Trey Kimzey rides three to get the win on his 21st birthday at the 2020 Hobbs Tuff Hedeman Bull Riding
Hobbs Tuff Hedeman Bull Riding
Bull riders know it is not how you start a Tuff Hedeman Bull Riding Tour event, it’s how you finish that counts. On Saturday night at the Lea County Events Center, 29 cowboys from nine states and one Australian bull rider lined up to launch the 2020 season of the Tuff Hedeman Bull Riding Tour.
Twenty-one qualified rides later on his twenty-first birthday, Trey Kimzey of Strong City, Oklahoma tapped into the Kimzey consistency gene riding three bulls he had never drawn for a perfect night and his first win on Hedeman’s tour.
Hedeman introduces Kimzey to the packed house as he claims his first THBRT title in Hobbs, New Mexico
Trey, the younger brother of six-time World Champion bull rider Sage Kimzey was second in the average going into the Shoot Out round. In Hedeman’s sudden death format, all scores are dropped when you enter the final four-man round.
“Going up and down the road helps you prepare to ride three at these events, you get seasoned, but its great to come to Tuff’s events, they are just great events, you can’t ask for a better set of bulls to get on and great money,” said Kimzey.
With the fans on their feet, Kimzey and Tyler Bingham battled it out with both riding for 91.5 points. The tie-breaker judge was in Kimzey’s favor to make him the last man standing in front of the chutes and cheering fans accepting his first championship buckle and jumbo check from Tuff Hedeman.
Round One
Feeling the energy from the packed house, round one took off with 14 qualified rides. Tristan Mize (Bryan, TX) and JT Moore (Alvin, TX) led the field of 30 splitting the round win with a pair of 91.5’s on 748 The Jungle (JQH) and 2810 Speckled Chicken (Rawson). Garrett Jones (Devers, TX) had a solid seat for 89.5 points on Jeff Harris’s Fat Boy. Matching his was another pair of 89.5’s turned in by Brett Custer on Barker’s Cadillac Jack and New Mexico’s own, Joseph McConnel on Whisnant/Shaw’s Bumble B.
2-time NFR contestant Tyler Bingham put up 89 points on a bull he has seen but never drawn, Jones & Car’s NFR bull 277 Butter Bean. THBRT rookie Tadd Dictson from Odessa also rode for 89 with DJ LaFleur, Colton Fritzan at 88.5, and 88 points, respectively.
Trey Kimzey and Brody Yeary would also advance on 87 point rides on 4008 Missing After Midnight (JQH) and 606 Smooth Steel (Baker).
"I had not seen him before, and I got a video from Skip Jones, and he told me the first round is yours. He felt great just couldn't ask for a better first-round bull," said Kimzey.
Semifinal Round
In the THBRT sudden death format, 12 cowboys advance to the second round, but with 15 bull teams entered, the number of semifinal round bull riders that would move on expanded to 15. In a twist of fate, rookie Colton Fritzlan and two veteran riders, Trey Kimzey and Brody Yeary, would benefit the additional bull team entries and advance at the number 13, 14, and 15 positions.
Aaron Pass on Billy Jones/Carr High Rise.
31-year-old Aaron Pass and Utah’s Tyler Bingham both scored 91 points in the Semifinal round to split the win. Pass rode 462 Lil Willard; the top-scored bull within the THBRT bull team competition. Bingham, who finished fourth in the PRCA 2019 World Standings, was happy to get on and ride the familiar 370 Tequila Worm, a bull he watched Boudreaux Campbell earn 92.5 points on for round 6 win at the NFR.
Getting on his second unknown bull, Kimzey handled 49B Topline (Whisnant/Shaw) for 90.5 points. ,
"He was a little tougher, I knew him a little bit, he pulled me down, and I had to really sit and get back up and finish it off…it definitely got a little tough," said a smiling Kimzey.
Yeary made the most of a re-ride opportunity riding for 89.5, and Garret Jones turned in 86.5 on Rumble in the Jungle (Harris).
Stick Bull Riding,a fan favorite returned to Hobbs.
