Mike Gill got reacquainted with an old friend Saturday night at the Coliseum and just like the last time they got together, it was money in the bank for the Merritt bull rider.
Already sitting pretty at the Prince George Bull Riding Challenge after an 83-point ride on Zero Hero, Gill drew Peter Gunn, a C-Plus Rodeos bull that helped him win three years ago at the Williams Lake Stampede.
On Saturday Gill needed to stay aboard for eight seconds and he hung in there for nine before Mr. Gunn bucked him off. The left-spinning bull wore a track in the dirt right in front of the bucking chute and Gill stayed high on his haunches all the way to earn an 85, more than enough to give him the inaugural PG Bull Riding Challenge title and a cheque no less than $2,500.
"I had an 88 on him three years ago, he's just a good draw, the kind you want to have every rodeo you go to because he goes out there and does his spin and stays in it," said Gill, 28.
"All you have to do is stay on and win some money, and it worked. He clipped me with his horn on the back of the head at the end of the ride, but that was after the whistle."
The only downer of the Prince George trip for Gill before he left for a Sunday rodeo in Clinton, was his collie puppy was stolen from the back of his truck in the Coliseum parking lot.
Former Prince George Cougar centre Evan Fuller, the B.C. Professional Bullriders (BCPB) tour leader heading into Saturday's show, didn't last long trying to ride Sharpie in the first round, but he drew Wolverine in the second go-round, a young black spinner that ranked high on the list of the 20 cowboys as the one of the most rider-friendly bulls to draw.
Wolverine didn't let Fuller down. His 87.5-point trip was the ride of the day.
"That's kind of the cream of the crop there," said Fuller. "He's small but goes 100 miles an hour. He's not one of those bulls who's jerking on your arm or pulling you all over the place and you don't have to make such big moves. I wanted to lift my legs and spur a bit but I was too nervous, he was going around too fast."
Fuller, 22, played three seasons for the Cougars as a hard-nosed forward and was a seventh-round draft pick of the Vancouver Canucks in 2006. He finished his Western Hockey League career in Moose Jaw and Chilliwack, and after attending two Canucks training camps, called it quits.
"For me, that was a very good decision," said Fuller, who lives on a farm near Riske Creek. "Once I stopped loving hockey it became a job for me and it just wasn't fun anymore. When you're getting out of bed every morning, doing something you don't want to do, it's hard on you. I'm very happy with the decision I made and I'm having a blast.
"I'm just riding bulls and that's keeping me busy. It's going pretty good. I wanted to be a bull rider before I started playing hockey and once I quit it was kind of an easy transition to to hop right into rodeo."
Fuller has now ridden in four BCPB events and also won the the first BCRA event of the season in Williams Lake.
Steven Hohmann of Quesnel celebrated the birth of his fifth child and first son on Tuesday and his good fortune continued his first time out of the Coliseum gate Saturday with a qualified ride on Notorious that earned 77 points.
"He kind of got me in bad shape and went back the other way and I was just hanging in at the end there but the whistle came in time," said Hohmann, who hit the dirt early on his second ride.
Hohmann, 42, also rides saddle bronc and bareback horses and steer wrestles. His versatility earned him the all-around title in the B.C. Rodeo Association last season. With five kids to look after now, he's sticking closer to home. His wife Jennifer barrel races all four daughters ride in gymcanas and they will be following Steve on the BCRA circuit as much as they can this summer.
n Although the bulls and riders put on an entertaining show and some fine riding, a crowd of only about 500 showed up, a major disappointment for event organizer Stuart Wheele, who had hoped for at least double that amount. The dance that followed at the Coliseum drew only about 200 people. Wheele said he'll have to give it careful thought whether to bring the BCPB tour back to Prince George next year.
