Bodacious (bull) facts for kids
 |
|
| Bodacious | |
| Country | United States |
|---|---|
| Breed | Charbray |
| Brand | J-31 |
| Sex | Bull |
| Color | Yellow |
| Weight | 1,900 pounds (860 kg) |
| Born | 1988 Merrick Ranch, Arbuckle Mountains, Oklahoma, U.S. |
| Years active | 1992—1995 |
| Breeder | Merrick Ranch |
| Owner | Andrews Rodeo Company |
| Notable riders |
|
| Died | May 16, 2000 (aged 12) Addielou, Red River County, Texas, U.S. |
| Honors | |
| ProRodeo Hall of Fame 1999 Bull Riding Hall of Fame 2017 |
|
| Awards | |
| 1992, 1994-1995 PRCA Bucking Bull of the NFR 1994—1995 PRCA Bucking Bull of the Year 1995 PBR World Champion Bull |
|
Bodacious #J-31 (1988—May 16, 2000) is the 2019 Professional Bull Riders (PBR) Brand of Honor bull. The Brand of Honor is part of the PBR Heroes and Legends Celebration, the PBR's unique way of honoring outstanding individuals and livestock in the sport of rodeo. For a bucking bull, this is the highest honor he can receive in the sport of bull riding.
He was a bucking bull who was known throughout the rodeo sport of bull riding as "the world's most dangerous bull." He was also known as "the greatest bull ever to buck." In 1999, Bodacious was inducted into the ProRodeo Hall of Fame, and in 2017 into the Bull Riding Hall of Fame. During his rodeo career he was the 1995 PBR World Champion Bull plus the 1994 and 1995 Professional Rodeo Cowboy Association (PRCA) Bucking Bull of the Year. He and Bruiser are the only bulls who have won both titles. Bodacious won his titles in 1995, and Bruiser won his in 2017. Bodacious is most well known for his serious injury to bull riding icon Tuff Hedeman. Coincidentally, Hedeman is the only bull rider to win the world champion bull rider title in both associations too. Not long after, Bodacious also seriously injured Scott Breding. His owner, Sammy Andrews, then retired Bodacious. He died at age 12 in 2000.
Early life
Bodacious, born in 1988 on the Merrick Ranch in the Arbuckle Mountains of Oklahoma, was a Charolais/Brahman crossbred known as a Charbray. Bodacious was born a unique yellow color, which was the only thing that distinguished him from the rest of the herd, most of whom were gray-blues and creams. Bill McCann, co-owner of Geary Livestock Auction, near Okeene, Oklahoma, regularly bought cattle from the Merrick Ranch and resold them at auction. In one of the loads he bought, he remembered a yellow calf.
In the winter of 1991, when a rancher named Jess Kephart came by McCann's auction yard in Kenton, Oklahoma, looking for herd and bucking bulls, the yellow calf that McCann had culled appealed to him. Kephart purchased the calf from McCann and took the bull home to Longdale, Oklahoma. He branded the then-unnamed Bodacious with "J" for his first initial. When the young bull was three years old, Kephart decided Bodacious wasn't what he wanted in a herd bull. When Phil Sumner, a rodeo stock contractor, showed up to see another bull, Kephart offered to throw in "the yellow bull". Sumner paid Kephard about 50 cents a pound, "the going rate for beef on the hoof". It worked out to $700. Sumner took Kephart's "J" brand and extended it to J-31: the 3 stood for the month of March, and 1 stood for 1991, the year he bought the bull. He also weighed young Bodacious at 1,200 pounds (540 kg). Sumner never named the bull either due to not feeling sure his bucking ability would give him a good chance at a rodeo career.
Career summary
Bodacious bucked under two other names during his career. For a time, he bucked as "Skoal's Bodacious" when a tobacco company was sponsoring him. Later he bucked as "Dodge Bodacious" when he was representing an automotive company as a "spokesbull." The name Dodge Bodacious even appears on some of his PRCA awards and media material. In GQ Magazine, he was described as, "the fiercest competitor of his generation...lethal, a legend, the Michael Jordan of barnyard brutes... a combination of Babe Ruth, Secretariat, and Sonny Liston."
