With a name like Dirteater, it’s very difficult to stay away from some good-natured ribbing, especially if your chosen trade is riding bulls.

For Hulbert, Okla. native Ryan Dirteater, he takes it all in stride. It’s just one more thing to help him make a name for himself on the Professional Bull Riders circuit.

“I get kidded about my name sometimes, but it happened more when I was in school,” Dirteater said, in town last weekend for the PBR U.S. Border Patrol Invitational . “One thing about it though, they’re always going to remember my name.”

This 20-year-old is in his second year as a professional, but he’s been a fan for as long as he can remember. In fact, Dirteater rode his first calf when he was only nine.

“My daddy was riding bulls when I was little and that got me interested,” he said. “I watched PBR when I was young and I always wanted to do this.”

Competing in Tulsa was Dirteater’s first event since suffering a broken femur earlier this year.

“That was physically rough obviously, but it was also rough because I was just lying around and couldn’t do anything, and I’m usually very active,” he said. “It was like a little kid getting his toys taken away.”

Dirteater spent one year at Bacone College in Muskogee before turning his attention to being a professional bull rider.

“This is a sport for young people,” he said. “So I decided to get in it and do as much as I can while I’m young.”

Dirteater’s job is to stay on top of a bull for eight seconds, which at times seems like forever.

“Sometimes when you’re feeling good and riding good, the time goes by quick, but sometimes when you’re not sure if you can hang on it feels like 20 seconds or more,” Dirteater said.

Dirteater had a rough weekend back in action. He had three rides during the three day event but didn’t stay on a bull long enough to get a score on any of his rides. Kody Lostroh won the event with a total of 265.75 points in four rides, taking home $38,025 in prize money.

TALONS ROAD LOSS

The Arkansas Twisters thumped the Tulsa Talons 81-55 Saturday at the Verizon Arena in North Little Rock.

Arkansas (11-4) jumped out to a 40-14 lead at halftime while playing tough defense against the Talons throughout the first half. The two teams played each other even in the second half.

Tulsa’s quarterback Justin Allgood completed 16-of-30 passes for 259 yards and five touchdowns. Jeff Hughley and Carlese Franklin each caught two TD passes.

The Talons are now 12-3 on the season and host Amarillo in the regular season finale this Saturday, 7 p.m. at the BOK Center.

DRILLERS SCHEDULE

The Tulsa Drillers wrap up a four game series Thursday against Springfield, then head to Arkansas for a four game set, before returning home on July 28, to begin a six-game home stand.

[Jeff Brucculeri is a member of the National Sportscaster and Sportswriters Association and the Football Writers Association of America. He can be contacted at: jeffb@tulsabeacon.com.]

This entry was posted on Thursday, July 23rd, 2009 and is filed under Sports.