Riders hold their own

Chad Denton is battling his way back to the PBR Finals, and he got a great start Wednesday night at the second Mikel J. Moreno Memorial Discovery Tour event at the Yuba-Sutter Fair.

On the last ride of the night, Denton climbed on top of a bull named Double Shot of Water, an offspring of the legendary Flying U bull Whitewater, and recorded the top score of the night, 83, to finish with a two-round total of 160. He rode his first bull for a score of 77.

Denton’s two-round total leads all competitors after the first day, and it knocked Florida cowboy Melmo Quintero out of first place after he put together two solid rides of 79 and 78.

Eight new cowboys, including Smartville resident Scott Blankenship, will attempt to top Denton’s total today to take home the event title when action begins at 7:30 p.m.

Action started a little slow after the first two cowboys of the night were awarded re-rides when their bulls were a little shy, failing to perform in front of the fair crowd.

However, as the sun set behind the grandstands, the action inside the arena warmed up, and it was the cowboys who reaped the benefits.

Joining Denton and Quintero in riding each of their bulls for scores was Cody Nance, who actually rode four bulls on the night. He had a two-round total of 142 after scores of 64 and 74. He was awarded two re-rides.

Of the 13 bull riders, 10 earned scores on at least one bull, including Jason Mattox, who scored an 81.5 in the second round on Water Sport.

“It was just real nice, kind of spun into my hand,” Mattox said of his high-scoring ride. “Those are the ones that make you feel good. You shouldn’t fall off that bull, a good money bull.”

Denton, a Berry Creek cowboy who first started riding calves and steers at age 13, is currently ranked No. 65 in the Built Ford Tough Series Standings with more than $320,000 in career earnings. He has qualified for the World Finals twice and finished ranked 12th in the world after the 2002 season.

With a few more rides like the one on Double Shot of Water, Denton, one of four California cowboys entered, could make a return trip back to Las Vegas for the PBR World Finals soon.

Double Shot of Water went out straight, turned left and came back into Denton’s hand as he easily rode it the full 8 seconds.

“It’s a read good bull,” Denton said. “I’ve been having a little bit of trouble into my hand lately. I’ve been going back to the drawing board, going back to the basics, and shoot, I just praise the Lord.”

Quintero, out of Moore Haven, Fla., is ranked in the top 20 in the Discovery Tour standings and looked tough to beat after his two solid rides. He opened the first round on Outkast, who went out of the shoot and spun to the right, then quickly cut back left, slamming Quintero into the shoot gate as the whistle blew for a 79.

He didn’t waste any time jumping back on to complete his night, and three riders later, he made it look easy, riding Terminator for a 78.

“My first bull was a pretty good bull. He got right into my hand and luckily I rode him long enough,” Quintero said. “My second bull was a pretty good jump-kicker, and luckily I hung on to him, too. Just two good bulls to draw.”

Quintero has dreams of reaching the World Finals, and it may not be long before he’s there.

“I still got a pretty good long way,” he said. “As long as I win at these big bull rides coming up this summer, that will give me enough money to get to the finals. That’s the goal, and it’s going to be tough, but it can be done.”

In a heartbreaking performance, Keith Roquemore of Cottonwood was just one-tenth of a second away from riding his second bull of the night. But after a tough ride where the bull started right then turned back left, he started slipping off the left side of the bull and went down at the 7.9 second mark.

He scored a 78 in the first round and would have surely been in the hunt if he could have held on in the second go-round.