BlueStone, who won the PRCA World Championship of Bulls in 2001 and 2002, died March 13 in Willard, Utah. He was 43 years old.
Stone, born on May 26, 1978, in Ogden, Utah, earned his first world crown by winning $174,772 to beat Cody Hancock for less than $10,000. He followed this up in 2002, winning $ and beating Myron Duarte by less than $9,000.
These were Stone’s only two appearances on NFR.
“Blue was like Sage Kimsey: the bigger the stage, the more he skated,” Duarte said. “Blue was a contender and he brought me into my fancy position and upped everyone’s game. This is what holders of the title of world champion do. day after day you become the owner of the world title, you will also improve or go home.
Bull rider Fred Boettcher, a six-time NFR qualifier, including once in 2001, also praised Stone.
“Blue went onstage and won two world titles and it was like where the hell did he come from? And I’m about the same age. A Joe like him shouldn’t be dying right now. He was a great bull rider and the coolest cat that ever showed up and did his job. He did not evaporate. When I appeared on NFR in 2001, I didn’t really know who he was and he was against all of our asses.”
Stone was the first goat to win two consecutive PRCA world bull riding crowns since Don Gaye won three consecutive world titles from 1979 to 1981. Stone shares the NFR Round 1 bull riding record with Guy. In 1974, Gay went up 94 points, and Stone repeated this result in 2001.
Stone also won the regular NFR in 2001 and 2002. In his two NFR appearances, Stone rode 14 of his bulls and earned $205,851 – $112,322 in 2001 and $93,529 in 2002.
Stone’s performances on NFR are astounding, given that he earned a total of $1998-2000 as a part-timer. He entered the 2001 NFR 12th in the world rankings and 8th in 2002 and came out on top both times.
“All I set out to do was run tests,” Stone said in February. January 6, 2002 edition of ProRodeo Sports News. “I never really tried to move forward. I decided that I would try to go at least earlier. It worked out a little better than I planned.”
Duarte was glad that he and Stone crossed paths in the rodeo arena at the same time.
“Blue will do anything for anyone,” Duarte said. “He was a real scapegoat and part of a great rodeo family. He was the man who improved the rodeo for the generations we see today. world titles, if you’re not one of the fancy ones. In fact, there are many people who have won world titles riding bulls upside down. That says a lot about a person who wins backward. hard because you can fight through pain and injury and keep fighting for that high position. Sad to see (Blue) go. He was young.”
Stone was Utah’s top academy state bull riding champion in 1996 and placed second in the 1997 Collegiate National Trials Rodeo. College of Southern Idaho. He purchased his PRCA card in 1998.
Leave a Reply