Waterloo Optimist Blue Army Bull Bash
WATERLOO, Illinois - (September 16, 2018) – Hunted by a pack of ambitious rookies, twenty-one year-old Matt Palmer only had to earn one bull score at the two round Blue Army Bull Bash, and he did just that to hang on to the Midwest Swing Series Tuff Hedeman Bull Riding Championship. It took 428 points from the four city Midwest tour sanctioned by the Tuff Hedeman Break Out Bull Riding Tour, to win the title, custom saddle, trophy buckle, and bulk of the prize money. Palmer, who won two of the four series events, edged out rookie rider Hunter Ball who finished second in the final series standings with 348 points. Ball who competed intensely throughout the entire series is from Deckerville, Michigan and a freshman member of the Fort Scott Community College Rodeo Team in Fort Scott, Kansas.
Matt Palmer, Chelsea, Oklahoma, holds on to win Wicked Rank Midwest Swing Title
With Tuff Hedeman in command of the chutes, twenty contestants competed in the two-round annual event and posted 11 total qualified rides to entertain the packed house of bull riding fans who gathered all day for autographs around town in support of the annual Waterloo Optimist Club fundraiser for youth programs.
Hunter Ball, Deckerville, Michigan, finished second in the Midwest Series Swing
Round one saw 8 qualified rides including Tuff Hedeman tour perennial rider and US Army veteran Juan Alonzo who rode for 88 points on 313 Rolling Thunder. He split the round with Cole Miller who also posted an 88. Hunter Ball was third in the round and barely behind the lead after one bull with 87.5 points. Caleb Ruyle was fourth with 85 points on 110 from CC Bucking Bulls. Palmer finished last in the round with a 72 on Hou’s Chicken and declined the re-ride option. What Palmer knew that the crowd didn’t was that one score placed Palmer one bull closer to the Midwest Swing Series title and he was not going to risk bucking off on a reride bull.
Round two was an advantage to the bulls who kept the ride column to three qualified rides with zero riders earning two scores from two attempts. Lighting up the crowd with his 90 point ride on 16R Louisville Slugger (Rawson), 18-year-old Bubba Greig captured the Waterloo Blue Army Bull Bash event title and prize money with the highest score in the second round and a fourth-place finish in the Midwest Swing Series with 261 total points. Greig, a high school senior from Estherville, Iowa, finished 18th in the 2018 National High School Rodeo Finals in July and seems to be on course with his goal of becoming a professional bull rider. Lebaron was second in the round with 88 points, and Dayton Dubrin was the third and last rider to hear the whistle while on 101 Graffiti (Rawson), 86.5 points.
Event Chair Jim Probst, Tuff Hedeman, Bubba Greig, and Matt Noble
Accepting the win from Tuff Hedeman, Event Chair Jim Probst, and event producer Matt Noble, Palmer stood in front of the chute gate and collected his prize package of a check, trophy saddle, buckle, and championship title of the inaugural Tuff Hedeman Breakout Series Midwest Swing Bull Riding Series.
“I would like to thank Matt Noble for the great series of bull ridings and giving us an opportunity to compete. I have been fortunate to draw really good bulls and to ride in front of a sold-out crowds at each city gives me the confidence I needed," said Palmer.
The Wicked Rank Midwest Swing Series tour is produced by Matt Noble, Next Level Bull Riding and sanctioned by the Tuff Hedeman Bull Riding Tour as a Breakout Series event. The Illinois events were held in Woodstock, Morrison, Belvidere and Waterloo.
The Tuff Hedeman Break Out Series bull riding is up next in Jacksonville, Texas at the Nicky Wheeler Memorial Bull Riding on October 6. For more information and ticketing, links see www.tuffhedemanbullriding.com.
Midwest Swing Series Results
Blue Army Bull Bash Average Results
1, Bubba Greig, Estherville, Iowa, 90 points on Louisville, Slugger (Rawson), $2,822.40. 2, Juan Alonzo, Weslaco, Tex., 88 points on 313 Rolling Thunder (Rawson), $1715.20. 3, Albert Lebaron, Mexico, 88 points, $1,552. 4, Cole Miller, 88. $1714. 5, Hunter Ball, Deckerville, Michigan, 87.5, $786.40.
CONTACT: Matt Noble, matt@nextlevelbullriding.com or call 815-651-6661.
For more information contact Leigh Ann Schroeder, tuffhedemanpr@gmail.com – 940.902.1112.