by Terry Lidral
36Z Rebel Yell II launched into the 2019 PBR season with a score of 44.75 at the PBR Unleash the Beast Series U.S. Border Patrol Invitational in Atlanta, Georgia. That score placed him right in the middle of PBR’s Top Ten Bulls list. And it looked like Rebel Yell II was headed for a career high season. But, just like the human competitors of the PBR, bulls get injuries that take them out of competition. And, for Rebel Yell II, the injury he sustained on April 26th during the Columbus Invitational meant the end of his career as a bucking bull.
“He’s a big bull,” said his owner and stock contractor Rickey West of Rickey West Bucking Bulls. “Rebel Yell II weighs 1700 pounds and he could really get in the air. He’d leave the chute 3 to 4 feet off the ground and kick over his head. He’d put the weight on those front legs. That was hard on him physically.”
At the age of 7, Rebel Yell II had had a history checkered with injuries that had intermittently sidelined him from competition. And those injuries all stemmed from his extreme athleticism – his kick and power when he bucked.
It was that kick and athleticism that attracted West’s attention to the bull when he was a 2-year-old. He was out of 032, a Showtime son, bred to cow 346, a Locke and Loaded daughter. Showtime, the sire to Bruiser, Long John and Margy Time, is legendary for putting the kick, athleticism and power into his progeny.
“H.D. Page raised the bull and a friend of mine from Tennessee bought some 2-year-old bulls from Page, including Rebel Yell II. I thought the Showtime bloodline crossed over Locke and Loaded was a good cross. I called my friend every week and asked him, ‘Won’t you sell me that bull?’ He wasn’t bucking him and so he finally sold him to me as a 3-year old. That was in 2015. ”
Rebel Yell II didn’t make a good futurity bull and that’s why he wasn’t being bucked. At 3, West started him out with riders and moved him into the amateur ranks.
“Kick doesn’t win in the futurities,” West explained. “That bull didn’t spin. To win a futurity, the bull has to have spin. But he had kick. And what you look for if a bull is going to go to the next level and have a career is kick. That’s where a bull gets his power. And kick is genetic. You can teach spin, but you can’t teach kick.”
“I never bothered to buck Rebel Yell II with a dummy,” continued West. “I started him right out as a rider bull. I bucked him at the house and I was hauling bulls to amateur events so I took him along. It was the week before the Jerome Davis Classic and I was taking bulls to an amateur event so I brought Rebel to give him another trip. And that’s when it all clicked for that bull. He really put it all together!”
West hadn’t entered Rebel Yell II in the Jerome Davis Classic, but he wanted to.
“I called Jerome and asked if there was a spot open in his Classic and he said he thought there was. He told me to call the office Monday and I did. I got Rebel entered and that bull won second in the Jerome Davis Classic as a 3-year-old.”
“I thought Rebel was good enough to enter in the ABBI Lifetime Derby,” continued West. “But I didn’t have a spot. I was able to lease one and entered him in Vegas that year.”
It was the Fall of 2015 and there was a young cowboy from Montana looking to prove himself by riding a rank one at the Derby. That cowboy just happened to draw Rebel Yell II.
“With a bull like Rebel, I wanted to draw the best guy there to show him off. There was a scrawny kid who drew Rebel by the name of Jess Lockwood and everybody told me he was good. Lockwood didn’t last a second on the back of that bull. Rebel kicked out and turned back and that was it for the kid. That’s when Rebel first got noticed.”
In 2016, as a 4-year-old, Rebel Yell II started out the new season at the ABBI Classic event in Oklahoma City and took second place beating bulls like Cut the Cord, Udder Lover, Voo Doo Too, Glory Days and Losing My Religion.
“Rebel had a couple of trips between Vegas and the ABBI Classic in Oklahoma City and he was feeling good. He got Reubens Barbosa in Oklahoma City and Rebel threw Barbosa clean off,” West told us. “I carried the bull to some classic events and I started to notice that he wasn’t quite himself. And then he had a bad trip.”
