Bulls dominate

Just bad.

Those two words are written on the band of J.B. Mauney's cowboy hat that were clearly seen by Mid-Valley bullriding fans who surrounded the 23-year-old for autographs, taking photographs, while some women admired him from a short distance.

Mauney, who is fifth in the world rankings this season, made a surprise visit Thursday at the Mikel J. Moreno Memorial PBR Pro Touring event at the Yuba-Sutter Fair in Yuba City.

Mauney, a left-handed bull rider, scored a 78 in the first go around, but was disqualified in the second when his right hand made contact with Vortex, the bull he was riding while trying to stay on for 8 seconds.

"I just made too big of a move," said Mauney of his second ride. "I hit him with my free hand. My mistake; I should've rode him, but that's the way it goes sometimes."

Cody Ibrahimi of Le Grand took home the prize money with a score of 144.

Mauney, who won the PBR Finals event in Las Vegas last year, made the trek to California in between performing in the Built Ford Tough Series bullriding events. On the road since January, Mauney was in Oklahoma at the Tulsa Invitational recently, and after taking a short break prior to Thursday's event, makes the trek to Texas to perform at the San Antonio Invitational.

"I've been at home; I was hurting for awhile," Mauney said. "I called the PBR office, I told them to enter me. I've been getting after it."

Mauney rode Highway Patrol in his first ride. Bucking and jumping like any bull, Mauney stayed on Highway Patrol for the 8 seconds en route to advance to the second around.

"I've never seen neither two of them," said Mauney of Highway Patrol and Vortex. "There's a few of them I've been on (that were performing at the event). Quite a few good bulls out here tonight."

One of the bulls Mauney seemed to be impressed with was Kiss Army, a black and white animal named after the fans club of the rock 'n' roll band Kiss.

Along with embracing the autographs, mostly with younger bull rider fans, taking photos and women in their 20s to 70s admiring him, Mauney, who resides in Mooresville, N.C., felt right at home.

"Laid back," said Mauney of the audience. "Had a good time. That's what I needed. This was kind of laid back, have fun. Come back to the basics and have a good time."

Mauney, whose initials stand for James Burton, has 654 wins in his career that started at 3 years old.

Numerous riders from Sacramento to Turlock to Visalia and other parts of California performed at the event. Promoter Cotton Rosser and the Flying U Rodeo oversaw the bullriders and bulls in the contest.