Thursday, Dec. 5, 1996 | 11:59 a.m.
SPECIAL TO THE SUN
Jerome Davis is the first cowboy from east of the Mississippi River to win a world bull riding championship, according to PRCA records.
Davis, 23, of Archdale, N.C., not only finished the regular season leading the Crown Royal world bull riding standings, he also successfully rode nine of 10 bulls at the 1005 National Finals Rodeo in Las Vegas.
He came close to becoming only the fourth cowboy ever to ride 10 bulls at the NFR. He was disqualified in the eighth round when judges ruled he slapped the bull with his free hand.
"There's a lot of people there (in North Carolina) that are hard-core rodeo fans," Davis said. "I grew up around a lot of amateur rodeos and high school rodeos
"But as far as I know, I'm the only one (to compete at this level). I know they have to buy me a new flag (for the grand entry) when I first game here three years ago."
Davis, who joined the PRCA in 1992, has competed in three NFRs. In 1994, he finished third in the world; in 1993 he was fifth.
In 1995, however, Davis won two rounds and placed in five more to earn $72,732 at the NFR to win the world title with $135,280.
Still, the championship wasn't in the bag until the last round was over.
Davis needed to place at least third in the 10th round to lock up the title. Ironically, it was the same position he found himself in at NFR '94, when he was bucked off in the 10th round. But things turned out differently in 1995. Davis scored 84 points on Bad Company Rodeo's bull The Jam to finish third in the final round. He also won the NFR average title.
"It was down to the wire," Davis said. "I knew had to place in the round to have a chance. But was tickled to draw (The Jam).
"He bucked, there was no doubt about it. He was probably the buckingest bull I got on. I was fortunate enough to get by on him."
Davis got off to a slower-than-usual start last year.
The 1995 season actually started in November 1994. But Davis' name didn't even show up in the Top 15of the bull riding world standings until March when he earned about $6,000 at the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo.
After that, Davis continued to pick up significant wins throughout the season, including $9,922 from the (Salinas) California Rodeo in July. At that event, he won the first two rounds as well as the average title.
At two rodeos in late September, Davis earned a combined $10,550 -- including $8,718 from the New Mexico State Fair in Albuquerque -- and jumped from fourth place to second in the standings. He then trailed standings leader Terry West by only $698.
But in mid-October, Davis finally captured the lead from West. He went on to finish the regular season as the bull riding leader with $62,548.
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