Mississippi Hippy is an elite bucking bull on the Profes- sional Bull Riders (PBR) tour. This tour is comprised of the top bull riders in the world, mainly from the United States, Brazil and Canada and the best bulls in the world. The riders are the best of the best. Cowboys have to stay in the top 35 in points on the tour or they have to drop to a lower level and work their way back to the top PBR rider level again. Meet the Mississippi Hippy! by Phil Blythe, National Accounts Manager, Ing. Div.
Much the same with the bulls. They (the bulls) are elite athletes also and must retain a high level of performance or they simply are not asked to go to events and they too have to go to lower level events. The difference is when they are asked to leave the PBR tour, they generally don’t get to come back to the highest level on competition again. Some of the very best bulls include, Bushwacker, Astroid, Grasshopper, Little Yellow Jacket, Bones and Chicken on a Chain. There have been many more. What you have then are the best bull riding cowboys in the world riding the best bucking bulls in the world. There are approximately 35-40 events per year in the PBR. This tour goes coast to coast. Mississippi Hippy is one of the top bulls on the tour for many reasons. He is a fan favorite for many reasons: • He is the biggest bull on the tour weighing in at over 2400 pounds. So big he barely fits in the bucking chute. • He has one of the recognizable names, The Mississippi Hippy. He is one of the crowd favorites. • Hippy has an excellent record of buck offs. He has only been ridden twice in his career. • The Hippy is usually a ‘finals’ bull. This means he ranks among the best and is used on the final day of an event. This is when the best scoring cowboys of the week have to ride the best bulls entered that week. • The Mississippi Hippy has his own Facebook page with many followers. Hippy is eight years old and some bulls buck until they are 10 years old or more. Of course, many of the bulls are retired or lose their ability before that. Hippy has performed at an elite level all of his career and has been a top 20 ranked bull for most of his time in the PBR. We hope to have “baby Hippies” in the near future. Hippy recently had to have a horn removed and had further surgery done at Texas A&M University. He quickly became a “pet” to the veterinary school there and they did not want to give him back. But now he is back home with his family and on the mend. We have been fortunate to own Mississippi Hippy with Kenny & Christie McElroy of K-C Bucking Bulls based in the Cincinnati, Ohio area. We have owned several bulls together but the Hippy has been our family’s best bull to date. K-C Bucking Bulls has many top level bulls currently on tour with the PBR. Their daughter Josie, who is a stock contractor herself, and currently in college, and I own a young three year old who shows promise. His name is Outlaw Shakedown and we hope he earns his way to the PBR in 2016. We have had a good time with our hobby and were lucky to find a good partner and a great bull in the Mississippi Hippy. Our whole family follows how he does every time he goes out in an event. Hippy and the other bulls are well
18 Crest Ink January, February & March 2016
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