RAPID CITY - Waiting for the re-ride gave Huron's Tater Hins time to think, to plot out his strategy and it paid off as he eased into a fourth place tie in the first round of the Extreme Bulls.

His first bull lazily loped along the fence and the judges, with home-state crowd approval, awarded him the second chance. Hins, a veteran even for his young years, made the most of it with 81 points to tie the 2007 Extreme Bulls champion, Kanin Asay of Powell, Wyoming for fourth place.

All of the bull riders from Friday night will ride again on tonight in the second performance and the best eight total scores get to ride again in the Finals at the end of the night.

There were 20 states represented in the starting lineup on Friday and the first round winner is Tony Smart of Philadelphia, Mississippi with 88 points on Broken Arrow Rodeo's bull China Grove. A South Dakota bull rider brought the crowd, estimated at 3500, to its collective feet with an 84 on another Broken Arrow bull called Chili.

Gillette, Wyo., cowboy Bobby Welsh, an NFR veteran, coaxed an 82-point ride out of Burns Rodeos' Skunk Works. To round out the top six scores from Friday night, 1995 National Circuit Finals champion Myron Duarte tallied an 80. Duarte at 39 is the oldest bull rider entered in Rapid City.

Notable riders who failed to place include: Mountain States Circuit Champion Cameron Castleberry of Gillette who scored a 71, last year's Rapid City champion and the 2000 world champion bull rider in pro rodeo Cody Hancock, who bucked off, and Cody Buller from Glendive, Montana. who is still in striking distance with a first-round 78.

This is the beginning of the Extreme Bulls tour for the year. The ten-event schedule concludes at Indianapolis, Indiana in late October for the Tour Finale.

Rodeo notes:

One of the nicest guys in pro rodeo, Bronc Rumford of Abbyville, Kansas is here as a pickup man. His arena savvy and easy grin made the place shine on Friday.

Last years' Miss Rodeo American, Ashley Andrews of Bowman, N.D., was in attendance. She is the new director of the Bowman County Development Corporation. Ashley, by the way, is getting married to former bareback rider Eric Alderson on Sept. 27.

One of the interesting first- time visitors to Rapid City is Steve Wharton of Claremore, Okla. The California native is the inventor of the X Power factor for the Extreme Bulls television broadcasts. X-Power is a device attached to the cowboys vest before the bull ride and essentially measures the g-force that he withstands during the competition. Born in California and raised in Colorado, Wharton sold the invention to Winnercom who runs the Extreme Bulls and was then hired to oversee its use during their TV rounds such as Saturday night in Rapid City.

Susie Luchsinger was again at the BHSSR to sing the national anthem at the start of the Friday night bull riding. She'll be conducting Cowboy Church Services each of the next two Sunday mornings in the civic center theater. There is no charge to attend the 11am services.

Jim Svoboda of Ord, Neb., has taken pictures at this rodeo for as long as anyone can remember, and is universally admired by fans and contestants alike. The PRCA this week, in a fan vote, awarded him the honor of the Photo of the Year. A nice honor for a truly deserving professional.

An interesting note considering that the bull riders are in town. Which part of the body most often is treated for injury in pro rodeo? In a 20-year period of analysis, the answer is: the head or face in nearly 14 percent of all accidents in the arena. Knees are close second at 12 percent and shoulders are hurt in 11.4 percent of the reportable injuries.

The Matched Bronc Ride is next in the arena for the BHSSR. It begins at 1:30 p.m. today, and it features 39 bronc riders including area cowboys former world champion Chad Ferley and NFR qualifier J.J. Elshere. The top eight scores from this afternoon will compete for the top prize during the Extreme Bulls tonight.