Smooth Operator

The Heart of a Champion

By Kelly B. Robbins

The sun has set on the life of the amazing two-time PBR World Champion Bucking Bull 001 Smooth Operator. On Sunday, February 13, 2022, owner Chad Berger announced his passing on Facebook. “It is with great sadness that we announce the passing of 2019 and 2020 PBR World Champion Bucking Bull Smooth Operator. He had the heart of a champion, and he sure did prove it. 001 made eight trips to the PBR World Finals, recorded 130 outs, and had an 89.9% buck-off percentage. He was the oldest bull to win a World Championship, and he earned two of them! It’s not very often a bull like him comes along, but we were extremely honored to have him and experience the exciting ride he took us on! He will be missed.”

Smooth Operator was also owned by Clay Struve, and Julie Rosen. Chad was named the PBR Stock Contractor of the Year for the eleventh time in 2021. This was the eighth consecutive title, and both are a PBR record. “Winning that never gets old,” Chad said. “It is an honor to win that award, because the bull riders decide that. It tells me they like the job we are doing and the bulls we bring. But winning that award is a total team effort. I owe it all to our team. I’ve got the greatest team around me. I owe it to my partners Clay Struve and Julie Rosen, to my wife, Sarah and family, and my bull men, Delbert Nuse and Rex Meier. I owe it to Juan Gonzales and the guys at home that do all the work. This is a team and I’m just the head coach. They do a phenomenal job. I couldn’t do this without them.”

Smooth Operator was retired after the 2021 PBR World Finals in Las Vegas in November. It was his eighth PBR World Finals qualification, and a PBR record. “I could tell at the Finals that something just wasn’t quite right with him,” Chad explained. He then revealed that Smooth Operator passed away from cancer.

Smooth Operator was the oldest two-time Yeti World Champion Bull in PBR history, winning back-to-back titles at nine years old in 2019 and at ten years old in 2020. Smooth Operator became the fifth back-to-back champion, joining Dillinger (2000-2001), Little Yellow Jacket (2002-2004), Bushwacker (2013-2014), and SweetPro’s Bruiser (2016-2018).

According to Probullstats.com, Smooth Operator retired with some impressive stats. He had an 89.92% buck off percentage and was ridden just 13 times in 129 outs. His average ride score was 90.9. He had 40 round wins and seven rider round wins.

Cooper Davis makes the 8 second whistle for 93.75 points on Smooth Operator – Atlantic City, 2018.

Photo by Andy Watson / BullStock Media.

His career is quite a story. In 2015, when he was five years old, Smooth Operator severely injured his back, which could have been a career-ending injury. Then in 2016, he broke a kneecap and missed the entire first half of the season. Despite his injury, Smooth Operator was able to qualify for the 2016 PBR World Finals, but he was no longer bucking at a World Champion level. Chad and his team were able to restore Smooth Operator to full health by 2017.

He held his own for two years, but it wasn’t until 2019 that he regained his World Championship form. Smooth Operator certainly lived up to his name during the 2019 PBR Unleash the Beast World Finals at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. He was a “Smooth Operator” as he went head-to-head with Chase Outlaw in the Championship Round, dispatching him in 4.11 seconds for a season high bull score of 47 points, and the 2019 PBR/Yeti World Champion Bull title.

“I was so happy for that bull!” Chad exclaimed. “He just went out there and did what he had to do to win. He just never quit. When Smooth Operator was five years old, I thought he was the rankest bull I’d ever seen. Then he injured his back in 2015 and his kneecap in 2016, and it was a long road back. I almost retired him after that. But I took him to Chicago, and he bucked for 46.75 points. I let him go and he won the championship!”

The 2020 PBR season was certainly unusual and sometimes very difficult, due to the Covid pandemic. The PBR was the first professional sport to hold a live sporting event since the country had been shut down for Covid. They did a great job scheduling events around the restrictions and ultimately the 2020 PBR World Finals was moved from T-Mobile arena in Las Vegas to AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas.

The stage was set for some real drama and excitement, as Smooth Operator and D&H Cattle Company’s 43C Chiseled were locked in a battle for the 2020 PBR World Champion Bull title. Chad had to watch the PBR Finals from home in Mandan, North Dakota due to a bout with Covid-19.

Ryan Dirteater had announced his intention to retire after the 2020 Finals. He rode Smooth Operator in the championship round for his last ride. He was bucked off in 2.60 seconds and Smooth Operator had a bull score of 46.25 points. Chiseled needed to score 47 points to overtake Smooth Operator for the championship. Keyshawn Whitehorse outlasted Chiseled for an amazing ride score of 93.75 points, but Chiseled’s bull score of 45.75 points fell just short. Smooth Operator’s final world average bull score of 46.13 points barely outdueled Chiseled’s world average score of 46.03 to claim the 2020 PBR Yeti World Champion Bull title and earn the $100,000 payout.

Chad had a lot to overcome that year as well. That summer he had two open heart surgeries and a third operation for a pacemaker. “It was a tough year,” Chad admitted. “Delbert Nuse did a great job helping us through that summer and at the Finals. All things considered, we ended up with a great year!”

Ryan Dirteater called for the gate one last time as he battled Smooth Operator in the Championship Round of the 2020 PBR World Finals at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, TX.

Photo by Andy Watson / BullStock Media.

Smooth Operator’s career highest score came in Billings, Montana in September of 2021. Current reigning and two-time PBR World Champion Jose Vitor Leme rode him for an amazing 94.25 points.

The last rider to climb on Smooth Operator’s back was Derek Kolbaba at the 2021 PBR World Finals in Las Vegas last November. Derek hung on with everything he had, but Smooth Operator was able to buck him off in 5.52 seconds.

Chad revealed that his most favorite Smooth Operator out was when Cooper Davis rode him in Atlantic City, New Jersey in September of 2018 for a score of 93.75 points. “That ride still gives me chills when I see it,” Chad revealed.

Chad has always said that the one thing that set Smooth Operator apart was his heart. “That bull had a heart of gold,” Chad declared. “You’ve got to have a big heart to come back from all he did and win two championships. That bull was all heart!”

Chad shared that Smooth Operator had passed away at the ranch in Oklahoma. He brought Smooth Operator 1,500 miles back to the ranch in Mandan and buried him beside Asteroid and Pearl Harbor. We bid you farewell Smooth Operator and thank you for the all the fun and excitement you gave your fans. Rest assured, your legacy is forever sealed in the hearts of your fans, and permanently etched in the annuls of bull riding history.

Chase Outlaw duels with Smooth Operator at the 2019 PBR World Finals.

Photo by Andy Watson / BullStock Media.