PBR Pluto TV Invitational Los Angeles The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly Photos by Andrea Kaus
By Barbara Pinnella
There were a lot of changes at the CRYPTO.com Arena (change number one; this was formerly the Staples Center) in Los Angeles in February. The event was originally supposed to be the twoday Iron Cowboy. That exciting event has been pushed back to a location yet to be determined, while at the same time, the PBR renamed it to the PBR Pluto TV Invitational, and made it one day only. We will get into the main reason for those PBR changes shortly, but let’s focus on the plusses. There was a great crowd on hand to watch the event, and they were really into the action. We got to watch both veterans of the sport we love as well as some young guns, which is always great to see, The standout star of the show was Daylon Swearingen. In the first round, he covered Lights Out, a bull hauled by Diamond Bar Cattle / Premier Ag to a score of 89.25. He was obviously the man to catch in the Championship Round, and was one of only two of the 12 who tried to stay on their second bull.
For that second round, Swearingen handpicked the WSM / Clay Struve / Dakota Rodeo / Chad Berger bull WSM Nasty Wishes. There was nothing nasty about that bull for Daylon, and he received a big 91.25 score to win the round, and the event. It was also announced that he also became the number one man in the world standings. Kudos also to Derek Kolbaba, who was the only other man to ride both of his bulls. And he did it with ligament damage in his right ankle which occurred less than two weeks ago. He scored an 85.85 on Ranch Water, a Paradigm Bull Co / D’Anna & Lance Waller bull, in the first round. For the Championship Round, he chose the Paradigm Bull Co / Marquis Metal Works bull, Marquis Metal Works Coriolis Effect. With this bull, he scored an 88.50. Once inside the arena, this PBR event was like most others; good bulls, good rides, a lot of excitement, and fans who were just plain happy to be there. But outside the arena, the atmosphere was different, and not at all carefree and cheerful. Why, you ask? Because the loud, misinformed or just plain uninformed minority has been trying for a long time to get Los Angeles County to no longer allow any western sports. Driven mainly by Councilman Bob Blumenfield, they have the ears of the L.A. City Council. But enter the Western Sports Industry Coalition, bringing knowledge, accurate information, and research in their effort to preserve our western sports heritage.
Daylon Swearingen
Along with the many supporters of the Western Sports Industry Coalition, those also in attendance included Sean Gleason (CEO of the PBR), James Pickens Jr., (best known for his role in Grey’s Anatomy), Reginald T. Dorsey (actor, team roping and team penning champion), Forrie J. Smith (best known for Yellowstone), the Compton Cowboys, the Buffalo Soldiers, Luke Branquinho
Humps-Horns.com · 22 · April 2022
