Oklahoma cowboy wins big

Matt Palmer knows exactly where his Friday night earnings are going to go — to his dentist.

Palmer was the only man to cover both of his bulls during Friday’s edition of the Extreme Bull Riding Challenge, which was held at the Brown County Fairgrounds. Having scored an 84 coming into the short go, Palmer just needed a full eight seconds on his second ride.

“I knew before I got on that bull, just because they bucked him last night, my buddy was saying he was just going to be right there around the right,” Palmer said. “He ended up going left. ... He kind of surprised me. He sure bucked more than I was thinking he would.”

For his part, Palmer rode out the surprise — and then some. The Claremore, Okla., cowboy put up a 90-point ride on the last bull of the night, securing his spot atop the leader board.

It was the dismount that got him, however.

“The whistle blew and I knew I needed to get off,” Palmer said. “I pulled my tail and the bull ended up slipping. Front or back, I don’t really know. All I knew was he whipped me right there and caught me in the mouth.”

Palmer’s bull continued to the ground on the slip, and by the time the two finally separated, Palmer was sore, and a bit bloody. The smack to the face chipped a couple teeth.

“Those bullfighters are good,” Palmer said. “They got me out of harm’s way.”

With his combined score of 174, Palmer easily outdistanced the rest of the field, which saw just three total qualified rides out of 32 tries in the long go. None of the nine men that climbed aboard ahead of Palmer in the short go stayed on long enough to qualify, leaving victory in Palmer’s grasp.

Palmer said he was headed back to Oklahoma after this weekend’s two-day event to pass his earnings along to the dentist, but added he’d be back on the bulls as soon as he could.

“Load me up right now, I’ll get back on,” he said. “I’m ready.”