Bodacious bucked on the PBR Premier Series at least five times, and scored over 45+ points all but one of those times. His average is 46.4 which puts him second in the ProBullStats Historical Ranking, with Dillinger still being in first place. He has an 80% buck off rate on the Premier Series alone.
Records were not kept as scrupulously in Bodacious' time, but the majority of sources say riders attempted Bodacious at least 135 times. Of those 135 attempts, around eight to ten qualified rides were made on the bull by approximately seven different cowboys. Bull riders who rode him twice include Bubba Dunn, Clint Branger, and Terry Don West. Tuff Hedeman, Jim Sharp, Greg Schossler, and Legs Stevenson each made a qualified ride on him once.
Since Bodacious' death, fans and journalists debate whether Bodacious was really the best bucking bull.
Retirement and death
Bodacious spent his retirement on the Andrews Rodeo Company Ranch. He could be found relaxing in the pasture or mating under natural cover. He mated with a total of 120 cows in his retirement. Otherwise, he might be on a tour.
During Bodacious' retirement life, his owner obtained a New York agent to manage public appearances. He was taken on tour to state fairs, rodeos, and casinos around the United States. He appeared as a celebrity guest at Harrah's Las Vegas and the Silverton Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas. Articles about him appeared in Sports Illustrated, and GQ. He appeared in advertising for Bud Light. He also was featured on merchandise, including items such as belt buckles and watches from Montana Silversmiths, a limited commemorative edition Winchester Rifle by A&A Entraving, and T-shirts. Prior to his death, "Wrangler had just issued a new Bodacious T-shirt and "Bo" was featured, along with Tuff Hedeman, in advertising for Bud Light". The most recent merchandise is the Bodacious figurine toy. Created in 2017, Bodacious the bull comes with a bull rider, bull rope, and stand. It was approved by Andrews Rodeo Company on March 5, 2017.
His television appearances included a profile on the Fox TV program "Guinness World Records Prime Time." He was profiled on BRO telecasts on the Cowboy Lifestyle Network. After his death, the NBCSN (formerly Outdoor Life Network) program "Fearless" visited the Andrews Rodeo Company Ranch in 2004 and filmed a documentary titled, "Fearless Bodacious."
Many made tributes to Bodacious over the years. Some examples include alternative rock band Primus, who dedicated a song to Bodacious on their 1999 album, Antipop. It is called "Ballad of Bodacious." The Austrian ski company Blizzard Ski named their big mountain ski after Bodacious. Lastly, Short's Brewing Company named a double-Black IPA "Goodnight Bodacious" after Bodacious.
Bodacious developed a hoof infection when he was 12 years old. The medication used to cure the infection damaged his kidneys, and as a result, he died of kidney failure at 12 years of age in 2000. He died in his holding pen at the Andrew Rodeo Company Ranch on May 16, 2000. In 2004, The Houston Rodeo and Livestock Show had a miniature bucking chute manufactured and gave it to Andrews for Bodacious' grave.
Progeny
Bodacious sired many progeny that competed in the PRCA and PBR. These included bulls such as Bo's Excuse, Erks Me, and Fender Bender. On June 6, 2008, four of his sons performed throughout the weekend at the Rodeo Killeen, in Killeen, Texas, in its 61st year at the time. Those sons included Red Onion, Pull the Trigger, and Fender Bender. Each of those bulls lived at Andrews' ranch at the time. Bodacious also sired Bo Howdy, who debuted in 2002 as a PBR bull.
One of Bodacious' most successful sons is a bull that Andrews bred who is competing as of 2017. His name is Midnight Bender, and Andrews is bucking him on the PRCA circuit. The bull won the PRCA Bucking Bull of the Year title in 2016. "Midnight Bender does not have a reputation of injuring and alienating cowboys. But like Bodacious, Midnight Bender bucks with an attitude and some altitude". According to Andrews, the bull spends a lot of time in the air and kicks hard. The bull gives quite a show when he bucks, and the riders all like him. At times the bull is reminiscent of Bodacious in some of his movements, even the difficult ones. But Andrews claims this bull is rideable. ProBullStats as of May 2017 shows the bull has 32 attempts with 6 rides.
