by Terry Lidral
Featured image courtesy of Bull Stock Media
PBR World Champ Kody Lostroh has special memories associated with the great bull Troubadour. It was Troubadour who matched up with Lostroh for multiple 90 point rides, helping Lostroh reach the pinnacle of success in the sport of bull riding, the PBR World Championship. Troubadour also connected Lostroh to a friendship with Mikel Moreno, a much- loved young man whose knowledge and passion for bucking bulls led to major advancements in the genetics of bucking bull breeding programs.
Lostroh and Troubadour seemed to just click. They met a total of 4 times in the PBR arena. Each time they put together 90 plus point scores, 3 of them in the season Lostroh won the title of PBR World Champion.
Kody Lostroh, 2009 PBR World Champ, was a 10-time PBR World Finals qualifier. Over the course of his career, he had a total of 51 rides totaling 90 points or more. He was inducted into the PBR Ring of Honor in 2023. https://nationalcowboymuseum.org/collections/awards/pbr/honorees/kody-lostroh/
“Talking about my most memorable bull, Troubadour stands out for the success I had with him in the arena. He was one of the few bulls I really got along well with,” Lostroh said of his most memorable choice. “There were 2 things I really liked about him. You could be a lot of points on him. And, he was a really honest bull. You knew what was coming and if you did your job you could win on him.”
“The first time I rode Troubadour, it was the first time he’d been ridden in the PBR,” Lostroh said. “That was in Portland in 2008 and it was for a score of 93.5 points. It felt good to be the first guy to get him rode.”
Bucking bull Troubadour had a stellar career in the PBR. He was the Classic World Champion, PBR Bull of the Finals, Runner-up for the PBR Bull of the Year and NFR bull of the Finals. Over the span of his illustrious career, Troubadour made over $300,000 in earnings. His record included 60 attempted rides with 45 buck-offs with an average ride score of 90.83. His PBR record included 29 outs with an average bull score of 45.872 (22.938).
“Troubadour had no tricks. He was just really good at his job,” Lostroh told us about the bull’s personality. “He was pretty calm and stood right in the middle of the chute until it was time to go.”
“That bull was hard bodied which was different to pull a rope on,” he continued. “The rope got tight quicker and you could get out of the chute faster.”
Lostroh’s memories of Troubadour include a special friendship with Mikel Moreno, the son of Cindy Rosser and Julio Moreno. Not only was Moreno a much-loved part of the PBR community, he was an innovator in the development of bucking bull genetics. When Troubadour was a calf, Mikel picked him to be a great one.
Mikel Jay Moreno was only 18 years old when he succumbed to leukemia in 2006. He had a passion for bucking bulls and he had a vision of creating the greatest bucking bull in the history of the industry. That is a mighty big vision for anyone. But for a young man barely a teenager, it is one heck of a big dream. But Mikel’s skill and knowledge in developing bucking bull genetics matched his passion and the vision became a reality in Bushwacker, recognized as one of the greatest bulls to ever buck.
“Mikel was an amazing young man. I was thankful for the time we spent together,” said Lostroh of the young man struck down by leukemia. “I visited Mikel in the hospital and he told me all about his bulls. He really loved bulls and he loved life. He had a great attitude even though it was a tough time for him. He made a great impact on me.”
Lostroh’s memories of Mikel Moreno made the rides on Troubadour extra-special. Mikel had passed before Troubadour had made a name for himself in the PBR. But for Lostroh, there was a special connection during his rides on Mikel’s bull.
Lostroh’s association with Troubadour carried into his breeding program. He was able to put Troubadour genetics into his herd thanks to a gift from Mikel’s dad.
“After I won the Worlds, Julio Moreno gave me a heifer out of Troubadour. And she was a producer. She had some successful futurity calves and a bull that had a successful career on the PBR tour.”
Kody Lostroh believed in hard work and practice. His dedicated work on practice bulls led him to a world championship. Read more here: https://buckingstocktalk.com/pbr-world-champ-kody-lostroh-talks-about-the-value-of-practice-bulls/
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.