RIDIN SOLO Strikes Again as Back-to-Back PBR World Champion Bull

By Lane Karney, Courtesy TetonRidgePlus.com

In the classic man versus beast matchup that is bull riding, the verdict on who wins is only half human. The other half of every score hangs in the balance based on how hard the bull bucks.

The Professional Bull Riders just celebrated 30 years as the ultimate bull riding sports league. But the founding cowboy fathers recognized since before the beginning of the PBR that the best bull riders can only be showcased on the backs of the best bulls. Lightning struck for the second straight season Sunday for Cord McCoy’s #612 Ridin Solo when he was crowned the 2023 PBR World Champion Bull on top of taking 2023 PBR YETI Bull of the Finals honors.

There’s no telling how many contributions Ridin Solo’s made to Tulsa’s college fund. “If you followed along for the whole season, the bull race was definitely like bull riding—up and down,” said McCoy, who with his wife, Sara, and daughter, Tulsa, 4, makes his home on the McCoy Ranch in Lane, Oklahoma. “But one thing about it, after all those days on the road—whether it was hot or cold—Solo always gave it 110%.

“There are so many tough bulls these days. It felt like it was anybody’s game amongst those top bulls. I think Solo had to win one (Bull of the Finals) to win the other (Bull of the Year). This is amazing, and I think it’s even more special to win this award a second time.”

There were big bonuses—a $100,000 check to the owner of the PBR YETI World Champion Bull, and another $25,000 to the

PBR YETI Bull of the Finals. But this bull is priceless to the McCoy family. “Solo’s put food on the table for our family for five years now, and has opened so many doors for us,” Cord said. “When he was 2, we felt like we knew he was going to be great. We’d already started breeding to him. We now have 3-year-olds ready to hit the scene next year. We’ve had offers to buy him, but we refuse to price him for any amount. We stuck to our guns, and we’re glad we did.”

About those babies. Solo’s 7 now, and has gone global as a bucking-bull baby daddy. “I’m just Solo’s manager, but he’s the first world champion bull to go global that I know of,” Cord continued, also noting that when Ridin Solo was selected to buck at last December’s Wrangler National Finals Rodeo in Las Vegas, he became McCoy’s first-ever NFR bucker. “There are calves who’ll be bucking bulls being born in Australia, Brazil and Canada now.”

Ridin Solo is a proven professional powerhouse. But on the personal side, he has a little Dr. Jekyll & Mr. Hyde to him. “Solo didn’t show up as a pet,” Cord explained. “When he showed up here, he had a ‘rather die than lose’ attitude about him. He was all-in, and would sacrifice his body to win. We became friends and he became a pet, but being nice was not natural to him. That came from working together every day.

“Nature gave Ridin Solo killer instincts, but he also has a very special on-and-off switch. Some people underestimate how tough he is. But I don’t. My wife gave him a bath the day Solo bucked for a world title. But he knows when we put the halter on at an event that it’s game time. I don’t think he’d ever hurt anybody on purpose, but he gets fired up. Solo has become part of our family, and being his people is definitely a dream come true.”