Monday, June 16, 2003 | 10:10 a.m.
Two years after winning the Arkansas high school bull-riding championship, Douglas Clint Craig didn't shy away from a stellar field at the ProRodeo Winter Tour Finale.
Craig, who goes by his middle name, turned back veterans Jesse Bail, Vince Stanton and Terry Don West to win the bull riding title, and a total of $20,367, at the MGM Grand Garden Arena.
"I tell you what, this couldn't have gone any better," Craig said. "It was like a movie script."
He entered the event ranked ninth among the dozen bull riders, but Craig shot to No. 2 for Saturday's semifinals with splendid rides Thursday and Friday.
In the semifinals, Blackhawk Snuff whirled out of the chute, executing very tight spins to the right. Craig hung with the nasty bull, trusting centrifugal force for most of the ride.
He rode out the eight seconds, clapped hard three times immediately after dismounting and tossed his black Stetson high into the air. He earned a 92.
"I was so dad-gum excited," Craig said. "You just get real excited. So I figured I'd give the crowd a thrill and toss it up in the air there."
The best score of the semis allowed him to ride last in the four-man final. That was critical, because Craig badly wanted a shot on the nasty Bo Dippin.
West was given a 93 for his spell aboard Wanna Dance, but Craig responded with a 93, too, atop Bo. The tiebreaker is a rider's seed, so Craig earned his first Finale title and an impressive crystal championship bowl.
"That was the bull I wanted," he said of Bo Dippin. "I've been wanting that bull for a year or two. I got him, and what a place to have him ... here in Las Vegas. It worked out with a big win and the crystal cup."
Craig, 20, was born and still lives in Mena, Ark.
"Arkansas is not known as a hotbed of bull riders," he said.
After a fine ride Thursday, he talked about how life with Tiffani Burton, whom he married during the NFR, has been "perfect."
Late Saturday, that trend continued when he rode Sky Reach Dip to a title victory with a 91. Vets Larry Sandvick (89) and Lan Lajeunesse (86) were left in The Kid's wake. Lowe won $17,038 at the Tour Finale.
"It does feel like I'm dreaming," he said. "A lot of it is kind of a blur, the rides and stuff. I don't remember a lot of the NFR. Same here. I was just trying to stay on that bucking (horse) and have a good time.
"I can't believe I have a big (crystal) cup and a bunch of money ... Whooo Ha Haaaaa! I love Las Vegas. This is the best place to rodeo."
He advanced to the final in the former with a semifinal-best 88 on Secret Agent Snuff, prepped himself for a bull ride 30 minutes later and then got promptly dumped by Smokeless High Tide.
Fuming, he returned within the next half hour to post a 90 on Smokeless Blood Brother to win the saddle bronc championship.
Bail won $15,177, and he said getting tossed by Secret Agent gave him all the focus he needed for his stint atop Blood Brother.
"You know, it makes a guy kind of disgusted and mad," he said. "It gets you pumped up, makes you want to ride that bronc a little harder."
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