07.06.23 - Headlines
From the Vault: Smooth Operator takes his place among the rankest of all time
The two-time YETI World Champion Bull is featured on this week's installment of PBR Top 30, presented by Pendleton Whisky.
By Darci Miller
PUEBLO, Colo. – It’s the PBR’s 30th anniversary season, and all year long, PBR.com has been celebrating the league’s history and the legends of the sport.
But a milestone year like this one wouldn’t be complete without a definitive ranking.
Who are the best bulls in PBR history?
It’s a question PBR Top 30, presented by Pendleton Whisky, will officially answer. Each week this summer, head over to the PBR’s Facebook and YouTube pages to watch the latest episode and reminisce about the top riders and bulls the world has ever seen.
This week, the bull countdown passed the halfway mark with a look at No. 15-11.
RELATED: From the Vault: Pearl Harbor ranks among the bovine greats
Among the legends featured in this installment is the late, great Smooth Operator, who won the YETI World Champion Bull title in 2019 and 2020 – at 10 years old, he’s the oldest back-to-back World Champion in PBR history.
In 103 career premier-series outs, Smooth Operator went 90-13. At all levels of competition, he went 129-13 for an 89.92% buckoff percentage. In the PBR, he notched 60 45-point bull scores, eclipsing the 47-point mark three times, including the out at the 2019 PBR World Finals against Chase Outlaw that clinched his first world title.
“He was kind of the total package,” said nine-time World Champion Ty Murray. “He was big, strong, fast, athletic. If you went to an event, he was definitely one of those ones that stood out like a star.”
Today, PBR.com’s From the Vault series looks back on Smooth Operator’s one-of-a-kind career.
Berger: ‘He is my best shot I ever had’ (9/21/15)
PUEBLO, Colo. – Four-time and reigning Stock Contractor of the Year Chad Berger has seen his fair share of bull power in his lifetime at the Built Ford Tough World Finals.
In 2009, Berger won the World Champion Bull crown with Code Blue.
However, the Mandan, North Dakota, stock contractor believes this year is the best chance he has ever had at winning the World Champion Bull title because of Smooth Operator.
Berger made the bold claim earlier this year in Seattle, and he echoed those thoughts again on Monday night’s episode of “PBR Road to Vegas” (9:30 ET, CBS Sports Network).
“I won it with Code Blue, but I think this bull is ranker than him,” Berger said. “I think he is my best shot I ever had to win bull of the year.”
Davis conquers Smooth Operator for 93.75 points (9/16/18)
ATLANTIC CITY, N.J. – Cooper Davis’ World Championship aspirations took a major hit last year at the 2017 PBR World Finals when Smooth Operator had a trashy out in the second round during his 4.92-second buckoff of Davis.
Fast forward to this past Sunday, and Smooth Operator may have just helped Davis re-start his march for a second World Championship and the 2018 world title.
Davis conquered Smooth Operator for a sensational and career-high 93.75 points in the championship round to finish the Atlantic City Invitational in second place (355 world points).
“It was a little bit of revenge right there,” Davis said. “I had him at the Finals and he didn’t really have a great trip. Since I have seen him out of the right (delivery) I have wanted to get on him. I really didn’t know what he would feel like over here but I figured like he would fit me a whole lot better. That is a step in the right direction for sure.”
Reigning Stock Contractor of the Year Chad Berger is hopeful this ride can spearhead Davis on a run at the world title.
Berger felt horrible last year at the Finals when Smooth Operator underperformed for Davis.
“He had a terrible day and set the whole week off bad for Cooper,” Berger said. “I think the world of Cooper. He is a great bull rider and he is riding good this weekend. That was a great ride by Cooper Davis. Hats off to him. That bull was bucking harder at 8 than he was at four. He kept going at him. That was amazing and the bull was amazing.
“I wish that could have happened at the World Finals last year.”
LAS VEGAS – 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.
Before he went to go visit Smooth Operator at bull housing on Sunday morning, well before the sun had even risen, Berger grabbed a lucky pair of socks and cowboy boots.
Berger had not worn these same socks or boots since Smooth Operator began the World Finals with a 46.25-point bull score for bucking off Dylan Smith in Round 2 on Thursday night.
On Championship Sunday, though, Berger did not want to mess with his good vibes, even if his World Championship destiny was in the fate of his 9-year-old veteran bull rather than his wardrobe.
All Smooth Operator had to do to win the 2019 YETI PBR World Champion Bull title was to leave the chutes cleanly in the championship round and put up a solid score.
“After I bucked him Thursday, when I got home I put my right sock in my right boot and my left sock in my left boot,” Berger said. “I then put my pants away. Today, I wore the same outfit (except my shirt). I wore all the same things.”
A tired Berger was standing on the back of the bucking chutes at 3:57 p.m. inside T-Mobile Arena gnawing on a piece gum.
Smooth Operator, though, would not let Berger down in the championship round.
ARLINGTON, Texas – Delbert Nuse immediately pulled out his cell phone and frantically tried to call the recently crowned 10-time Stock Contractor of the Year Chad Berger as the crowd inside AT&T Stadium roared to life.
Newly minted two-time World Champion Bull Smooth Operator was on the 160-by-72-foot jumbotron, and Nuse had tears rolling down his face during the final day of the 2020 PBR World Finals.
Smooth Operator’s 2.65-second buckoff of Ryan Dirteater during the championship round was enough to hold off 2019 ABBI Classic Champion Chiseled for the 2020 YETI World Championship and $100,00 in a race that came down to the final outs of the season.
The 10-year-old bovine beast was scored 46.25 points to cap off a historic season as he became the oldest back-to-back YETI World Champion Bull in PBR history.
Smooth Operator concluded the 2020 season with a 46.13-point World Champion Bull average to edge No. 2 Chiseled (46.03) in a fiercely competitive World Champion Bull race.
“I’ve got to call Chad,” Nuse told himself.
Remembering Smooth Operator (2010-2022) (2/16/22)
PUEBLO, Colo. – Reigning Stock Contractor of the Year Chad Berger has had a hard time this week pulling into the driveway to his ranch in Mandan, North Dakota, and glancing toward the new bullpen he and his team were in the process of installing.
Berger was closing in on putting the finishing touches on a brand-new pen featuring a custom branded sign to house two-time YETI World Champion Bull Smooth Operator so the bull could enjoy a peaceful life in retirement.
“It is heartbreaking as anything,” Berger told PBR.com on Tuesday evening. “I drive by the pen now and think, ‘Son of a gun, he never got to spend a day in there.’”
Berger made the tough decision to put Smooth Operator to rest this weekend after the 12-year-old retired bovine superstar had taken a turn for the worse because of a bout with cancer.
“After the World Finals, I could tell something was going on with him,” Berger said. “We took him to Dr. (Gary) Warner, and he was diagnosed with cancer. He started eating again and seemed to be improving until recently. Once he started getting so thin, I didn’t want him to be suffering anymore.”
Photo courtesy of Andy Watson/Bull Stock Media