March 8, 2001:

I just got back from an awesome vacation. Jewel and I spent the week between the Columbus and Cleveland PBR events on St. Lucia, which is an island in the Caribbean that’s its own country. We had a suite right on the water, and it was just like all the postcards — white sand, blue water and palm trees. It’s a beautiful place, and it hasn’t been ruined by tourism, which is pretty cool. St. Lucia’s main source of income is still bananas.

As far as the PBR Tour goes, I’m getting ready to head to Tuff Hedeman’s Championship Challenge in Fort Worth this weekend. It’s the 11th stop on the 2001 Bud Light Cup Series presented by Las Vegas.

I won the eighth Bud Light Cup event, the Anaheim (Calif.) Open, on February 17. The first bull I drew was a flat spinner, so I got a reride. My reride bull was Don Kish’s Mix Master, and I was 86 points on him. I won the short round with 93.5 points on Dee Latham’s Jersey Joe. I’ve had that bull twice, and I’ve ridden him twice and won money on him twice. For some reason, he feels good to me and just fits me good. That’s just the way it is with different bulls and different guys. This trip, he spun to the left, bucking hard, kicking hard the whole way.

It was great to win an event. These Bud Light Cups are so hard to win, and they’re getting harder every day. They really are the best of everything, bulls and bull riders, and they’re both just getting tougher all the time.

The name of the game for me has always been taking it one bull at a time because you can’t get caught up in any of the rest of it. In the PBR, if you can stay on you’re going to win, so that’s all I think about.

I ended up winning $27,455 at Anaheim, and as it turned out Tony Mendes and I were the only two guys to ride both of our bulls. That’s how great these bulls we’re getting on every week are.

After the first 10 events, I’m second in the Bud Light Cup points standings right now with 4,352.5 points. Adriano Moraes is in the lead with 5,195.5 points. I’ve won $88,062 in the first couple months of the season, and I’ve ridden 84 percent of my bulls. Even though I’m always shooting for 100 percent, that’s a stat I’m pretty proud of.

My Ty Murray Invitational Bud Light Cup event is right around the corner. I hope to see you there.

Event Update: 2001 Ty Murray Invitational
Who: The best bulls and bull riders in the PBR
What: The 2001 Ty Murray Invitational, the 13th stop on the $7.2 million 2001 PBR Bud Light Cup Series presented by Las Vegas. This year’s Ty Murray Invitational is presented by Isleta Casino & Resort
When: March 23-24, 8 p.m.
Where: Tingley Coliseum in Albuquerque, N.M.
How: Tickets can be purchased at all Western Warehouse and tickets.com locations, online at Tickets.com or by calling 1-800-905-3315.