Shoot Out Round
With three NFR bucking bulls on the Shoot Out list of bulls, Bingham earned the right to pick first with his average on two 180. He wasted no time picking Danny Mason’s Money Maker.
Kimzey, with 177.5 on two, picked Burruss’s Hacksaw Ridge.
“I looked up the Shoot Out bulls and knew if that bull was not picked first by Tyler, I wanted him. I saw him all summer and saw him at the NFR, and Koby Radley rode him out there, and I really liked him and wanted to get on him,” said Kimzey about his winning bull pick.
Trey Kimzey wins Hobbs THBRT on NFR bull Hacksaw Ridge (Burruss) - 91.5 points.
Yeary in the third position, 176.5 selected 126 Black Gold, leaving Garret Jones, 176 on 2, to ride 53 Wired Up.
With the bull bucking into his hand, Jones was out first with a solid seat for 5 seconds then bucked off before the whistle. Out next was Brody Yeary, who was overpowered at 4.6 seconds and flew into the bucking chutes.
Kimzey, matching the bull's speed, stayed in rhythm jump for jump, working hard to stay forward. Waiting on the whistle, the bull changed direction in a last attempt to buck Kimzey off. Kimzey rode through the change and was rewarded 91.5 for his effort.
Tyler Bingham, 91.5 points on Danny Mason’s Money Maker. Bingham rode three to tie Kimzey for the win.
And then there was one. Bingham had his hands full from the gate opening. With Money Maker bucking into his hand Bingham made some big moves to get back up and stay on until the whistle. The judges scored their second 91.5 of the round.
THBRT rules send the decision to a tie-breaker judge who delivered the win to Kimzey.
Bull Team Challenge
The Hobbs THBRT Bull Team competition was worth $75,000 to the fifteen teams entered. After two hours of 19 qualified rides within the first two rounds, Billy Jones and Carr Pro Rodeo owned the team that left Hobbs with the 2020 Bull Team Competition championship.and a $25,000 check. Jones who collected two checks including a fifth-place finish as well had this to say about selecting his teams.
Tyler Bingham on Jones/Car NFR bull Butter Bean. Bingham was 89 points in the semi-final round
“I put the best bulls I had that I knew were solid and I knew what they were going to do, they all did just what I thought they would do. The team I won first with was the team I did not think would get ridden, the team that was fifth was the ones I though they would ride, so it proves sometimes its just luck,” laughed Jones as he picked up his $30,000 earnings checks.
Bingham riding NFR bull 370 Tequila Worm, the feature bull at Hobbs and part of the winning trio for the Jones/Carr bull team.
The top five highest scored bulls of the competition were led by a three-way tie of an 89.5 bull score. 462 Lil Willard, who assisted Aaron Pass to the Semi-final round win, Jones/Box K’s 155 River Monster who got the best of Hunter Ball in less than 3 seconds, and 505 Outerlimits (Burruss) who bucked off Cullen Telfer in 4.31 seconds. Right behind them was Whisnant and Shaw's 66B High Carbon bucking off NFR qualifier Reid Barker in 3.91 seconds with an 88.5 score. Rounding out the top five bulls in Hobbs was 775 I'm A Secret (Barker), who was no secret to Joseph McConnel, who lives in the same town but bucked off in 1.33 seconds.
Results
Hobbs THBRT Results
1, Trey Kimzey, Strong City, Oklahoma, 91.5 Points on Hacksaw Ridge (Burruss) $12,162.50. 2, Tyler Bingham, 91.5 points on Money Maker, $7,587.50. 3, Brody Yeary, 176.5 on Black Gold (Jones/Car) , $2,300. 4, Garrett Jones, 176 on Wired Up (Harris) 3, $2,300.
Hobbs Bull Team Results
1, Billy Jones/Carr Pro Rodeo, 283.71 points, Winnings $25,500. 2, Bob Whisnant/Shaw Cattle Co., 282.91, $20,250.00. 3, Richardson Land & Cattle, 279.91, $15,000. 4. Rawson Bucking Bulls, 276.35, $9,750.00. 5, Jones/Box K Cattle, 275.76 $4,500.
Retired Marine Johnny “Backflip” Johnny entertained the Hobbs THBR