FORT WORTH, Texas ― It was as if MichaelGaffney was predestined to be the all-American kid.
He was born on the Fourth of July and the son of a father whospent his professional career serving his country in the MarineCorps. Raised on a ranch in the Southwest, he embodies the spiritof the iconic image of an American cowboy.
Gaffney has long been thought of as a proverbial good guy.
A longtime PBR fan favorite, in the eyes of fans he still standsfor all that is good in a world that could learn a thing or twofrom the cowboy culture. To them, he can do no wrong, which onlylends credence to, perhaps, the most honest insight he's sharedregarding his historic ride on Little YellowJacket.
In 2004, Gaffney tied the record for the highest-marked ride inPBR history with a 96.5-point effort in Nampa, Idaho, at the IdahoCenter.
"I guess the stars were lined up for me that day as well as thejudges," Gaffney recalled. "I mean, quite frankly, the judges wereall my friends. It was a great bull ride and I spurred him a coupleof times, but the 96.5 ― to compare it to Bubba Dunn's or Chris Shivers' rides ―no, it wasn't.
RELATED: Shivers' sets 90-point standard
"To be a gift it might have been a 93, 94 maybe. To be 96.5, Idon't think so, but again," he continued, now laughing, "I havepretty good friends."
PBR fans will have an opportunity to watch the 2004 event fromNampa tomorrow night on RFD-TV with the continuation of the newseries "PBR 20/20" at 8 p.m. ET.
Three men ― Dunn, Shivers and Gaffney ― currently hold therecord for the highest-marked ride in PBR history with 96.5 points.Dunn rode Promise Land in 1999, Shivers rodeJim Jam in 2000 and Dillinger in2001, and Gaffney rode Little Yellow Jacket in 2004.
"It was almost easy," said Gaffney, who had bucked off LittleYellow Jacket twice before, including a week earlier in ColoradoSprings, Colo.
By then, Little Yellow Jacket had earned quite a reputation.
He had won the World Champion Bull title in 2002 and 2003 andwas en route to winning an all-time PBR record third title in2004.
Gaffney, who was inducted into the Ring of Honor in 2005,describes him as being one of the greatest bucking bulls in thehistory of bull riding.
He was a young jock that ― like his human counterparts ― turnedinto a great jock, and it was a rather quick transformation. In acareer that spanned seven seasons he "brought it every time" andnever had an off-day.
In addition to his three titles, Little Yellow Jacketaccumulated an average bull score of 46.134 points and 33 times in84 outs he was the high-marked bull of the event, while beingridden only 14 times (11 of which were for round wins).
Gaffney believes Little Yellow Jacket's success waspredetermined.
VIDEO: Watch Michael Gaffney's 96.5-point ride on LittleYellow Jacket.
"He had the heart of a champion," Gaffney said. "I think he wasborn that way."
In fact, he had the heart and all the tools used that bulljudges look for.
In terms of difficulty, he could buck, kick and changedirections. He had intensity and power and, according to Gaffney,"he was a full load." The difficulty factor was only compounded bythe power of a bull that weighed between 1,700 and 1,800pounds.
"Nothing was in short supply for him," said Gaffney, whodescribed Little Yellow Jacket's first move out of the chute asbeing a "slump jump" that included a hop, skip and ahesitation.
Gaffney knew that when he got on him in 2001 at an event inAuburn Hills, Mich., and he certainly knew it when he got on him inColorado Springs.
"I had been on him several times previous to that final day, inNampa, where I eventually got him rode," Gaffney said. "I had himthe week before in Colorado Springs and he had that, like I saidbefore, that signature move ― that step out, hop and skip and kindof rock you back on your (butt) and then just bring you down overthe front end."
He then explained, "I really made an effort of over extenuatingmy posture when I left that day, in Nampa, and that was key becauseonce he did get in the spin he still did wind up, have the kick andthe speed and the power ― that old saying is 'you get tapped off'and I was there.
"I pulled a foot and helped myself out. I was feeling great andgave that aggressiveness that I want to have when I was in theposition I was."
Although Gaffney is simply being honest with his self-evaluationof scoring himself "90, 91 or something like that" he'sconsiderably underscoring the fact that he was able to, as he putit, "pull a foot" and spur a bull the size and caliber of LittleYellow Jacket.
"I felt it," said Gaffney, when asked if he could sense thegrowing excitement in the arena.
Follow Keith Ryan Cartwright on Twitter @PBR_KRC