January 25, 2019
by Terry Lidral
When stock contractor Kenny McElroy pulled into Chicago for the PRB Unleash the Beast Series Chicago Invitational, McElroy had high hopes that his star bull Big Black would start off the 2019 PBR season in his usual big score style. A PBR short round bull in the 2018 season, Big Black had set the stage for high expectations in his second season on the tour.
“Big Black was pretty impressive in 2018,” said McElroy about his 4-year-old bull bucking in his first season on the PBR Unleash the Beast Series. “He was in the running for both Classic Champion and the PBR World Championship. Big Black had the high marks at 3 ABBI Classic events (Oklahoma City, Oklahoma; Tulsa, Oklahoma; Little Rock, Arkansas). He had 11 outs in the PBR and had an average score of 44.30. ”
McElroy of K Bar C, who owns the bull with partners Joe and Nina Webb, took Big Black to the ABBI Maturity in Fort Worth, Texas in early January as a warm-up to get ready for the new PBR season where he won round 1 and came in 3rd overall. But McElroy still had reservations.
“I thought Big Black might be a little lazy after the lay-off. At the PBR Finals, some of the other contractors thought he had a little too much weight on him. It had sneaked up and I didn’t notice because I see him every day,” admitted McElroy. “So I spent the winter monitoring his weight.”
The K Bar C Ranch is in Mount Orab, Ohio where temperatures often dip down well below zero. For the bulls out to pasture, that means a diet of high-quality hay and plenty of it.
“In the cold here in Ohio, our outside bulls are fed differently. They eat more to keep their body heat up. They eat more round bales in the winter and they put on body weight,” McElroy told us. “I have a lot turned outside but I have a bull housing building where I keep Big Black and some others,” he continued. “The building has bigger pens and the bulls are out of the cold. I can keep their diet more the same so I can better maintain the weight of the bulls I house inside.”
With Big Black in good physical shape and rested, McElroy was ready to put his bull to the test in one of the toughest arenas in the PBR.
“The dirt in Chicago is a sandy kind of clay. It’s hard to get a good push off from it,” McElroy told us.
Big Black had established a pattern of quick buck-off times and high bull scores. And when he was ridden, Big Black had combined with the rider to put big scores up on the leader board. McElroy wasn’t sure that the dirt would support his bull’s bucking style.
When he saw that Chase Outlaw had Big Black in the short go, McElroy knew that there was a good chance Big Black might get ridden. But he also knew that if Outlaw did make the 8 seconds, the score could well be big.
“I love Chase,” said McElroy of one of the riders on the circuit who gives his all each and every time. “Any guy should be happy to have him on the back of his bull. He’s a good kid who loves what he does. He gets in and out of the chute and doesn’t mess around in the box. He lets the bulls perform – he lets them buck. He has a great respect for the bulls. If he gets thrown off, he takes it all in stride.”
Outlaw did indeed make a qualified ride on Big Black for a score of 90.25. And McElroy was pleased with Big Black’s bull score of 43.75.
“I think it could have been a higher score,” laughed McElroy who, like all contractors wanted a little more in the score for his bull. “It was a huge ride and Chase did a great job.”
With his impressive start to the new season, The McElorys will make sure that Big Black is kept in top physical condition over the course of the PBR tour.
“When Big Black gets home, my wife, Christy weighs him and gives him a Magna Wave treatment,” Kenny McElroy told us. “The treatment increases the blood flow to take out any muscular soreness. After every 2 events, he gets a day at the spa and chiropractic treatments.”
As far as diet, McElroy has a very structured schedule to maintain Big Black’s physical shape.
“He gets my mix 2 times a day – 8 pounds in the morning and 8 pounds at night. And, as basic maintenance, he gets joint supplements to keep him strong.”
With good maintenance and care, and with the good start Big Black had to the 2019 PBR season, McElroy expects his star’s second year on the PBR Unleash the Beast Tour to be at least as good as season 1.
“Big Black is a bull that loves what he does,” explained McElroy. “He still comes running and bucking and shaking his head all excited to get on the truck.”
One of Big Black’s strongest points is that he handles everything associated with the top level PBR events. That includes the bright lights, the fireworks, standing in the chute and coping with the tight ropes and sheer strength of the best riders in the world of bull riding.
“This bull is up for anything. He doesn’t care,” said McElroy with confidence. “The more rope they give him, the ranker he gets. I’m excited to see what he does this year.”
With his start in Chicago, Big Black is showing every sign of making another bid at the title of PBR World Champion Bull. And this year, he just might win it!
Author: Terry Lidral
Terry Lidral is a western writer/journalist who lives in Idaho. She is the publisher and editor of the online magazine Bucking Stock Talk and the online magazine Western Living Journal. Her publishing credits include Storyteller for Real American Cowboy Magazine, writing feature articles for Humps N Horns Magazine as well as a wide variety of national and international web sites, historical magazines and news publications. She is known for her "up close and personal" profiles of celebrities and industry moguls such as NPR's Tom Bodett; PBR's Wiley Petersen and D.H. Page, PRCA's Sammy Andrews, Cindy Rosser and Julio Moreno to name a few. She has been applauded for her way of making a personal connection between her readers and her subjects. She indulges in her love of rodeo by serving as an associate board member for the Caldwell Night Rodeo. She is also an accomplished trainer and handler in dog agility. Her shelties Amelie and Milo are titled in NADAC, USDAA and AKC.
