Brain on Bulls...Any Questions?

Remember those commercials with the eggs sizzlin' in the frying pan and the sub title...."Here's your brain on drugs. Any questions?"

That's how I feel this morning except forget the drugs....who needs 'em when you've got super, adrenaline-pumping bucking bulls on your mind. There's so many resources these days....video archives, stat sites, genetic records, historical data.....I mean it's quite easy to get lost in it all. It's the time of year my mind gets on bull-information overload. Is that my brain I hear sizzlin'? It's all so exciting that I just can't help myself. I may not remember where I put the truck keys, but I can tell you how the top ten are bred, where they've had their best outs and what challenges they face going into Vegas! :)

My husband told me awhile back that every morning the first thing he thinks about is running his hand in a rope, even after all these years. I'm wondering today if he ever thought he'd be married to a girl that thinks about bulls as much as he does. Probably not!

There are times you get so much bull 411 in the brain that it can blend together at times though. Lucky for me I get to put it down on paper as I go. I've spent the last month or so pouring over this year's ABBI bull stats and videos trying to get a firm grasp on how all these bulls stack up going into Vegas AND contention for the ABBI World Championships. What fans might find interesting is that it's not always a shoe-in for the bulls that dominated the season. Many of the road-pounders experience wear and tear just like bull riders. They can get body sore and mentally maxed. Our bovine athletes can face issues with injuries, diet, work-outs and overall mental sharpness. If there's anything besides experience, talent and skill that matters in this game it's freshness.

And when I say freshness, I mean bull's that aren't settled into the whole..."oh, it's this deal again...sigh" mentality. This type of freshness is different than being well rested. The newer bulls on the scene are more apt to be on the muscle and have that edginess and alertness that bring us those eye-popping outs. These are bulls that are light on their feet and can really get around.

You know the ones I'm talking about. When they crack the latch they give us buckets of blow and air, lofty leaps and a big break-over, then kick like a wildcat. It's electric execution and what will 5 the INTENSITY category on the judges sheets. It's also what I'm trying to not miss when looking over all these contenders. Unfortunately you don't always know who's gonna show up and with what. I try hard to find out, but some of these fellas really love that element of surprise.

Usually we know before the finals what we have for ABBI Wild Card contenders too. But this year we won't know until we get there. Talk about building excitement! I can't wait to see 'em and you know there will be a couple in there that can really mix things up. The ABBI Wild Card brought us 250 Black Pearl last year and look at him now....he's the man. We also got crazy-fun Deja Blu via the Wild Card event. So, there's no doubt in my mind their gonna "come-a-goodin'" on Thursday, October 29th through this avenue.

When the dust clears expect to have a handful of the season's steadies and a splash of newcomers lined up in the top 20 holes. However it all plays out.....you won't find anyone more excited about it all than this bucking bull fanatic!

To get the inside scoop for yourself on the top ABBI Classic Contenders read up on the first part of the Season and which bulls did what....here: Parital Season Classic ReCap