By: James Youness
PUEBLO, Colo. – Competing on Unleash The Beast since the 2018 season, Window Rock, Arizona, native Cody Jesus has been searching for his first premier series event buckle for nearly six years now.
Which is quite the unlucky streak, all things considered.
But also an homage to just how hard it can be to string three or four rides together in the same weekend, let alone making sure those scores are higher than 39 or so competitors.
At the opposite end of the spectrum, the industry has seen quite the outlier of early successes for some of the tour’s newest riders, with Caden Bunch exiting this year’s tour-opener in Tucson, Arizona, with a huge win during his premier series debut.
Not to mention fellow rookie Cassio Dias, who not only secured a career-first Unleash The Beast win during his second-ever premier series appearance in St. Louis, Missouri, but followed it up with a second-consecutive event buckle the following weekend in Johnstown, Pennsylvania.
Finishing just 3.25 points behind Dias in the aggregate of the tour’s top-ranked rider in Johnstown?
You guessed it!
Taking home 125.5 UTB points and a respectable check for $22,580, it wasn’t a “loss” for Jesus by any means. But with the instance marking the fourth time in his career he came up just short of the glory, it sure wasn’t the “win” he was searching for.
While we can’t confirm or deny the close call forced the 25-year-old into a bit of a funk, the fact that he went on to post just one qualified ride throughout the next four premier series events (1-for-10) suggests he wasn’t in the greatest spot.
“Oh, for sure. I was losing some ground there and I figured this was a good opportunity to make it back up,” Jesus said.
“I saw my first-round bull and he was good enough to get me a good pick.”
Any time riders see the name Blake Sharp associated with an animal athlete, arguably one of the world’s best stock contractors, they know they’ve got a chance for points.
But any time Jesus sees the name, there’s a little more skin on the line, as the two have been friends for quite some time now.
“I heard Blake hollering at me, telling me to keep riding. That’s probably the only thing I heard the whole ride, just him hollering at me,” he shared.
“He kept me going through the whole ride, kept me aggressive. To get a good bull like that from Blake and have him holler for you, that’s pretty cool.”
After a brief celebration on the dirt, Jesus climbed into the chutes and beelined it for the stock contractor, immediately shaking his hand and sharing a few smiles and words.
And perhaps a ‘Happy birthday,’ or two, as Sharp was celebrating the special day doing what he loves most.
With big opportunities come big points, but it’s Sharp’s ability to consistently bring the best bulls in the world to these star-studded events that keep his revered status alive.
Tying for the round lead courtesy of his flashy 88.5-point conversion dancing with Flatliner, the conversion was exactly what the struggling cowboy needed.
“I’ve just been on a lot of his bulls and seen him around a lot. I respect a guy like Blake when he brings a lot of good talent to town,” Jesus said.
“He’s helped me with my feeding program at the house. He’s helped me get my bulls stout enough. I had a few that wouldn’t put weight on for nothing, so I was talking to Blake a little bit and we got them turned around.”
While Jesus admitted to potentially being interested in the stock contractor side of the equation once his riding days are over, the pointers he’s received from Sharp aren’t necessarily for the future.
They’re to make sure he’s bringing his A-game this year.
“If I don’t do good, I like to go home and get on some bulls,” Jesus added.
“These bulls are so big here, so that’s what I have to have around the house. I should’ve rode my second-round bull, but it happens. He kind of wanted me on his head there the first two times around but it was just a fight the whole time. I don’t think there was a time where I felt I was comfortable on him.”
Unable to meet the requisite 8, dispatched by The Show in 5.28 seconds, he elected to go head-to-head with Chateau Montelena’s Montana Jacket in the short round.
Getting a second bull rode for the first time since Johnstown (Dec. 8-10), Jesus commanded the attention of the arena on his way to earning the top spot on the leaderboard.
Proving he’d make the right choice in the draft and equally excited to get the deed done, Jesus enjoyed the spotlight. For the time being, at least.
“He’s just solid and he bucks every time,” Jesus shared of his showdown with Montana Jacket.
“Every time I see him, he bucks, and they’re always 90 on him. So, that’s kind of what I was left with down there (in the bull draft selection order) and I thought he’d be good.”
Just a few moments later, however, after bringing a 2-for-2 record into the short go, Wingson Henrique da Silva went on to complete his flawless 3-for-3 weekend courtesy of a 90-point strike atop I’m Legit Too.
Quickly exiting the chutes while falling to the No. 2 spot in the aggregate, Jesus collected his things and made his way to the locker room, knowing the prized feat was officially out of reach.
While it would’ve been easy for the talent to retract into a similar, frustrated mood, he instead watched on as one of his brothers captured the career-first win of his own career.
“I was just coming back here to pack my stuff up and watch Wingson on the TV, here,” he shared in the locker room.
“I knew he would ride I’m Legit Too pretty dang easy, so I knew I wasn’t going to win it. I knew I’d be up there with Wingson, but he had a good pick and I knew there was no way he was falling off that bull.”
Being a good sport while saluting the dedicated fans who came out to support the Texas Rattlers’ riders, his freshly claimed No. 3 rank and corresponding check for $24,873 were quite the consolation prize.
But if we had to guess, he’d trade in both take-homes for one of those shiny buckles.
“It’s great to see so many fans coming out and wearing the Texas Rattlers shirts and hoodies, so it’s pretty cool to step up and ride like that, for sure,” he added.
A step in the right direction, no doubt. But still one spot short of the ultimate goal.
That won’t stop Jesus from chasing the elusive win though. If anything, it’ll be that much sweeter when his night finally comes around.
“I’m just going to keep being patient. It frustrated me for a long time that I haven’t gotten an event win yet, but I’m just going to keep riding,” Jesus offered.
“I’m starting to figure out these championship rounds and being smarter with my picks, so I just need to stack two or three of them up next week in Sacramento and we’ll go in there with a good pick and hopefully that’ll be it.”
Whether he’ll be able to rebound from yet another close call or fall into another slump inside Golden 1 Center this weekend?
Well, that’s what we buck them for: To find out who will be crowned the 2024 World Champion!
Photo courtesy of Todd Brewer/Bull Stock Media
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