Another successful son of Bodacious is Beaver Creek Beau, owned by Chad Berger Bucking Bulls and partners, who has been bucking on the elite BFTS circuit since 2013. He ranked in the top 20 on the BFTS in 2016 and was very close to being a world champion bull contender. At all levels, he's been ridden 8 times of 98 attempts. At the BFTS level, he's been ridden 6 times out of 60 outs as of mid-2017. Beau is a sizable bull, like his sire, weighing in around 1,900 pounds (860 kg). He isn't quite as fast as his sire, but he's fast enough to be a Championship round bull.
In 2002, the PRCA awarded the Andrews Rodeo Company the Stock Contractor of the Year award. His ability to produce quality stock is earmarked by his hall of fame bull, Bodacious, and his history of producing great bucking stock, both bulls and broncs. In 2008, the Texas Rodeo Cowboy Hall of Fame inducted Sammy Andrews.
Legacy
Bodacious became infamously known as "the world's most dangerous bull" throughout the sport of bull riding and beyond due to his reputation for injuring riders. Hedeman is the bull rider known to have received the worst injuries from Bodacious, with Breding and West being runners-up. Hedeman and Breding were injured towards the end of Bodacious' career in 1995. But at the same time, he became known as "the greatest bull ever to buck." "Of all the bulls I've ever seen, he's the most dangerous," Hedeman once told a Sports Illustrated reporter. Throughout Bodacious' career, hall of fame rodeo announcer Bob Tallman referred to him as "the yellow whale" due to his color and size.
Hedeman once said "even top-ranked guys who weren’t afraid of anything were definitely afraid of Bodacious." A ride of the giant that didn’t end with injury was a successful ride. Bodacious was such a powerhouse it wasn’t uncommon to see his belly from the top of the back of the chute – and if you can imagine being tied to something nearly a ton dropping even five feet then changing directions – and you don’t know what direction – you can imagine a very small glimpse of him. He was able to buck many off before they could nod their heads
The key to this was that Bodacious was such a skilled jumper he could jump higher than the top bar of the chute, resulting in many riders being bucked off on the first jump. "Bo's first jump when he left the chute resembled a roller coaster ride," says Andrews' wife Caroline. "Bodacious could kick and roll and he learned how to unseat a rider. Bodacious really liked to get in the air. And every time he jumped, he usually brought a bull rider forward," putting riders in position to injure them with his head.
On January 23, 2013, the PBR published an article about the greatest bulls where they took a survey of bull riding fans and the two most mentioned bulls were Bodacious and Little Yellow Jacket. On June 29, 2015, the PBR published an article about the memorable bulls of the PBR and listed Bodacious "as one of the most famous bulls of all time." He and Bushwacker are similar in terms of popularity.
The ProRodeo Hall of Fame chose Bodacious in 1999 as their sixth member; there are only seven bulls inducted as of 2017. Bo joins such exceptional bulls as Skoal Pacific Bell, Red Rock, Oscar, and Jim Shoulders' Tornado. Mostly, those bulls had long careers. However, Bo's short professional career lasted only four years. In that time, he bucked off 127 of 135 riders.
In 2017, the Bull Riding Hall of Fame inducted Bodacious, joining Tornado in another hall of fame and the bull known only by his brand, V-61. In 1994 and 1995, the top cowboys voted him as the PRCA Bucking Bull of the Year. In 1992, '94, and '95, he was elected Bucking Bull of the NFR.
Honors
- Two-time Dodge Bull of the Year
- 1992, 1994-95 PRCA Bucking Bull of the NFR
- 1993-94 PRCA Texas Circuit Bull of the Year
- 1994-95 PRCA Bucking Bull of the Year
- 1995 BRO Bull of the Year
- 1995 PBR World Champion Bucking Bull
- One of two bulls to win both the PRCA Bucking Bull of the Year and the PBR World Champion Bull, which he did in the same year
- 1999 Inducted into the ProRodeo Hall of Fame† ††
- 2017 Inducted into the Bull Riding Hall of Fame
- 2019 Inducted into the PBR Heroes and Legends Celebration Brand of Honor
- 2020 Inducted into the Texas Rodeo Cowboy Hall of Fame
† "I always hoped he would get in (the Hall of Fame) because I always thought he did a lot for the sport of rodeo,' said Andrews of his famously feared bull."
†† "The bull the cowboys didn’t want to draw, but the fans loved."
YouTube videos
