The PBR Built Ford Tough Series (BFTS) World Champion Bull will be announced October 28 after the final round. Voted on by the top 35 riders, the contenders are: Asteroid, Buckey, Bushwacker, David’s Dream, Lightmaker.com’s Rango, Rock & Roll and Smackdown. Each bull has two outs during the competition, and the highest total bull score wins. This list represents the top two bulls in the series and a handful of contractor Jeff Robinson’s favorites. The numbers are courtesy of pbr.com and probullstats.com.
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Lightmaker.com's Rango. Photo by Andy Watson
Lightmaker.com’s Rango
Jeff Robinson Bucking Bulls
Rank: 5
Career buck-off percentage: 95
Career BFTS 8-second rides: 2 out of 30
Cred: Finalist for 2012 World Champion Bull
Quote: “Rango, he’s my favorite bull we’re haulin’ right now, other than Chicken. He’s the one I think has got all the talent in the world. Lots of kicks. Lots of drop. He just kicks the lights out.” –Jeff Robinson
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No. 5-ranked cowboy J.B. Mauney rode No. 2-ranked bull Asteroid for a huge score of 93.5 during a Built Ford Tough Series championship round in San Antonio, Texas, earlier this year. He says bulls like this buck so fast and wild that you don't have time to think—which is a good thing.
Asteroid
Circle T Ranch & Rodeo
Rank: 2
Career buck-off percentage: 91.43
Career BFTS 8-second rides: 3 out of 25
Cred: 2011 Reserve World Champion Bull
Quote: “He has a Napoleon complex but doesn’t know it. He’s smaller than his peers but faster, tougher and better than them.” –Sports correspondent Josh Weinfuss, writing for the Indianapolis Star
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Renato Nunes tries to make the whistle on PBR legend Chicken on a Chain.
Chicken on a Chain
Jeff Robinson/Mike Tedesco/Larry the Cable Guy
Rank: Legend
Career buck-off percentage: 73.81
Career BFTS 8-second rides: 27 out of 79
Cred: 2007 World Champion Bull
Quote: “The thing I’ll remember about Chicken on a Chain is that he brought it every time. ... I got on him three times and he got me on the ground every time.” –PBR rider Kody Lostroh, quoted on pbr.com
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Quiet Riot
Jeff Robinson Bucking Bulls
Rank: 19
Career buck-off percentage: 96.67
Career BFTS 8-second rides: 0 out of 13
Cred: Only four PBR riders have managed to stay on for more than 4 seconds
Quote: “There’s nothing quiet about this massive bull. Weighing in at over 1,500 pounds, Quiet Riot is unridden in his rookie season ... making this bull one of the most aggressive buckers in the sport.” –about.com
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RMEF Gunpowder & Lead. Photo by Andy Watson.
RMEF Gunpowder & Lead
Jeff Robinson Bucking Bulls
Rank: 13
Career buck-off percentage: 48
Career BFTS 8-second rides: 20 out of 30
Cred: 2011 High Money Bull
Quote: “[His 2011 buck-off percentage] doesn’t seem impressive ... what makes him truly special is his ability to be really rank yet still be rideable. Out of the 16 times he’s been ridden, nine of those times have scored over 90 points.” –abuckinggoodtime.com
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Bushwacker. Photo by Andy Watson.
Bushwacker
Julio Moreno/Richard Oliveira
Rank: 1
Career buck-off percentage: 96.15
Career BFTS 8-second rides: 1 out of 36
Cred: 2011 World Champion Bull
Quote: “He’s got a real cool arrogance to himself and then when the gate opens he just explodes. But leading up until then you would think he’s just some farm pet that didn’t have an ounce of buck in him.” –Bullfighter (i.e. rodeo clown) Shorty Gorham, quoted in The New York Times
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