute and into the arena without incident. It's not easy to do this. Buck Wild is pretty touchy in the chute. But once a rider makes it to the spin, this may be the best bull to have in this round. Vieira has ridden over 60 percent of his bulls since he's been in the states. He needs to improve against the best bulls, such as this one, and if he can become more consistent on these, he'll be a threat to win the World Championship.

Aaron Roy on 691 Meathook:
Among the top 10 highest marked bulls in the PBR this season, Meathook is the best draw of the bunch, narrowly edging out Buck Wild mainly because he's just more reliable. He's a very honest bull, no moving forward, no tricks, and good timing. Meathook does have quite a bit of up and down, and Roy can't afford to get out of position here, because it will cost him. Roy is a fundamentally sound rider, and this may be the matchup of the night.

Mike Lee on 718 Rango:
These two met in Greensboro, N.C. last September, and Lee didn't make it to the 4 second mark. Rango is one of the Top 5 bulls in the PBR right now. He's been ridden three times, but those were probably the three nicest trips he's ever had. When he has his day, no rider has had an answer for it.

Eduardo Aparecido on 701 Big Tex Rocks:
Formerly known as Foul Play, this Canadian bull was purchased by Jeff Robinson and Bar 3D Bucking bulls. He is unridden in 25 outs, but he hasn't faced the top riders very often. Big Tex Rocks does just about everything a great bull can do except he doesn't have high kick or drop. He is pretty difficult because of this ― he tends to run most guys off their rope and throw them out the back end.

Douglas Duncan on 847 Western Hauler:
This bull is unridden in 23 career outs. He spent all of 2012 on the rodeo circuit, and didn't really run into any of the top riders until the National Finals Rodeo in December. He's treated them pretty much the same as he has everyone else since then. Kody Lostroh came close to riding him in Tacoma, Wash., and Lostroh is the only lefty to have faced him this season, aside from Cody Nance who stayed aboard until Western Hauler fell with him. Duncan has a shot here ― a lefty will probably be the first to ride this bull, because he likes to go to the left.

Jordan Hupp on 786 JAH4WW Hot Iron:
This is a decent draw in this round. He's been ridden twice in nine career outs. Marco Eguchi was 88.75 points on him in in Anaheim, Calif. He looks to be welly in the video we have on him, meaning he wants to throw the rider to the inside of the spin.

J.B. Mauney on 164 Great White:
They met at the World Finals, and Mauney didn't make it very far. No one else has either. Great White hasn't been ridden since his debut Touring Pro Division out in late 2010. He's logged 26 straight buckoffs since then, and Built Ford Tough Series riders are 0-for-11 on him. Cody Lambert has called him the biggest question mark in the short rounds he's been in, because it's uncertain what he will do when someone rides him a long way. He's seldom ridden to the 4 second mark.

Silvano Alves on 71 Badger Milk:
This bull has by far the least experience at this level, which makes him the least known bull in this round as well. L.J. Jenkins had him in Tacoma, Wash., and came down right at the whistle.

Marco Eguchi on K55 Smackdown:
Smackdown is on a streak of 19 straight outs in which he earned a bull score of 45 points or better. That is a pretty impressive number, and truthfully I could fill up this article with impressive stats on Smackdown because he has that many. The one relevant number for this match is zero ― the number of riders who have made the whistle on Smackdown going away from their riding hand. Eguchi is right handed, and Smackdown almost always goes left.

Shane Proctor on 81 Mick E. Mouse:
Mick E. Mouse has not been ridden, and he had one of his best outs ever in Albuquerque, N.M. He treated Chase Outlaw like a Harlem Globetrotter treats a basketball. He's likely to spin into Proctor's hand, but the direction he spins isn't an issue. This bull has an uneven style of bucking. He tends to come up slow, doesn't rise particularly high in the front end, but he does have a quick breakover, a lot of down and a lot of kick. His uneven style results in an uneven rhythm as well, which adds to the difficulty. Proctor has solid form, but he will get shaken loose here, and will have to recover ― probably more than once ― to win this match.

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