Won In Straight Upsets

Berger whipped Gay by successfully handling a bull that had dumped him four times previously. An innovation for this rodeo had made the bull riding even more exciting by allowing riders to score, and often score well, even though they failed to stay aboard for the required eight seconds. In conventional rodeo, anything other than a full ride means no score. So even though Berger's opponent in the finals, Doug Shipe, rode Flying High—a rambunctious critter that bucked off 33 of the 36 cowboys who got on his back last year—for only 1.96 seconds, he still got 30.38 points out of a possible 160.

But when Berger got a chance on Flying High, he stayed with it for 5.03 seconds for a score of 90.54. The bull stuck a horn in Berger's scalp during the rough trip, which dazed Bobby. "The whole thing is a blur," he said later. "I'm trying to remember jump for jump, but I can't." Shipe said he was delighted to have the $6,000 in runner-up money, and Berger, still shaken, stood with blood running down his face. "I can't believe a rodeo when Bobby Berger can win this much money," he said. "Isn't it great? I mean, I'm a gambler, and I'm used to chickens today and feathers tomorrow." Hello, chickens.

On Friday, Collette Graves, 23, of Hartner, Kans. had led off the weekend's upsets when she won the barrel racing by defeating the people's choice, 14-year-old Jackie Jo Perrin, in a time of 32.99. She took home $5,000, and if $15,000 is chicken to Bobby Berger, $5,000 is caviar to any barrel racer.

And all the while, plans were being talked up at U.S. Tobacco. Network television, maybe. First prize of $35,000 for a full seven-event rodeo instead of one of three events, maybe. Madison Square Garden , maybe.

If it all comes off, champion Tom Ferguson, for one, will be there.

How does it feel to have lost $15,000, he was asked Saturday night.

"I didn't lose it. I never had it."

But isn't it tough to miss out on that money?

"Money don't make me good or bad. I do my best for $2, and I do my best for $20,000."

Aren't you even depressed?