Overview
Bones #05 (March 31, 2003 – August 15, 2024) was an American bucking bull. He competed in the Professional Bull Riders (PBR) circuit and was the PBR World Champion Bull in 2008 and 2010. In 2014, he was inducted into the PBR Brand of Honor. In 2023, Bones was ranked No. 3 on the list of the top 30 bulls in PBR history.
Background
Bones was born on March 31, 2003. Bones' sire was 263 Bone Collector. Bone Collector's jumping prowess while bucking was well known. His mother was a daughter of Whitewater, the 1983 Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association (PRCA) Bucking Bull of the Year. Oscar's Velvet was the son of Oscar, a ProRodeo Hall of Fame bucking bull. Bones was also a half-brother of the highly ranked bucking bull Troubadour owned by Julio Moreno. Teague raised Bones and retained full ownership of the bull throughout his bucking career and into retirement.
Career
One of the ways that Teague exercised Bones was in a circular sand pit that he had made, where he installed a type of hot walker sometimes used for horses. Once an animal was inside, there were walls that moved around in a circular direction, forcing the bull to walk in between them. Teague compared working in deep sand to walking on the beach – it took more effort than walking on hard ground. Bones bucked in the PBR, mostly on the Built Ford Tough Series (BFTS), the elite series of the circuit, for four seasons, but only three were complete seasons, as he only bucked at one BFTS event in 2007. Two-time PBR World Champion bull rider Justin McBride stated that Bones was the "real deal". He said Bones was one of only two bulls he got on more than once who bucked him off each time—he never got a qualified ride on Bones.
McBride first got on the bull at an event at Columbus, Ohio, in 2008 when Bones was a fairly unknown five-year-old. Bones bucked him off.
2008 title
Bones qualified for his first PBR World Finals in 2008. McBride again picked him in Round 2 and Bones bucked him off faster than in their first meeting. According to McBride, Bones had gotten better and "handed him his hat". Bones bucked off all three riders at his first World Finals. Bones made what became his trademark set of bucking moves, going up high and bringing the rider over his shoulder and then down. In 4.7 seconds, McBride bucked off Bones. "It had been a long time since a bull had treated me that way," McBride said. For the other two riders, in Round 4, Zack Brown bucked off Bones in 2.8 seconds, and in the final round 2008 World Champion Guilherme Marchi bucked off in 4 seconds. Bones finished the evening with bull scores of 47 points, 46 points, and 47.25 points. His bull score of 47.25 points was a career best.
Bulls are scored from 1 to 50 points, half of the total score. The bull rider gets the other half of the score; together it totals up to 100. These bull scores were high enough to win the 2008 World Champion Bull title.
Betting events
An event between Bones and J.B. Mauney on February 13, 2009, was billed as the best bull against the best bull rider. resulting in extensive comments from fans and stock contractors on the PBR site. Mauney succeeded. He rode Bones for a qualifying time and scored 93.5 points out of a maximum of 100. Although there was a great deal of hype about the event that weekend, Mauney stated that he just did what he did with every bull, "kept my hand shut and held on". Teague said he was happy to see Mauney prove why he is the number one bull rider in the world. That score of 93.5 points became the highest-combined score of Bones' career. It was the first time the PBR sponsored a contest like this. No other bull vs bull challenge earned an owner such a large sum of money before. Zack Brown drew Big Tex, and 2004 World Champion Mike Lee drew Bones. Both men bucked off.
It was an extremely close match, with Big Tex narrowly winning with a bull score of 46 to Bones' 45.5, giving Berger some relief. Berger received more relief later that year when a bull he owned an interest in, Code Blue, won that year's World Champion Bull title.
2010 title
PBR Livestock Director Cody Lambert believed that Bones was matched up with the best riders, and he proved he was their equal or better. Due to his bull scores, athleticism, and buck off percentages, he distinguished himself from the other bulls. In the 2010 PBR World Finals, Lambert did not hesitate to praise Bones when the bull won the World Champion Bull title again, this time against the favorite, Bushwacker. According to Lambert, it was surprising Bones won, but it was not a complete upset. At the World Finals, Bones first bucked off Mauney, who had ridden him back in 2009. Mauney only lasted four seconds. Bones was given a 45.25 bull score. Some argued his score was slightly lower due to the judges foreseeing a qualified ride from Mauney. Marchi, who was up next, tied his hand down too far, according to fellow bull rider J.W. Hart.
This prevented Marchi from keeping up with Bones' change of direction; Bones bucked him off easily in two seconds, and was scored 47.25 which won him the World Champion Bull title. McBride felt winning two titles under different circumstances was impressive: the first time because he was an unknown, and the second time because other he was an underdog due to other bulls like Bushwacker who were favored to win.
Summary
Bones bucked on the PBR tour a total of 45 times. He was ridden for a qualified ride only five times, giving him an 88.89% buckoff percentage at all levels. He bucked on the BFTS 34 times. Of those, he was ridden for a qualified ride four times, for an 88.24% buckoff percentage in the BFTS. Bones ranked 14th overall in the BFTS as of April 2017 according to Probullstats. Out of his four years on the BFTS, he qualified for the PBR World Finals three times. His average bull score was 45.56 points for all four years. Most do not take his first year on the BFTS seriously, since he only bucked one time that year, which was 2007. Mauney's ride did not count because it was a special match staged to top off the event, and not part of the BFTS circuit. Bushwacker, and Bruiser.
Retirement and legacy
Teague retired Bones after the 2010 BFTS season when he was seven years old. He announced it at the beginning of the 2011 BFTS season. Bones was still in the peak of his career at the time. and even famous bulls of the past such as Mr. T of Burns Rodeo Company and 105 of Dell Hall. He compared Bones to other bulls that could yank a rider down to make them lose their seat like Rampage and Hollywood. Hearing of Bones receiving the Brand of Honor was no surprise to McBride, as he considered him one of the greats. That year, Bushwacker would win his third World Champion Bull title, and Lambert compared Bones to Bushwacker at the same stage of their bucking careers, noting that Bushwacker and Bones had a similar physicality and demeanor.
" Bones excelled in all five categories: buck, kick, direction change, intensity and degree of difficulty." He could get his front feet in the air and then break over. He had a sense for knowing who was on his back. He performed at his best with the toughest riders. Lambert added that Bones was perhaps the second-best bull the PBR has seen. as the best bull they have ever seen.
Death
Bones spent the last fourteen years of his life in retirement on Tom Teague's farm in Graham, North Carolina. He died there peacefully on August 15, 2024, at the age of 21. He was buried next to fellow PBR world champion bull Little Yellow Jacket, who died in 2011.
Honors
* 2008 PBR World Champion Bull * 2008 PBR Bull of the World Finals * 2010 PBR World Champion Bull * 2023 ranked No. 3 on the list of the top 30 bulls in PBR history
External links
* Cardboard cutout of Bones Discontinued but shown as popular YouTube Videos: * PBR "Bones" – "Bones" the 1 Million Dollar Bull Marchi & Teague & commentators talking about Bones, watch Bones use a hot walker to exercise in a circular deep sand pit. * Bones (Bucking Bull) – 08 PBR Finals, Rd 4 – YouTube Bones bucks off Zack Brown for a 46.5 point bull score. * Bones vs Guilherme Marchi – 08 PBR Finals – YouTube Bones bucks off Guilherme Marchi for a 47.25 point bull score. * Bones vs Justin McBride – 08 PBR Finals – YouTube Bones bucks off Justin McBride for a 47-point bull score. * JB Mauney ride bones – YouTube Two-time PBR World Champion J.B.Mauney rides two-time PBR World Champion bull Bones for 93.25 points.