Reindeer Dippin always had a habit of lifting his big horns high into the air and sticking his nose toward the blue California sky on a daily basis.
Whenever the PBR fan favorite would do so, the late Mikel Moreno would say to his parents Cindy Rosser and Julio Moreno, 'Look at that! Look at the Reindeer!'
It was how Reindeer Dippin earned his name, and this week many PBR fans, riders and stock contractors are tipping their hats and taking a glance toward the sky in memory of the superstar bovine athlete.
Cindy Rosser confirmed on Thursday that Reindeer Dippin passed away peacefully this week in Marysville, California, because of natural causes.
He was 18 years old.
"18 is pretty old for a bull," Rosser said. "We knew it was coming. It was only a matter of time. He has had it pretty easy the last few years here."
The former PBR standout bull, and father of three-time World Champion Bull Bushwhacker, competed for six years at the Built Ford Tough Series level. He only surrendered two qualified rides, not including accepted re-rides, in 48 outs from 2003-2008.
According to ProBullstats.com, Reindeer Dippin was 93-5 at various PBR and PRCA bull riding events.
Reindeer Dippin was named the 2004 Bull of the National Finals Rodeo and qualified for the PBR World Finals five times.
Reindeer Dippin was only 1,600 pounds in his prime, but he had a fierce competitiveness to him.
"He would be practically upside down and twist in his body," Rosser said. "He wasn't a real big bull. But he could do stuff with his body and leap in the air. He had some ability and quickness and acrobatic things that most bulls can't do."
Reindeer Dippin's electricity in the arena is what led to him becoming such a superstar in the arena.
"People would line up on the bucking chutes and stand there," Rosser said. "I will never forget. When he was at the top of his game in 2004 and 2005, that was when our son (Mikel) was going through cancer treatment, so we didn't go a whole lot. We were in Sacramento or Reno and they said Reindeer and the crowd went 'Whooaaa.' "I thought, 'Oh my God. These people just love this bull.'
Rosser even had a T-shirt made that said, "I got run over by a Reindeer."
Reindeer Dippin was first ridden by Steven Shelley for 82.5 point at the 2003 PBR World Finals.
L.J. Jenkins then earned the highest-scored ride ever aboard the West Coast bull with a sensational 93-point ride at the 2005 BFTS event in Laughlin, Nevada.
"He was one of the greatest of all time and is now a great producer," Jenkins said. "He helped me make a name for myself my rookie year and that ride I'll never forget."
Reindeer Dippin broke the 45-point threshold 17 times in his BFTS career.
He earned a career-high 48-point bull score twice in his career.
In 2003, Reindeer Dippin earned a 48-point bull score when he flung 2004 World Champion Mike Lee like a pinwheel in 4.8 seconds.
"I wasn't there, but I saw the video and I thought, 'Oh, my God,'" Rosser said. "I have a picture of him in the air and above the signs."
Lee remembered when he attempted to put his bull rope on Reindeer Dippin in the back alley he was unable to because of how crazy the bull was acting.
"I waited until he got in the bucking chute, and he got better as he got older, but he was a wild one," Lee said. "He was a pretty different animal. He was wild. I was young and dumb back then so I spurred him. He flipped out a little bit and bucked. That was one of the best trips he ever had. One of the coolest videos of him was with me in Laughlin."
Lee was one of six PBR World Champions (Adriano Moraes, J.B. Mauney, Chris Shivers, Justin McBride, Kody Lostroh and Lee) bucked off by Reindeer Dippin.
Nearly every year at the PBR World Finals, Reindeer Dippin would refuse to drink his water. Moreno would try to bring the bull bottled water, while Rosser even tarped his pen because she felt maybe the bull was shy to drink with so many fans staring at him.
"He did his job and he liked to be out of the limelight," Rosser said. "He would hover in the corner. He had a mystique about him. He really did."
It was Reindeer's wild, acrobatics in the arena that made it impossible for him to remain unpopular.
Reindeer Dippin had much of the same wild and unpredictable bucking traits that he later passed down to his World Champion son.
"What they call today the 'Wow' factor, he had that the whole time," Julio Moreno said. "There was Bodacious and all, but he was one of the first that was crazy and wild. I really think a lot of Bushwacker's success stems back to Reindeer. I really think what we do now today with social media today, he could have been as famous."
Rosser added, "Bushwacker's trips were never the same and that was the same thing about Reindeer."
Mauney was bucked off by Reindeer Dippin in 6.71 seconds at the 2007 BFTS event in Sacramento and had high praise for Bushwacker's father.
"Reindeer Dippin was one of the wildest bulls I was ever able to get on, and a mean one on top of that," Mauney said. "You never knew what he was going to do, but it was going to be electric."
