PUEBLO, Colo. – Oklahoma Wildcatters head coach J.B. Mauney didn’t host a training camp for his team during the summer break.
He let his riders rodeo as they saw fit to practice and earn money simultaneously, and he never got his roster together as a group.
“We didn’t work out, we didn’t lift no weights, and we didn’t exercise,” Mauney said. “We just let them roll. Somebody said, ‘Well, you didn’t come together.’ I said, ‘You come together when you have to.’”
And the Wildcatters came together when they had to.
At their inaugural homestand, PBR Wildcatters Days, presented by Travel Oklahoma – which also happened to be the first event in team history – the hometown team went 2-1 to begin the 2024 PBR Camping World Team Series season a solid No. 4 in the standings.
The Wildcatters began the event with a bang, taking on the reigning PBR Teams Champion Texas Rattlers in the final game of the first night of competition. Oklahoma defeated Texas 248.25-0.
“This is the most pressure they’re going to have on them all year,” Mauney said. “First event, first time all together, and home team, and matched up against Texas. You can’t put any more pressure on them than the first night, and they stepped up to the plate.”
The win came thanks to rides from Clay Guiton (71 points on Taz), Cort McFadden (88 points on Top Dollar), and Eduardo Matos (89.25 points on Bangarang).
Mauney said that he was impressed by Matos in particular.
“That’s the first time I’ve ever seen him ride in person,” Mauney said. “He just came over from Brazil a few days ago. As soon as he landed, he went and got on practice bulls. I was like, ‘Well, I like his style.’ And he showed out.”
That first game and first win were Mauney’s firsts as a coach. The two-time PBR World Champion was frankly surprised by how much fun he had on the back of the chutes as opposed to on the back of a bull.
“I didn’t know what to expect, to tell you the truth,” Mauney said. “But shoot, after them riding, winning our game, I was like, ‘Oh yeah.’ It’s good.
“It’s the first time I’ve been in that situation, and my blood was pumping just like theirs was, as if I was riding. So it’s actually pretty cool. (General Manager) Brandon (Bates), he was like, ‘That was… cool.’ I was like, ‘Yeah, I know!’ It was pretty dang fun.”
It was perhaps a bit less fun on day two of Wildcatters Days, as the Wildcatters fell to the Arizona Ridge Riders, 172.5-171.25, with rides from McFadden (86.75 points on Rorschach) and Kyler Oliver (84.5 points on Spotted Demon).
But they were back in the saddle again to close their homestand, defeating the two-time reigning PBR Teams regular-season champion Austin Gamblers, 155.75-0.
McFadden chipped in with his third ride of the weekend, a 66.5-point effort on Strong Arm, and now sits No. 2 in the MVP race behind the Florida Freedom’s Elizmar Jeremias.
As the last man out in the game, Guiton recorded 89.25 points on Boujee Boy to secure a winning weekend in front of the home crowd.
“It was great. I’ve been waiting on that all weekend,” Guiton said. “Kind of a slow start to the weekend. I got one rode, but it wasn’t a big score. But finished it off good and felt great.
“It was loud. I’ve probably never had it be that loud when I rode. But it pumped me up. I was fired up, firing on all cylinders.”
As a rookie and the No. 2 overall pick in the 2024 PBR Teams New Rider Draft in May, Guiton was competing on a team for the first time at Wildcatters Days.
“It’s totally different,” he said. “They told me it was going to be a lot different, but it really is a lot different. But having those guys in the locker room, we’re all great buddies, and we’ve all kind of got the same outlook on bull riding. I feel like we have the same approach at it. It’s working out pretty good right now.”
Guiton grins when asked about what it’s like to be coached by Mauney, the dragonslayer.
“He’s pretty laid-back, really,” Guiton said. “He keeps it pretty simple. As long as you try hard and don’t open your hand, you’ll be alright. He’ll take it easy on you as long as you don’t let go.”
And the Wildcatters did not let go in Oklahoma City, going a combined 7-for-15 (46.7%) in their three games.
“I feel great,” Guiton said. “I think we rode close to half our bulls we got on. We’re only going to get better, I feel like. Even the guys that got bucked off, nobody let go. Nobody quit the ship early. Everybody tried until their head hit the ground and they got stomped on. That’s what J.B.’s looking for. If we try hard every time, they can’t beat us.”
That unwillingness to quit is exactly what Mauney was looking for when he assembled his team.
“It’s a perfect roster,” Mauney said. “We picked those guys, and there’s reasons behind every one of them. I wanted to go with young guys that had the fire, the drive, and the grit, and I’m pretty sure we got all of the above.”
The Wildcatters will next be in action at PBR Teams: Duluth on July 26-28, beginning the weekend with a bye before taking on the Missouri Thunder (1-2) and the other expansion team, the New York Mavericks (0-3). Fans can catch all the action in Duluth on Merit Street, with the Game of the Week on CBS.
Guiton aims to win the regular-season MVP award, snatching it from two-time reigning MVP Jose Vitor Leme of the Austin Gamblers. The pressure might be on for him as a top draft pick, but he’s not letting that distract him.
“People have expectations for you, definitely,” Guiton said. “But we’re just having fun, the way I look at it. It’s our job and we’re taking it serious, but we are having fun. I love riding bulls and wouldn’t have it any other way.”
For Mauney, fun is all well and good, but he expects his team to join the ranks of best expansion teams in the history of professional sports with the 2024 PBR Camping World Team Series Championship at the end of the year.
“Oh, they’re going to win,” Mauney said. “They’re going to win. That’s pretty easy. They all ride good enough, and they all try hard enough. It shouldn’t be a problem.”
Photo courtesy of Josh Homer/Bull Stock Media
