PUEBLO, Colo. – In the 27-year history of the PBR, the league has seen some incomparable bucking bulls.
Seventeen of them, however, stand head and shoulders (and horns) above the rest.
Since its inception in 1995, the World Champion Bull title has rewarded the greatest bull in every year of competition. From Bodacious being named the first champion in 1995, to Little Yellow Jacket, Bushwacker and SweetPro’s Bruiser reaching the pinnacle three times apiece, the list of World Champion Bulls contains some of the most iconic bulls to ever buck.
Today, PBR.com’s From the Vault series looks back on the crowning of each of the PBR’s World Champion Bulls.
Pre-dating PBR.com:
1995: Bodacious
1996: Baby Face
1997: Panhandle Slim
1998: Moody Blues
1999: Promise Land
2000-01: Dillinger
2002-04: Little Yellow Jacket
2005: Big Bucks
2006: Mossy Oak Mudslinger
2007: Chicken On A Chain
2008: Bones named PBR World Champion Bull
Make no bones about it. Bones is the top bull in the world.
When Tom Teague’s prized bull bucked off newly minted PBR World Champion Guilherme Marchi in 4 seconds, he earned the title every bull man craves:
PBR World Champion Bull.
Bones was the only bovine athlete to buck off Marchi in the eight-round Built Ford Tough Series World Finals. Teague gets more than a shot of pride. He also won $20,000 and a Big Tex stock trailer.
2009: Code Blue wins World Champion Bull title
Cody Nance thought he could crack Code Blue.
When it came Nance’s time to handpick the bull he would face during the Round 5 draft last weekend at the Professional Bull Riders World Finals, the PBR’s top rookie believed he had the right combination to become the first cowboy to stay on the notorious bucking bull.
“I would have won the round if I had ridden him,” said Nance, who was bucked off of Code Blue in 4.3 seconds on Friday night. “But I made it only halfway.”
2010: Bones takes second title
It was going to take an outstanding effort for any bull to score higher than Bushwacker and win 2010 World Champion Bull.
Bones delivered.
In a matchup of 2008 World Champions, Bones grounded Guilherme Marchi in 2 seconds in the Built Ford Tough World Finals Championship Round Sunday. He was awarded 47.25 bull points to give him a two-out total of 92.5 points.
“Bones had to have a great rider on him to really showcase his stuff,” PBR Livestock Director Cody Lambert said. “Guilherme was planning on riding him, and Bones came up with the greatest effort we’ve seen by a bull this week.”
2011: Bushwacker leaves no doubt, takes World Champion Bull title
Going into Sunday's final round of the PBR World Champion Bull race, Bushwacker had a commanding one-point lead over rival Asteroid.
Had he had an off-day, the high-leaping Asteriod still could have won, despite Bushwacker's 48.5-47.5 advantage.
But it was Asteroid who faltered, hipping himself as he exploded out of the chute with Cord McCoy. Still, he received a very respectable score of 45.0.
Minutes later, Bushwacker made a clean break from the chute, dumped 2009 World Finals average winner J.B. Mauney in 3.58 seconds, and turned in a 47.5.
In a race that was decided on a two-ride aggregate score during the World Finals, Bushwacker clinched the 2011 title with a marking of 96. Asteroid, owned by Circle T Ranch and Rodeo, came in second with a 92.5.
2012: Asteroid named World Champion Bull
In the immediate moments following the completion of the World Finals, Jeff Talley and Gene Melton stood almost unnoticed behind the celebration that was taking place on the arena dirt inside the Thomas & Mack Center.
As emotionally taxing as the entire 2012 season had been, they actually looked defeated.
Instead, their hard work and effort, along with all the tears and even some laughter had paid off when Asteroid was named the World Champion Bull.
As much as it was a moment for Asteroid, it was, perhaps, a greater moment for the memory of Talley's parents.
"This whole season was in honor of Mom and Dad," said Talley, who lost his mother in January and lost his father - Howard Talley, the heart and soul of Circle T Ranch & Rodeo - a few months later. "Now we can go ahead with business as usual and see what we can do, but it is almost a relief.”
2013: Bushwacker wins 2013 World Champion Bull title
There was no way Bushwacker was going to let another world title slip away from his grasp this week during the 2013 Built Ford Tough World Finals.
The 2011 World Champion Bull reclaimed his title by bucking off Eduardo Aparecido in 4.57 seconds Sunday during the Built Ford Tough Championship Round for a bull score of 47 points, giving Bushwacker a total event score of 93.5 points and the 2013 World Champion Bull title.
With confetti falling all around him inside the Thomas & Mack Center, owner Julio Moreno (Julio Moreno Bucking Bulls) admitted he was at a loss for words.
“This is just exciting,” Moreno said. “It is the most exciting thing in my life to be a two-time champion.”
2014: Bushwacker finishes on top
True champions rise to the occasion when their backs are against the wall and that was exactly the case for two-time World Champion Bull Bushwacker this week at the Built Ford Tough World Finals.
