(PHOTO BY RIC ANDERSEN)
SAN ANGELO, Texas – Keep a starving man away from food, he’ll only get hungrier.
Keep a bull rider away from the arena, he’ll only crave it more. Ky Hamilton has lived it over the last month, but he feasted Sunday afternoon during the San Angelo Xtreme Bulls at Foster Communications Coliseum.
Hamilton rode two bulls for a cumulative score of 175.5 points to outdistance runner-up Parker Breding by five points and claim the prestigious Xtreme Bulls buckle awarded to winners of top-tier events. He also collected $11,757 and nearly doubled his season earnings in one fell swoop.
“It’s pretty exciting, especially after having four weeks off, missing The American and not being able to finish off Houston,” said Hamilton, who suffered a lacerated kidney during a wreck at the PBR Global Cup inside AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas on March 5. “It felt good to capitalize at a bigger Xtreme Bulls of the year and win some good money.”
Hamilton started off the day by riding Rafter H Rodeo’s Night Prowler for 85 points, finishing second in the opening go-round to Trevor Kastner, who rode Pete Carr Pro Rodeo’s Marbrol Man for 86.5 points. Hamilton then was one of only two cowboys to cover their bulls for the qualifying eight seconds in the championship round, matching moves with Carr’s Time Bomb for 90.5 points.
“I’ve never been on him before, but he was a big brahma, and I like the look of them big, cool bulls,” said Hamilton of Mackay, Queensland, Australia; he moved to the United States a few years ago to attend Odessa (Texas) College and Sul Ross State University in Alpine, Texas. “I was excited when I seen him. He was a handful; he had me working the whole time, and I kept trying and it paid off.”
Yes, it did. His earnings so far in San Angelo will move him into seventh place in the Xtreme Bulls standings. It should also move him from 43rd to inside the top 25 of the world standings. Hamilton rode earlier this week and scored 85.5 points to be in good position to advance to the San Angelo Stock Show and Rodeo’s championship round Friday night.
He’s on the kind of roll he needs to return to the National Finals Rodeo for the third straight year. He finished last year eighth in the world standings and was fourth in 2020.
“I don’t like to call it momentum, because that’s how I expect myself to ride all the time,” Hamilton said. “When you do good, it certainly boosts your confidence and makes it easier.”
He can now carry that tenacity into Friday night and hope to claim the rodeo’s title, too. Returning to San Angelo for the short round is always a goal of cowboys who compete for a living.
“That building’s pretty cool,” he said. “It’s always jampacked inside there, and it’s always electric. It’s a good atmosphere, and it’s a really well-run rodeo and Xtreme Bulls. They know how to run a good rodeo in San Angelo. It’s a great event.”
San Angelo Xtreme Bulls
April 10
First round: 1. Trevor Kastner, 86.5 points on Pete Carr Pro Rodeo’s Marbrol Man, $3,236; 2. Ky Hamilton, 85, $2,481; 3. (tie) Grayson Cole and Parker Breding, 84.5, $1,510 each; 5. (tie) Sage Kimzey and Tristen Hutchings, 83.5, $647 each; 7. Hayes Weight, 82.5, $431; 8. Trey Kimzey, 78.5, $324. Championship round: 1. Ky Hamilton, 90.5 points on Pete Carr Pro Rodeo’s Time Bomb, $3,883; 2. Parker Breding, 86, $3,308; no other qualified rides. Average: 1. Ky Hamilton, 175.5 points on two rides, $5,393; 2. Parker Breding, 170.5, $4,135; 3. Trevor Kastner, 86.5 points on one ride, $3,056; 4. Grayson Cole, 84.5, $1,978; 5 (tie) Sage Kimzey and Tristen Hutchings, 835, $1,079 each; 7. Hayes Weight, 82.5, $719; 8. Trey Kimzey, 78.5, $539.