PUEBLO, Colo. – Colten Jesse is not a rookie when it comes to the board game Candy Land, but the 21-year-old sure played like one this past weekend in Austin, Texas.
“I got my butt whooped,” the rookie bull rider said with a big laugh.
Jesse was part of a group of PBR bull riders and personnel that teamed up with the nonprofit organization Ropin Dreams to visit the children at Dell Children’s Memorial Hospital on Friday.
The first-year premier series rider joined Matador Jerky bullfighter Frank Newsom in a game of Candy Land with one little girl, while RidePass commentator Matt West and top-ranked Canadian bull rider Dakota Buttar also took part in the visit.
This weekend was the first time Jesse did a children’s hospital appearance, and he is hopeful to do more in the future.
“I feel it really is important,” Jesse said. “Not just for the kids, but for ourselves. Those kids are fighting battles that we can’t even imagine. It is kind of humbling so to speak. Guys like us go over there and realize how good we do have it to be healthy and how blessed we are. Also to give those kids a little bit of encouragement.”
Dakota Buttar joined Colten Jesse, Matt West and Frank Newsom at the Dell Children's Memorial Hospital.
Jesse may have lost his Candy Land battles, but the Konawa, Oklahoma, bull rider found some success inside the arena.
The first-year rider won Round 1 of the WinStar World Casino & Resort Invitational on Friday night with 88.25 points aboard Pick-It Construction’s Find Jesus to propel himself to a fifth-place finish overall.
“I had seen plenty of videos of that bull and I seen him before in person,” Jesse said. “I was expecting him to go left just like that. Boy, I was excited to have him. You get a good one like that and anyone is excited.”
Austin was Jesse’s second-best finish of his premier series career behind his runner-up finish at the Music City Knockout in Nashville.
“You can see he has what it takes,” 2009 Ring of Honor inductee J.W. Hart said on RidePass. “He has ridden great and had his falters, but it is coming together. You can see that inexperience and that newfound experience starting to come together and gel, and it is good time at the end of the season.”
Jesse earned 115 world points in Austin to cut Rookie of the Year leader Keyshawn Whitehorse’s lead to 45.83 points with three regular-season events remaining before the 2018 PBR World Finals on Nov. 7-11 at T-Mobile Arena.
“I really don’t look at it as between him and I,” Jesse said. “I look at it as we are trying to better ourselves day in and day out. It is cool to have a buddy like that to go right along with.”
Whitehorse also went 1-for-3 in Austin, finishing in 12th place overall with 15 world points. The 21-year-old covered Charlie Buck A Lot for 86 points in Round 1.
Jesse is sitting in 19th place in the world standings, whereas Whitehorse is ranked 17th.
Whitehorse has 15 rides on the premier series compared to Jesse’s nine.
Regardless, both riders are well on their way to qualifying for their first PBR World Finals.
Jesse is looking forward to enjoying the next few weeks knowing he will be making a childhood dream a reality next month.
“I would like to team rope and relax,” Jesse concluded. “Same plan as every week. Prepare for the weekend. Get on the barrel and stay focused and keep after it.”
Colten Jesse (R) "got (his) butt whooped" at Candy Land.
One thing is for sure, Jesse is due for a game of Dominoes with his great grandmother.
“I do remember playing a lot of Candy Land, Monopoly, checkers and dominoes,” Jesse said. “She has been on me about getting up there to play dominoes.”
Follow Justin Felisko on Twitter @jfelisko