by Terry Lidral
Last year, in 2018, #35 Spotted Demon was the PRCA Bucking Bull of the Year and the WNFR Bucking Bull of the Finals. He put up an impressive number of big bull scores, including a 47 during his summer run on the PRCA circuit. In the PBR, Spotted Demon was in the running for Bucking Bull of the Year and combined with Marco Eguchi at the Unleash the Beast PBR Finals for a score of 94. Not bad for a bull going on 11 years old.
But by the end of the 2018 PBR Finals, it was being said that #35 Spotted Demon had lost a step. And from his performance on some of his outs at the PBR Finals, there were signs that Julio Moreno’s 10-year-old bull might not be competing at the age of 11.
“Spotted Demon wasn’t himself at the PBR Finals last year,” stock contractor Julio Moreno told us. “He didn’t want to get on the truck and he was bucking different. He didn’t have the excitement he always has when he bucks. When he gets like that, it’s usually because he has bad feet.”
When Moreno acquired Spotted Demon in a deal with Dallas Schott, Moreno realized early on that the big bull had some foot issues.
“He’s big and he puts on weight,” Moreno related the facts. “If he gets a flake more of hay a day or more grain, that bull puts on weight. I think I could feed him rocks and he’d get fat,” Moreno joked. “And I realized that when he got heavy, he got sore feet,” he added in a more serious tone.
It’s the down time that can spell trouble for Spotted Demon. Hanging out on the ranch between competitions is when the big bull tends to get bigger.
“That bull is like a college football player home on vacation from college,” said Moreno with a laugh. “He’s a real couch potato just hanging out. He’s an overgrown boy who tends to get fat. I have to be extra careful what I feed him.”
In January, with the time off after the WNFR, Spotted Demon developed another foot problem. This time it was serious. He ended up at the University of California, Davis vet center for treatment of what turned out to be an abscess in his foot.
“If I feed the bull too much protein, he can have foot problems. Also, all the rain and wet weather we had were not good for his feet,” said Moreno of the problems that have plagued the bull since Moreno purchased him at the age of 8. “He loves to travel and he wasn’t wanting to come in to get on the trailer. He was having different types of trips.”
Knowing something was majorly wrong, Moreno made the trip to UC Davis. The treatment was successful, but Spotted Demon needed time to heal and rehab.
“He missed two months of bull riding,” Moreno told us. “He missed several PBR events while he was getting better.”
With an established and regulated exercise and nutrition program, Moreno was able to get his big bull back into top performance shape.
“I exercise him every day. I run him up
and down my 500-foot barn. I go with
him, sometimes on my horse and sometimes on my bicycle so I get some exercise
too,” Moreno continued. “Spotted Demon
loves to play. He’ll get over in the
corner in the manure pile and dig. He
throws his head up and throws stuff all over the place. I always have to tell him to come on and get
back to work.”
Once healed, Spotted Demon returned to competition with the attitude of a winner.
“There were people who said Spotted Demon had lost a step. He sure proved them wrong in Reno,” said Moreno of the bull who was marked high bull of the Xtreme Bulls event in Reno. Nevada in June of this year. “He was marked a 47 and he bucked J.W. Harris off. He’s very, very, very good if he got J.W. Harris, the 4-time PRCA champ, off his back.”
In March, Spotted Demon was the high marked bull of the Pendleton Whisky Velocity Tour event at Fresno, California with a bull score of 45. The bull bucked Marco Eguchi off in 2.19 seconds in the championship round.
“Spotted Demon got revenge against the guy who rode him for 94 points at the PBR Finals last November. The bull won that deal,” said Moreno proudly.
There was some down time for Spotted Demon between the Reno Xtreme Bulls event and his next competition, a PRCA rodeo in St. Paul, Oregon. To make sure his bull didn’t suffer ill effects from his time on the ranch, Moreno made sure the bull was on a regular routine for feeding and exercise. And, according to Moreno, Spotted Demon likes routine.
“He’s very smart,” said Moreno of the bull that has gained super star status. “He’s real scheduled. His feeding schedule is at 8 o’clock and he’ll talk to you and tell you, ‘Hurry up and feed me.’ If I come out at 9, he’s mad and he lets me know. He’ll holler at me. It’s not a loud beller. It’s soft and low. And if he wants his water rinsed or filled, he’ll let you know about it.”
In St. Paul, Spotted Demon proved once again he’s one of the best bulls out there by earning a 45.5-point bull score to be the high marked bull of the event.
“That bull still has what it takes to win,” said Moreno about the bull who may be nearing retirement. “I know he’s 11 and I don’t buck him week in and week out. And I don’t know if we’ll make enough events for him to be in the running for the PBR World Champion. But I’ll let him make the decision as to when he’s winding down his career. He will tell me when it’s time to quit.”
When it’s time to quit, Spotted Demon will be sorely missed.
“He’s a fan favorite,” said Moreno. “People root for him because he’s 11 years old.”
There’s no guarantee that Spotted Demon will be bucking next year at the age of 12. But, he will keep right on bucking until he decides it’s time to head for the ranch and a life of ease with his cows.
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.
Love to watch him. Good to know that he is well cared for buy a man that cares.