J.B. Mauney lived in the chute his whole life until an injury ended his career. The two-time world champion bull rider is back where he started, less than a year later.
This time, though, there has been serenity in stepping back and discovering a fresh outlook and goal. “I had no idea how I was going to feel,” a smiling Mauney remarked. But now that I know, I’m free to stop doing it. Simply said, I’m not going to be beaten to death any longer.
One of the two new teams in the PBR Team Series, the Oklahoma Wildcatters, announced Mauney’s hiring as head coach in February. On Friday, the squad kicked off the season at home against the Wildcatters Days at Paycom Center.
Despite being new to coaching, Mauney is not ignorant of the sport, the bulls, or the riders. Mauney had a clear idea of the kind of athletes he intended to center his squad on, having competed professionally in rodeo until September 2023, when he suffered a broken neck after being taken down by Arctic Assassin during the Lewiston Roundup in Idaho.
Mauney stated, “It helped that I already knew them.” “I had observed them.” I observed their performance and their manner of carrying themselves.
However, I don’t just observe what goes on in the arena. There are a lot of important considerations in the process of how we were selecting, and a guy’s demeanor even before he approaches a bull may reveal a lot about him.
Though he was interested in every facet of a bull rider’s maturity and thinking, Mauney was not afraid to choose young riders to head the organization in its inaugural year. Four players on the head coach’s five-man roster were younger than 21 as he unveiled his starting lineup for the opening game of the series.
However, Mauney—who was renowned for consistently selecting the least desirable bulls—knows that a rider’s age does not define them. Rather, the most important things are style, attitude, and the ability to pick yourself up after being blown off.
Although these guys are young, Mauney pointed out that they have a purpose for being here. “Everyone talks about experience with these guys,” she remarked. They were not haphazardly added to this squad. They seem to have more fire and desire because they are younger, and as you get older, you tend to lose it.
“You can help protect their form and help them figure things out in their riding, and they don’t necessarily have to have that experience because they are learning it faster,” is why I chose to focus on young males.
Kase Hitt, who finished second for the Wildcatters on Friday, is one of those people. Her uncle, H.D. Page, is an Oklahoma stock contractor whose D&H Cattle Co. produced world champion bulls SweetPro’s Bruiser and SweetPro’s Long John.
The 20-year-old is a native of Dickson. Hitt brings a deeper degree of knowledge to the sport because he was raised among bulls and knows how to ride them.
He may not have drawn one of his family’s bulls on the first night, but he has always dreamed of the opportunity to do it on a professional scale. “I think it has really benefited me,” Hitt remarked. Simply being in their presence each and every day.
It’s unbelievable to be able to be on the rear of the chutes with my uncle today after growing up and riding the best bulls in the practice pin.
Since I was a small child, after observing my family’s bulls at home and playing with them in the living room, I have dreamed of being able to ride one of their animals.
“That’s what every child in the bull riding business aspires to.” After finishing sixth in the 2024 PBR Teams draft, Hitt made his debut and represented his home state in front of 28 family members at his first event of the season.
Hitt didn’t make it to the eight-second mark, though, as his hand rolled out of his rope as soon as he emerged from the chute. He fell short of the mark at 2.63 seconds. But he is confident that he can recover with a coach like Mauney. Hitt remarked, “Well, J.B., he’s the dragon slayer.” “Everyone knows and says it, and when he’s back in the chute, it just adds to the fire and makes you want to stay on even more.”
The Wildcatters defeated the Texas Rattlers, the reigning PBR Team champions, clocking three of five rides despite Hitt’s no-score. The 248.25-0 triumph was Wildcatter’s first franchise victory and the first shutout over the Rattlers since the league’s founding in 2022.
Mauney, for his part, knows that it won’t be difficult to maintain the momentum from victories like the one against the Rattlers as he gets his team ready for the next two days and the remainder of the campaign. Mauney remarked, “It’s fairly easy to do.” “Winning is something that everyone enjoys.”
