There was an old fashioned cowboy showdown Thursday night at the Elks Unocal Events Center in Santa Maria.

It was much like the old days when cowboys got together to ride the toughest animals to see who came out on top.

The Santa Maria Elks kicked off their 65th annual Rodeo and Parade weekend with 40 of the toughest young cowboys going up against the baddest of the bad - big, bad Brahma bulls.

For the first time, the Professional Bull Riders (PBR) came to town for a night of non-stop bull riding action.

That was it - bulls, bulls, bulls.

And 40 cowboys all determined to walk away with the Santa Maria Elks PBR championship title.

For the record, the first-ever Santa Maria PBR champion is Cody Campbell, a 20-year old cowboy from Summerville, Oregon.

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“It feels good to be the first PBR champion at this rodeo,” said Campbell. “I drew a couple of really good bulls, got a couple really good rides and everything worked out for me.”

The PBR is split into four levels - four different championship series.

At the top is the Built Ford Tough Tour with the top 45 riders in all of the PBR . The second level is the Challenger Tour, followed in order by the Enterprise Tour and the Discovery Tour.

Every five events, the cowboys are re-seeded with the top five from a lower level moving up and the bottom five from a higher level moving down.

The Elks PBR event is a Challenger level event.

“My win here should move me up into the Ford Tough Tour,” said Campbell. “I think I'll be 10th when the next re-seeding is done - at the worst 11th, which would make me an alternate on the Ford Tough Tour. This win can help get me a shot at the world championship.”

The competition had two go-rounds.

All 40 riders competed in the ‘long go'.

The top 10 came back for a final showdown in the ‘short go'.

The winner was the rider with the most total points from both go-rounds.

Campbell and Cory Melton were tied for first after the ‘long go' with 87.5 point rides.

Agnaldo Cardoza and Ross Johnson were right behind, tied for third with 85.5 point rides.

The rest of the first round's top 10 included Tony Mendes (85.0 points), Bryan Richardson and Beau Hill (84.0), Mike Lee and Harve Stewart (82.5) and Rob Bell (80.0).

Richardson and Bell pulled out of the short-go with injuries moving Bronson Butcher (79.) and Chad Denton (77.0) into the finals field.

The cowboys got to pick their bulls for the short-go, picking in order, top to bottom.

“We try to pick our best bulls for the PBR,” said Cindy Moreno, the Ranch Manager for rough stock provider The Flying U Rodeo Ranch. “We really look for 10 of the toughest for the short-go.”

And tough they were - just four of the finalists managed to post the required eight-second ride.

Campbell hit a 91-pointer for a two-go total of 178.5 - nailing down the champion's belt buckle.

Hill added an 88.5-point ride in the short-go to claim second place (172.5 total) with Denton moving all the way up from 12th to fourth (84.5 second-go and a 161.5 total) and Stewart finishing fourth (73.0 second-go and 155.5 total).

“Tonight's show went really well,” said Cotton Rosser, the owner of the Flying U rodeo Ranch. “The people saw a hell of a good bull riding show - there was a 91-point ride in the finals. The Elks should be complimented for putting on such a fine show.”

After a successful debut, the Elks plan to bring the PBR next year and we'll into the future.

“We're hoping the PBR really takes off,” said Dean Chabot, the chairman of the Elks Rodeo Flag Committee. “It's really all about the kids. If this does well, we'll raise more money for the Elks Recreation Foundation and that money all goes to help local kids and children's organizations.”

“This is a really great rodeo,” said Campbell. “I'll definitely be back next year.”

Sports Editor Elliott Stern can be reached at 739-2235 or by e-mail to elliottstern@santamariatimes.com.

May 30, 2008