ATHLETES & STARS
Photo by
David Sinclair
Liz Sinclair
www.shootshorses.com
J.B. MAUNEY
JB M
AUNY
RUBS
SOME
DIRT ON IT
By Brenda Beveridge
By Brenda Matamoros-Beveridge
Two-time world champion J.B.
Mauney, Statesville, North Carolina,
has made multiple sports history
moments over his career and made
multiple millions doing it, too.
In January at the 25th Unleash The
Beast Monster Energy Buck Off
at the Garden in New York City,
he became the third rider in PBR
history to record 500 qualified rides
on the PBR tour. Mauney joins 2008
World Champion Guilherme Marchi,
Três Lagoas, Brazil, 613 qualified
rides, and 2004 World Champion
Mike Lee, Decatur, Texas, 525
qualified rides, as the only riders to
record more than 500 rides on the
premier series.
His career has taken him to the
extreme, especially riding the un-
ridable, including legendary rank
bulls Bushwacker and Asteroid.
He was the first Cowboy to make
it past the $7 million mark in career
earnings.
His victories do come with some
mayhem, though. This April,
Mauney broke his T1 and T2
vertebrae in Sioux Falls and will be
out six weeks. “I will decide when I
am done. I still feel like in my head
I can ride them. As long as I think
that, I will still show up.”
Not sure I’ve ever set foot in a
gym. I work my ranch. That’s
my workout. But I don’t call it
that. It’s just living. That about
sums it up.
8
www.rodeofame.com
Photo by Frontier Fortitude Photography