Bushwacker gave owner Julio Moreno and the 17,204 standing fans in attendance one final memory during his last career out by roaring out of the bucking chute and taking two quick jumps to shed 2004 World Champion Mike Lee off his back in 2.13 seconds to claim his third World Champion Bull title on Sunday afternoon.
“It was tough, but we did it,” Moreno said. “Oh man, this is great. This is the ultimate. I was a little nervous the first time and thought he just didn’t get marked. Again, I thought, 'Well, hopefully, this score of 46.5 points will hold up.’
“I can’t really explain how I feel; just, this is the greatest of my whole life.”
2015: SweetPro’s Long John rallies for World Champion Bull championship
The odds may have been stacked up against SweetPro’s Long John at the beginning of Sunday afternoon, but H.D. Page’s bovine athlete saved his best performance of the season for his final out of the Built Ford Tough World Finals.
Long John swung to the left and battled jump for jump against Fabiano Vieira and used the same brute strength that made him a top World Champion Bull contender to win the 2015 championship.
He was marked 47.25 points after bucking off Vieira in 7.41 seconds during the Built Ford Tough Championship Round.
The 47.25 points combined with Long John’s 45.25-point marking on Thursday night for a 2.72-second buckoff of Alexandre Cardozo helped Long John win the championship with 92.5 points.
“My bull got a good start tonight,” Page said. “That is what it boils down to. It is all year and you roll the dice here in Vegas.”
2016: SweetPro’s Bruiser wins 2016 World Champion Bull title
SweetPro’s Bruiser was touted all season long as the most consistent World Champion Bull contender, and Bruiser got World Championship certification on Sunday afternoon at T-Mobile Arena.
Bruiser was able to find his inner strength to dislodge 2016 PBR Brazil champion Dener Barbosa at the 7.15-second mark to propel himself to the 2016 World Champion Bull title with a 46.25-point bull score.
Bruiser won the championship with a total two-out bull score of 90.75 points and his season-long consistency came up clutch at the Built Ford Tough World Finals.
“Heck yeah,” H.D. Page said. “I didn’t think he had a big chance coming in because he had so much ground to makeup, but after he buck, I knew we were in the game. That was awesome. That bull is clutch. He always has been. Calling him clutch is almost an understatement because he is clutch every day. He never failed me since the very first time we had him in the bucking chute.”
2017: SweetPro’s Bruiser wins historic second World Championship
SweetPro’s Bruiser has made a career out of rewarding bull riders with 90-point rides and massive paydays, but this week Bruiser was the one walking away with the cash and historic bragging rights during the 2017 PBR Built Ford Tough World Finals
Bruiser used a 47-point bull score and a 46-point score with two buckoffs of Emilio Resende and Ryan Dirteater to propel himself to the YETI World Champion Bull title and 2017 Bull of the Finals championship over runner-up inside T-Mobile Arena.
“This is what I do for a living,” stock contractor H.D. Page said. “I’ve seen a lot of good bulls, but I’ve never come across one as good as this one. We’ve had some bulls be crowned World Champion Bull before, but this bull is just so cool and so ready to work and just a great athlete. It’s more special.”
2018: SweetPro’s Bruiser wins 2018 World Champion Bull title
H.D. Page could not hide his nerves this week in Las Vegas.
For the first time in SweetPro’s Bruiser’s career, the star-studded bovine arrived for the PBR World Finals with plenty of question marks after not bucking at all in competition for the past four months.
Page believed Bruiser was ready publicly, but inside he sure was a little anxious.
That was until Bruiser was loaded into the bucking chute on Thursday night.
Bruiser was standing at full attention, intently looking forward, chest puffed out and his ears pointed forward.
It was game time, and Bruiser was ready.
“He was zoned in and ready to go,” Page said. “He was ready, so the nerves were gone.”
Bruiser then dispatched of Francisco Garcia Torres in a brief 3.35 seconds.
The 7-year-old was marked only 44.75 points, but the out showed enough promise to Page that he knew his bull had what it took to win a third consecutive World Championship on Championship Sunday.
2019: Smooth Operator erupts for YETI World Champion Bull title and YETI Bull of the Finals victory
Nine-time Stock Contractor of the Year Chad Berger rolled over in his bed at the South Point Hotel Casino & Resort early Sunday morning, his mind racing.
Berger could not sleep.
It was 3 a.m. and there were still 12 hours until the final rounds of the 2019 PBR World Finals got underway seven miles away at T-Mobile Arena.
“I was up before the chickens,” Berger said. “I had things to do. I just couldn’t sleep.”
Berger eventually decided to just get up and go address one of the things on his mind.
The Mandan, North Dakota, stock contractor had been waiting for this day for years.
Endless shortcomings and unexpected twists and turns throughout his career have never eaten away at his confidence, but Berger has always desperately wanted a World Champion Bull of his own.