So, West took Rebel Yell II to a veterinarian. It was determined that the bull was really sore and needed rest.
“I let Rebel rest and then I took him to the PBR Touring Pro event in Ocala, Florida where he was scored a 46. And then I took him home and let him rest.”
The next stop for Rebel Yell II was the J.W. Hart Classic where the bull placed in the top 5. And then West took him home for some more rest.
“The next event was the Jerome Davis Classic where it all started for Rebel. This time he won the event. Rebel qualified for the ABBI Finals so I took him home to get rested up for Vegas. He didn’t have a good trip at the Finals and so I took him to a veterinarian and gave him some more rest.”
But this time, Rebel Yell II wasn’t getting better so West took him to the University of Auburn Veterinary Center.
“I finally ended up taking him to an equine performance vet in Tennessee who was able to pinpoint the problem as sciatic nerve pain in his back. The vet gave him anti-inflammatory medicine and prescribed rest.”
West gave Rebel some time off, then tried him at a couple of events. The bull didn’t have his normal trips. So West decided to give his bull the remainder of the season to recover and see how it went.
When West finally did bring Rebel back out to buck, he was pleased with what he saw.
“In February 2018, I took Rebel to the Touring Pro event in Okeechobee, Florida. Zane Cook was the rider and Rebel really performed. He bucked Zane off and Rebel was marked a 44.”
Unfortunately things didn’t go the way West had hoped. Rebel Yell II came up sore and West considered retiring his bull. But that wasn’t what Rebel Yell II had in mind.
“Back in the Fall of last year, my wife told me I should watch Rebel when I came in and went out with a load of bulls,” said West with a chuckle. “And sure enough, when he’d see me with the truck, he’d jump and kick and go to bucking. He bucked harder than anything I had on the truck. He wanted to get on the truck and go.”
So Rebel Yell II rested until the new season and then he got his chance to show his stuff.
“I brought him back out at the beginning of this year. He was healed up and I figured he was ready to go to Atlanta. So, I called Cody Lambert and he put Rebel in. That bull bucked like a 4-year-old and ended up with a bull score of 44.75.”
With high hopes Rebel Yell II was going to stay healthy, West headed for the PBR UTB Invitational in Columbus, Ohio.
“I carried Rebel to Columbus. Rebel blowed up and kicked and got Rubens Barbosa off.”
But the out didn’t end well.
“I got called back to the pens to check on Rebel because he wasn’t acting right,” said West. “I could see right off that he was sore. So I took him home and retired him for good. I won’t ever buck him again.”
Rebel Yell II’s retirement is not a total disappointment for West. Rebel is showing promise of being a first class sire. While the bull was resting with the sciatic nerve issue, West put him out with cows and now there is a crop of calves that have their daddy’s kick.
“His calves are phenomenal,” said West with enthusiasm. “One of the traits Rebel throws is his kick and every one of his calves has that. Now that he’s retired, he’s going to spend his time out with the cows.”
And Rebel Yell II’s calves all carry his signature.
“Rebel has another trait he passes on to his calves. If you look at all of Rebel’s calves, you’ll see a round white patch the size of a fifty cent piece on the left side. Every one of them has it.”
As far as personality goes, Rebel Yell II has plenty.
“This bull’s got a great personality and he’s smart. You call to him and he’ll hold his head up and look at you. But he’s not a pet,” said West. “You can’t walk up and scratch him. He’s his own boss.”
West has no second thoughts about retiring Rebel Yell II. It’s a decision he’s satisfied with and he is very proud of the great trips the bull has had over the course of his career.
“I’ve never seen a bull, when Rebel was healthy and he wanted to, kick as hard and as high as Rebel Yell II. What I’m looking forward to most is watching his sons develop and carry on Rebel’s trait of that great kick.”
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.
sorry Rickey for having to retire him may the lord bless yall this coming weekend. in rainsville love you .man the kids ain’t kids no no they grown up and become adults.merry Christmas happy new .Bossman love yall.