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Date Posted: Fri, Feb 01 2008, 17:53:55
Author: Kris
Subject: Travis Briscoe Article

Bull rider credits God for recovery, success in 2008
Lubbock Avalanche-Journal
Thursday, January 31, 2008
Story last updated at 1/31/2008 - 1:45 am

In December 2003, Travis Briscoe's family was told that he might not make it through the night.

He was 16 and on the verge of death after being hospitalized with a sinus cavity rupture. But within six months, Briscoe was riding bulls again thanks to successful brain surgery and what he called divine healing.

Today, the 20-year-old Edgewood, N.M., cowboy is the hottest competitor on the Professional Bull Riders circuit with already more than $200,000 in earnings this year.

While Briscoe has experienced extreme adversity and triumph in recent years, he emphatically says that it is his personal relationship with God and the teachings of his Christian faith that have seen him through.

"If anything, it's a testimony that shows how God can bring someone from (hard times) and give them success and a blessed life," said Briscoe, who has experienced remarkable success over the past three weekends on the PBR's top tier tour.

On Jan. 13, he turned in a stunning final-round score of 95 en route to winning the event in Worcester, Mass. On Jan. 18, he pocketed $105,000 at a winner-take-all show in Fresno, Calif. And on Sunday in Albany, N.Y., he claimed more than $58,000 for winning that title.

Briscoe's early season earnings are $204,108 and he has a simple philosophy about how to succeed in rodeo's most dangerous event.

"Don't be scared," he said. "It's a game that requires you to put your life on the line, and if you're going to do that anyway, why not go at it fullheartedly?"

And maybe that helps explain why he turned in the 95 aboard a rampaging bull named Copperhead Slinger when the title was at stake in Worcester. At that show, competitors were allowed to pick their final-round bulls and the confident Briscoe opted to mount a beast with a reputation. And there stood Copperhead Slinger, which had carried J.B. Mauney to the highest score at the November PBR World Finals, a 92.75 effort at the Las Vegas championships.

"I was riding well at the time and kicking loose, and it was just time to take a leap of faith," Briscoe said. "I knew that I was guaranteed to win if I could ride that bull."

Five days later, Briscoe showed up at Fresno where he had won the event in 2006, his first victory on a prestigious Built Ford Tough Series tour stop.

"There was just something about that atmosphere and I had just come off of being 95 points," Briscoe said.

But Briscoe entered the final round ranked fifth and had to finish with the highest aggregate score after making two rides that night in order to claim the six-figure paycheck.

"I thought that there's no way that I'm going to win this $100,000 because there's so many great matchups ahead of me," Briscoe said. "But things just went my way. I drew a bull that I had wanted to get on a for a long time that doesn't buck a lot of guys off."

After turning in an 88.5 aboard a bull named 3 Spot, Briscoe took the lead and the title contenders ahead of him faltered. After the dust settled, Briscoe edged three-time world champion Adriano Moraes for the title, 177.5 to 175.25.

The victory was bittersweet. Briscoe sustained a groin injury and was sidelined when the tour stopped in Sacramento the next night.

After a week of rest, Briscoe was ready for the Albany tour stop. And after staying on three bulls, he edged Luke Snyder for the title by a quarter of a point, 267.50 to 267.25.

He also received $30,000 in a promotion bonus called the "Ford Moment of Truth," by entering and finishing the final round with the lead.

And after winning three of the first six stops on the PBR's Built Ford Tough Series, Briscoe leads the PBR standings over second-ranked Brazilian Guilherme Marchi, 2,858.25 to 2,342.5.

Briscoe, who has stayed on 14 of 15 bulls on the Ford series, said one of the main reasons that he is winning is because he began the season in great physical shape. Last year, he was slowed by a wrist injury on his left riding hand and a right knee injury that required surgery.

"This year, I started 100 percent healthy because God healed my body in a big way," Briscoe said. "So, I'm going to continue running my race and having fun."

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