Incredi-bulls give it their all

For the fans keeping score at the Incredi-Bull bull riding event Saturday, it was an easy night.

Thirteen cowboys from across the Northwest competed, and not a single one lasted the eight-seconds required for a score in front of the 700-plus fans at J. Neils Memorial Park.

“Everybody rode hard, but tonight the stock won - sometimes that happens,” said Jason Colclough, a 24-year-old Libby native who rode in the event. “Most of the time you don’t see that happen.”

Saturday was the second straight night the cowboys were bested by the stock. The same thing happened Friday night in Bonners Ferry, Idaho. “In my lifetime, I do not remember this happening,” said Brett Bronson, the  event coordinator.

Each participant rode twice in the long round, before the judges narrowed the field to 10 for the short round. But with no rider scoring, the  judges instead used the combined time, between the first and second ride, each cowboy lasted on the bull to determine the group.

Leading the pack with a combined time of 11.21 seconds was Dalton Davis, a cowboy from Yakima, Wash.

Davis’ first ride of the day was his best. After he struggled to get out of the chute, he somehow stayed on the rotating bull before being stepped on by the enormous animal, forcing him to limp out of the arena.

Davis said he had never seen riders not score on back-to-back nights.

Colclough also landed himself in the finals with a combined time of 7.09 seconds.

Shad Rich, of Troy, had one of the most memorable rides of the night. On his second ride of the day, Rich found himself five-feet in the air  as the bull jumped. Rich went through to the finals with a combined time of 7.57 seconds.

Seven other riders entered the finals: Josh Tucker, David Nelson, Jesse Luther, Dalton Brooks, John G., Scott Crump and Johnathan  Kirkland.