Earning a piece of the pie: Local stock contractor bucks ‘Black Harbor’ at Ty Murray Invite

ALBUQUERQUE

Local stock contractor Johnyatt Begay is continuing to strengthen his ties with the Professional Bull Riders association.

Over the weekend, Begay had one bull – Black Harbor – showcase his abilities at this year’s Ty Murray Invitational as the 5 year-old bovine bucked off two elite competitors in the PBR’s Unleash the Beast series at the Pit in Albuquerque.

Begay would have entered another bull from his 4B Bucking Bulls lineup, but he had a scheduling conflict. In addition to the PBR event in Albuquerque, Begay bucked a few of his high caliber bulls at the INFR Painted Desert Stand Alone Rodeo in Holbrook on Saturday.

“I had to split my bulls, but this one here has been bucking pretty good,” Begay said of Black Harbor. “His bull scores have been pretty high.”

On Friday night, Brazilian bull rider Julio Cesar Marques lasted only 2.56 seconds while Texas cowboy Dalton Kasel went 5.23 seconds on his prized bull on Sunday afternoon. Black Harbor was purchased last May right after the PBR World Finals in Fort Worth.

“I was coming home and I stopped at a guys place in Amarillo and I looked at some bulls,” Begay said. “You know, just his physique, his posture and how he looked caught my eye. You know, there was something about him and we ended up making a deal there.

And while Black Harbor bucked at other PBR events previously, the white-faced bull was not a finished product.

“When we brought him home, come to find out he was a real firecracker in the chutes,” Begay said. “He kind of fought with us in the chute there, so it would be kind of hard for guys to get out on him clean.”

Needless to say, it took endless hours of work for Begay to fine-tune Black Harbor’s stance in the chute. He put the bull through different chute procedures at least four times a week. He also ran him in the arena three times a week for his exercise.

But once he got Black Harbor dialed in, he sent videos to Riley Gagnon, the PBR livestock producer.

“I told him, I think I got one,” Begay said. Gagnon then agreed to buck Black Harbor in the first event of the 2025 season in Ontario, California.

“We took him there and he did really good,” Begay said. “He showcased a lot and he bucked good. From there, he just kept going and going. We went to Denver, Bakersfield, Sacramento, Salt Lake City, Reno and Albuquerque.

“Hopefully, we can get him to Billings and Nampa before the World Finals,” Begay added.

Black Harbor is one of two bulls that Begay is very enthused about coming from his herd. His other top bull is Midnight City.

“Midnight City went on a 39-0 buck-off streak in the PBR,” Begay said. “They rode him in Palms Springs last weekend. That was the first time they rode him.

“He’s up there, too,” he added. “I think Midnight City and Black Harbor are two of my top bulls going out. The reason why I say that is because they’re so big. They got the attitude and the ability to buck hard.”

Midnight City was not part of the draw at the Ty Murray Invitational. Instead, Begay bucked him at the INFR Painted Desert Stand Alone Rodeo in Holbrook on Saturday.

“It worked out perfectly,” Begay said of the two events coinciding the same weekend. “I had bulls out Friday here (at the Pit). I went back to the Navajo Nation and I bucked there. And then I was able to come back here for (Sunday’s) performance.

“I’m trying to qualify my bulls for the Indian National Finals Rodeo and I’m trying to qualify them for the PBR World Finals,” he added.

The event in Albuquerque was Begay’s third time bringing one of his prized bulls to buck at the Ty Murray Invite. It’s something that the Rabbit Brush, New Mexico stock contractor takes pride in.

“It means a whole lot,” Begay said. “I mean, to get to this elite level itself, you know, is, is a huge accomplishment. We’re not where we want to be, as far as the amount of bulls we take to events, but just to be able to be part of the PBR Unleash the Beast series is a big deal.

“You know, we take it pretty seriously,” he added. “It feels pretty good to have bulls, you know, amongst the top contenders like Blake Sharp, Gino and JW Hart. It’s guys that I look up to, and to be competing right next to them feels pretty special.”

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