Luke Mackey reaches short round at Battle of the Bull Hands Tour

Luke Mackey, of Ignacio, makes a gesture to fellow cowboys after a successful ride on Saturday during the Battle of the Bull Hands Tour, presented by Smith & Sons Productions, in the Fred Klatt III Arena at the La Plata County Fairgrounds. (Jerry McBride/Durango Herald)cca

Luke Mackey, 15, of Ignacio rode on a herd of different bulls Saturday during the fourth stop of the Battle of Bull Hands Tour, presented by Smith & Sons Productions, at the La Plata County Fairgrounds in Durango.

Luke Mackey, of Ignacio, is all smiles while talking about his ride on Saturday during the Smith & Sons Productions Battle of the Bull Hands Tour in the Fred Klatt III Arena at the La Plata County Fairgrounds. (Jerry McBride/Durango Herald)cca

Mackey competed in both the junior and open divisions, and ran into some unruly bulls. After his first bull in the open division didn’t cooperate, Mackey got a re-ride and made the most of it.

With the 1,300 pounds of animal dynamite jumping and bucking and flailing around in circles, Mackey barely budged and held on for well past eight seconds. Then he hopped off the back of the bull and landed on his feet. He received a score of 85.5 for his effort and advanced to the short round.

Luke Mackey, of Ignacio, rides a bull to a score of 85.5 Saturday during the Smith & Sons Productions Battle of the Bull Hands Tour at the La Plata County Fairgrounds. (Jerry McBride/Durango Herald)cca

Noah Thomas scored 87 points with his first-round ride, and Nate Hoey advanced with an 85.

In the short round, he rode Broken Arrow. Mackey lasted about six seconds on the bull as it thrashed around, but lost his rope and ended up getting bucked off.

Hoey, meanwhile, was the only competitor in the short round to score a qualifying ride, earning him Saturday’s title. His winning ride, on Thunderstruck, scored 87.75 points.

In the junior competition, Mackey decided to try riding a bull that another competitor wanted no part of. That bull, however, fell before getting out the chute twice with Mackey on it. Mackey then rode a different bull but was unable to get a scoring run on his third attempt in the division.

Thomas, 14, won the junior title.

Windy Valley was the championship bull team.

Mackey, however, is still tied for first place on the tour in both the open and junior divisions heading into the final May 6-7 at the La Plata County Fairgrounds. Blaine Rouquemore, Thomas and Xavier Antez are also battling for the titles.

Mackey also has a high school rodeo competition May 7 in Craig, however, so he’ll compete on May 6 in Durango and then drive all night for that competition.

Mackey’s younger brother, Roper Collom, 5, has also been competing on the tour. He’s been riding sheep in the mutton busting and also leads the tour.