8 Seconds of glory await...
Lane Nobles, Luis Blanco; Two of nation's top riders
Will be on Eagle Pass' biggest bull-battling stage
Dedicate performances to sons Kayden & Eric
A.D. Ibarra
-Eagle Pass
Whenever you ask a bull rider what he's thinking before he gets into the chute with some of the fiercest, rankest bucking bulls in the world, they'll tell you that they are the happiest in that exact situation.
" I love riding bulls," says Lane Nobles, the #1 rider on the Southern extreme Bull Riders Association Tour, "When I'm climbing down, I'm all smiles, ready to get on and have fun hoping to have a good ride and see how hard I can spur."
The adrenaline rush that they feel when that bull is contorting, bellowing, twisting and grinding is what these men on a mission are living for.
"When you ride a good one and you know you worked him, when you hear that whistle (That signifies a successful eight-second ride for points), you're on Cloud 9."
Both Nobles and Luis Blanco, last year's #2 rider in the world rankings, riding week in and week out, they're living their dreams by riding the world's best bucking stock.
"Es una emoción muy grande, claro, es diferente de rodeo a rodeo <It's highly emotional, but it differs from rodeo to rodeo>," states Blanco who rode in South Dakota and Nebraska before coming back down to South Texas for Battle on the Border, "Es un sueño realizado y le agradezco a Diós cada vez que me subo a un toro, porque cada vez puede ser la última <It's a dream come true and I thank God everytime I ride, because everytime could be the last>."
The chute opens and the bucking bull tries with all its might to throw the object of its fury from its back.
"My daddy always told me, 'As long as you're sitting in the middle, they can't get to you'," says Nobles who shares the same name as the legendary Lane Frost, the protagonist of the film "8 Seconds", the story of Frost's amazing ride to the top of the rodeo circuit, "I know I share his name, so I have to try to live up to it."
He hopes to see his son Kayden following in his illustrious footsteps one day and Blanco who hails from Sao Paulo, Brazil, also recently welcomed his son Eric Alexander into the world and calls the border region home for now.
"Quiero dar lo mejor de mi para que la gente se quede contenta, otro rodeo, otro toro, si llega tumbarnos, no va ser por falta de ganas <I want to give the best on every ride to give the crowd a good show, every night is another rodeo, another bull, if he knocks us off, it's not going to be for a lack of effort on my part>," says Blanco who rode two bulls in South Dakota on the PRCA circuit for 89 and 88.5 points on Thursday night for points which will be going towards another run for the world championship, "Vamos bien este año <We're doing well this year so far>."
Some of the other top riders on the tour include: Martin Jeffers of Bandera, Texas, Juan Alonzo of Belton, Texas, Chris Yates from Weatherford, Texas, Sydney Barber from Elberton, Georgia, Michael Earl of Pflugerville, Texas, Rowdy Allen of Honey Island, Texas, Mckennon Wimberly of Cool, Texas, Kevin McMichael of Loranger, Louisiana and Tyler Hall of Columbia, Alabama.
As these men attempt to have the luck of the draw and select the toughest bulls in the pen such as Corpus Red, the bounty bull of the event, they have one goal in mind, to be on their best game when time stands still for those eight seconds when bull and rider unite to attempt to score that elusive 100, achieved only once in rodeo history, they will descend on Eagle Pass, Texas on September 8th at the Battle on the Border at the Maverick County Fairgrounds, extreme bull riding at its best, we'll be there...will you?
