Three hours of bull riding action and other related “bull” events entertained a full house on Saturday evening at the Lincoln County Fairgrounds, with one of the event favorites overcoming several injuries to win the 2010 Superbull championship and the majority of the $18,000 purse.

J.B. Mauney, currently ranked number seven in the world on the Professional Bull Riders (PBR) circuit did what he was supposed to do by the end of a perfect evening in Afton.

He won.

Mauney, who collected an 85-point ride in the long go, was one of nine riders out of 40 who was able to move onto the finals.  After most of the riders could not complete a second go of eight seconds, Colby Yates scored an 89 to put himself into the conversation for the event crown.

The euphoria was short-lived as Jacoby Elliott of Fredericksburg, Texas, delighted the crowd with an impressive 91-point ride to take command of the evening.

Known as a clutch rider with more 90-point rides than anyone else on the tour, Mauney then stepped up to add to his myth with a clutch 91-point ride of his own.  Elliott’s 84-point ride in the long portion gave him second place.

Colby Yates was the first rider to hang on in the short program as he notched an 89 on a crowd favorite bull named “Booger Butt” but had to settle for third.

Mauney was visibly limping after the final ride and holding a motionless right arm at an angle in addition to what the announcer referred to as a condition of separated ribs.

The night included 51 bull rides in all from some of the top contractors in the sport, with a slate of mini-bulls as well.

Renato Nunes, the top-ranked rider on the tour had verbally committed to compete but was a no-show on Saturday night as was Zack Brown.

Other top riders who were unable to solve the animals on this particular night included such names as LJ Jenkins, Pistol Robinson, Tony Mendes and  Shane Proctor.  Shawn Proctor had the highest score in the long go with an 89 but was unable to duplicate the feat in the finals.

The impressive stock on the evening included bulls from the Dakota Rodeo Co., and Jeff Robinson.

Per PBR protocol, two local riders were allowed to climb aboard the professional bulls as Dalton Dance and Dakota Dana each received large ovations from the grandstands.  Neither rider was able to cover their respective bull.

For more coverage of the 2010 Superbull, check out the July 29, 2010 edition of the Star Valley Independent.