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Thursday, February 7, 2008

No Place Like Home

By Harold Smith
Mountain View Telegraph
    Welcome home, cowboy. Travis Briscoe, who stands atop the Professional Bull Riders' 2008 Built Ford Tough Series standings, credits his return to New Mexico for his current success.
    The 20-year-old Edgewood resident has won three PBR events this season, accumulating some remarkable scores en route to garnering the lead with 3,158.25 points and a to-date cumulative purse of $204,236. He has stayed aboard 14 of his 15 bulls the requisite eight seconds.
    "I do think part of it was coming back home, just being with my family," said Briscoe, a former Moriarty High School student. "But it's not easy being away from my girlfriend (Jessie Springer, who hails from Albuquerque). She's rodeoing in college in Texas."
    Colorado's Kody Lostroh trails Briscoe by 206.25 points for second place going into this weekend's Anaheim (Calif.) Invitational.
    "Everybody in my family is doing great," Briscoe said. "But I lost my grandpa, George Briscoe Sr. (in January 2007). It didn't affect my performance, though I wasn't doing that well then anyway. But it's never good to lose a grandpa."
    Travis Briscoe had purchased land in Stephensville, Texas, and lived there during much of the 2007 season. But he finished a disappointing 19th in the BFTS standings that year after a quick start, at 14th, his 2006 rookie season.
    The bull rider has earned a career total of $466,499, according to a PBR news release.
    "I came home to Edgewood about seven, eight months ago," said Briscoe, who grew from 5-foot-7 and 130 pounds to his current 5-9, 145 since he went pro as an 18-year-old in the fall of 2005. "I just had a change of heart. My girlfriend and I decided to wait on the marriage. She's going to school."
    Briscoe's initial victory this year was at the Worcester (Mass.) Classic on Jan. 11-13. He rode Copperhead Slinger, scoring 95 points on that bull.
    Not since 2004, when fellow New Mexican Michael Gaffney, a former PBR world champion, scored a record-tying 961/2 points, had a rider scored as high as Briscoe.
    The cowboy also took first at the winner-take-all Table Mountain Casino Invitational in Fresno, Calif., on Jan. 18.
    "It's pretty awesome to win $105,000 in one night," Briscoe was quoted as saying in a PBR news release.
    Briscoe also won the Albany (N.Y.) Invitational on Jan. 26-27. He was unable to compete in the Sacramento (Calif.) Classic on Jan. 19 after reinjuring a sprained groin, and he missed the Winston-Salem (N.C.) event on Friday and Saturday because he was sick.
    "I have the flu, a cold ...," Briscoe said in a raspy voice, between coughs, during a telephone interview on Jan. 31. "Can I call you back? The doctor just walked in."
    But by Monday, Briscoe sounded as good as new. He's rarin' to go.
    "I'm feeling a lot better," he said.
    Briscoe skyrocketed from a second-place finish at the Chilili Rodeo in June 2005 to become one of the PBR's young stars.
    "It's no different than the amateur events, except for the caliber of bulls," he said. "Back then, I got good bulls every once in a while. Now, you get one every night, practically."
    Briscoe acknowledged the money is wonderful. But it's not as important as he first imagined.
    "When you don't have any money, you really, really want it," said Briscoe, who now drives a 2007 Dodge Ram one-ton pickup. "Then, when you have it ... I'm just thankful for my mom (Debbie Fincher). She's taught me how to save it."
    Briscoe said he no longer has the 50-acre plot in Texas.
    "I'm looking to buy some here in Edgewood now," he said.
    Briscoe's father, George, was a bronc rider in his day.
    "My dad goes with me all the time," Travis said. "And my mom gets to go sometimes."
    Briscoe kneels in prayer after each ride.
    "It's not for show, not just on the weekends," he said. "It's a daily thing."
    On the road, he rooms with Oklahoma rider Cole Taylor.
    "His dad is a preacher," Briscoe said. "We get along pretty good ... I try to serve God as best I can, But I'm no different than anybody else. I'm not perfect."
    Briscoe, if he can remain healthy, will participate in the Ty Murray Invitational at Tingley Coliseum on March 28-30. But he hasn't had much success in Albuquerque, finishing 30th in 2007.
    "I think it might be different this time," he said.
    The World Finals conclude the PBR season Oct. 31-Nov. 9 in Las Vegas, Nev.