‘A bad cat’

Jesus wins average race at CBR World Finals

WINDOW ROCK

In his debut, Navajo bull rider Cody Jesus proved his worth at the CBR World Finals in Cheyenne, Wyoming.

In conjunction with the Cheyenne Frontier Days Rodeo, the CBR Finals concluded on Tuesday night with the Sawmill, Arizona cowboy emerging as the average winner.

Jesus, who was unavailable for an interview on Wednesday morning, covered five bulls for an aggregate of 357 points, which included a 92.5-point ride in the CBR World Finals Shoot Out Round on Tuesday night. According to a CBR press release his two-day haul came out to $41,050.

“It’s exciting to see a young guy come into a big event and deliver,” four-time world champion Tuff Hedeman said in the release. “It is extremely difficult to be successful at a high level and he was riding with extreme confidence, which is a very important factor in bull riding.”

Earlier this year, Jesus won the CBR event title at Bucking on the Rio Grande by riding two of three draws in Rio Rancho, N.M. with an aggregate of 181 points.

Jesus said winning that event was a big accomplishment and that performance allowed him to take part in the elite Road to Cheyenne Tour.

Within the tour Jesus entered seven other events and had some success leading to world finals as he moved up to No. 4 in the CBR world standings with 1,159 points.

He finished behind three-time champion Sage Kimzey (2,477), Eli Vastbinder (2,471) and Boudreaux Campbell (1,844).

“He’s a bad cat, we witnessed the start of a long illustrious career and it’s happening right now for Cody,” Kimzey said. “Last year in Window Rock he ask me to pull his rope and he was a pile of points and I knew he would be one to watch.”

Read next week’s paper for an in-depth report on Jesus winning the average race.

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