PUEBLO, Colo. – Just because the black and white spotted bull isn’t on the trailer anymore doesn’t mean Matt Scharping has lost his competitive edge.
Scharping is always looking to win when the Jared Allen’s Pro Bull Team and/or Phenom Genetics trailer arrives at an event.
Thanks to two consecutive impressive outs from his bull Magic Train, Scharping is once again playing the role of bull science nutritionist with two months until the 2017 PBR Built Ford Tough World Finals.
After going a year without posting a 45-point bull score, Magic Train has since erupted out of the bucking chutes with impressive 45.25-point bull scores against two Top-10 bull riders.
Last weekend, the 7-year-old bull yanked Fabiano Vieira to the ground in 4.05 seconds in the 15/15 Bucking Battle to tie with SweetPro’s Bruiser and Jack Shot as the top bull-performers in Thackerville, Oklahoma.
Magic Train dusted No. 3 Jess Lockwood in 1.53 seconds two weeks before that in Nashville, Tennessee.
Magic Train’s recent performance has caught the eyes of various PBR riders and insiders.
“This is two bull ridings in a row, where Magic Train was my highest-scoring bull,” PBR Director of Livestock Cody Lambert said last weekend in Thackerville. “Magic Train has it on his mind to buck right there. He has always been a good bull and had some spectacular outs. He has had some where he just bounced around for a little bit before he turned back, and he had some where he looked like he wasn’t ready to bring it when the gate opened.
“Right now, he looks better than I have ever seen him before.”
Why?
Well, Scharping wouldn’t go into full detail, but the stock contractor did say that he has altered Magic Train’s diet and has put his prized bull on a different nutritional program than past seasons.
“Everybody has been asking what I have done different with (Bad) Beagle and Magic Train,” Scharping said. “I am always studying and trying to figure something out. Honestly, I figured out some nutritional stuff and I really like it.”
Magic Train, who is a son of two-time PBR World Finals qualifier Crazy Train, will not be competing at this coming weekend’s PFIWestern.com Invitational, presented by Bass Pro Shops.
RELATED: Check out the matchups for the Springfield 15/15 Bucking Battle
Instead, Magic Train will be a $15,000 bonus bull on Saturday night at the fifth annual Pro Auto N.Y.A. Bull Riding Event in Scharping’s hometown of Arlington, Minnesota.
Jared Allen’s Air Time will also take a farewell lap around the Sibley County Fairgrounds before Friday night’s performance.
“Nah, he will be fine,” Scharping responded when asked if he was concerned about bucking Magic Train at a non-BFTS event. “He likes it. He don’t care.”
Magic Train is 7-0 this season and is averaging 44 points per out.
In his last two outs, he has gone toe-to-toe against Bruiser and current No. 1 bull Pearl Harbor.
“It is what I expect from him and Bad Beagle too,” Scharping said.
Pearl Harbor is still recovering from an infected horn and will not be competing in Springfield.
Other top bulls TLW’s Big Cat and Seven Dust have showed some inconsistencies this year, which may open the door for Magic Train to move up the ranks during the final two months of the season.
Scharping said he will next haul Magic Train to Colorado Springs, Colorado, as he tries to work on getting Magic Train to the necessary eight BFTS regular-season outs to be eligible for the World Championship Bull title at the World Finals.
He will possibly even buck Magic Train twice at the Rumble in the Rockies before resting his bovine athlete leading up to the Finals.
“Past the first two bulls, (the race) is real wide open,” Scharping said. “I am only going to Colorado Springs and will buck him twice. I want him rested and ready to go for the Finals.”
Magic Train is still only averaging 44 points per out this season compared to Pearl Harbor’s 46.28-point World Champion average and Bruiser’s 46.
Regardless, two-time World Champion Justin McBride is ready to hop on board the Magic Train bandwagon.
“Magic Train should have been more than that if Bruiser was 45.25,” McBride said. “Magic Train should have been 46. Magic Train was by far the best bull (in Thackerville). The last two trips I have seen of him, Bruiser and Pearl Harbor are not the only two with a chance to win a world title.
“Magic Train is a legit contender.”
After Thackerville, Scharping couldn’t help but shake his head in a tab bit of disbelief.
Never in a million years would he think his top two bulls this season would be Magic Train and Bad Beagle.
It was supposed to be Air Time’s year.
“If you would have told me (I had) top two bulls in the PBR and one of them is not the big-spotted bull I would said you are lying,” Scharping said. “They have picked up where the other one was when he retired.”
MAUNEY TO TEACH BULL RIDING SCHOOL IN MINNESOTA
Along with putting on the open bull riding in Arlington, Minnesota, this weekend, Scharping will also be hosting a bull riding school with two-time World Champion J.B. Mauney.
The J.B. Mauney Bull Riding School, presented by 100x Helmets, will take place on Sunday and Monday in Arlington, Minnesota.
Every student gets a new American Hat Company straw hat, Lane Frost Brand gear, Dale Brisby gear, opportunities to win Ariat prizes and one rider will win a 100x Helmet.
There are still spots available. The two-day camp costs $750 and those interested can contact Scharping at 612-275-1094 or through email at phenomgenetics@hotmail.com.
The bull riding school will be a small group of 10-15 riders.
“We have a few spots available,” Scharping said. “The big thing is J.B.’s doesn’t do schools. So the opportunity to come and learn from him is priceless. Everyone wants to know what J.B. is doing, come find out.”
Follow Justin Felisko on Twitter @jfelisko