Beyond the famous PBR bull,Bushwacker, Reindeer Dippin was also the sire to 2015 World Champion Bull contender Roy. 48 of Reindeer Dippin's sons went on to buck at either a PBR-sanctioned or PRCA rodeo, according to the ABBI database, and even more PBR bulls have bloodlines that go back to the champion producer.
Reindeer Dippin's legacy will continue to live on through the endless amount of bulls and cows that he has helped produce, but Rosser will still always remember Reindeer Dippin for the electricity her bull brought on a weekly basis that left so many fans jaw-dropped.
"The bull riders could never figure him out, but the fans loved him," Rosser concluded. "You never knew what he was going to do. I will say it. He was really the first fan favorite because they never knew what he could do."
"A67 Reindeer Dippin (ABBI 10010628) Competed at NFR - 3 times, PBR finals- 5 times, Hall of Fame, Round Wins - 41: with an average score of 43.98. Competed 2003 to 2008.
His OFFSPRING include 48 PBR bulls with statistics:
Loco Weed 26 outs/20.33
Hurst 527 22 outs/21.76
Bushwacker 82 outs/23.01
Junior 36 outs/19.90
Ransom 27 outs/19.91
Gizmo 46 outs/20.19
Mr. Feiger 37 outs/21.09
Deer Me 20 outs/20.98
Roy 1073/9 24 outs/22.50
MO 06/9 18 outs/20.86
** BUSHWACKER #13/6 - son of Reindeer Dippin:
(06/01/2006 to retirement 2016)
Bushwacker was sired by #A67 Reindeer Dippin and Lady Luck.[5] Reindeer Dippin was born and raised in Maryville. Reindeer Dippin was the Bucking Bull of the Finals at the 2004 NFR. Reindeer Dippin's father is from Naccarato breeding on his sire's side and his mother is AN 11, an #34 Oscar's Velvet daughter. And Oscar's Velvet is sired by the ProRodeo Hall of Fame bull Oscar. Lady Luck's father was Diamond's Ghost. She was raised by David Fournier and acquired by Mikel. David Fournier and Julio Moreno traded a few heifers each year at the American Bucking Bull, Inc. (ABBI) event in Weatherford, Texas - one of these was Lady Luck. "Julio told me, 'You know, Bushwacker's out of one of your cows' and when he (first) showed it to me, I knew exactly which one. "But I had gotten rid of her mother already," Fourner said.
Bushwacker was born in Marysville, California, on June 1, 2006.In 2008, as a two-year-old, he moved to Stephenville, Texas, to work with the late handler Kent Cox. Kent Cox hauled and raised many of Julio Moreno's bulls since 2005. Bushwacker is currently owned by Julio Moreno of Julio Moreno Bucking Bulls. Now retired, he is used for natural breeding and may have as many as 20 cows with him in the spring. Moreno maintains a Facebook page devoted to Bushwacker. Bushwacker has a Twitter account also, but it has been inactive since 2014 when he retired. Bushwacker's last public appearance was at the PBR World Finals in 2016.
ROY 1073/9- son of A67 Reindeer Dippin
(4/1/2009- 3/6/2016)
The bucking bull industry lost a superstar yesterday with the passing of Moreno Bucking Bull's Roy 1073/9.In a sport where the bucking bulls have as many fans as the cowboys, the excitement of the BFTS in Phoenix turned suddenly somber on Sunday when Roy injured himself during the championship round.
The Julio Moreno bull was not only a beloved member of the stock contractor's family, but a bull respected by the cowboys, adored by the fans and admired by Moreno's peers.
Tragically, Roy's injuries were not just career ending but necessitated that he be put down. The welfare of their animals always comes first for the Morenos, and it was decided after consulting a veterinarian that this was the correct decision.
"Unfortunately, Roy's injuries this afternoon in Phoenix were insurmountable," shared Kindra Moreno yesterday. "We love Roy and knew that it would be in his best interest to ease his pain. These bulls are incredible athletes and loved by our family, friends and fans. We cannot thank the many of you who have reached out to us during this very difficult time. He went out on top, doing what he loved to do best. He was our little engine that could."
Cooper Davis was the last cowboy to leave the chute with Roy in the championship round in Phoenix. "You never want it to happen to any of them, but when you have one that is great like Roy and you lose him to a freak accident its extremely tragic. There is nothing anyone could have done about it, today was his day to go but that doesn't make it any easier for Julio. He was a great bull that was only getting better and he goes out on a high note and will always be remembered that way."
Roy was a contender for World Champion Bucking Bull last year. In 2014, he was the runner-up to that prestigious title. A brother to Bushwacker (the animal many people consider the greatest bull of all time), Roy had become a superstar in his own right. The 6-year-old bull looked to be in the running again this year for PBR's most prestigious bull title; he earned a 46.5 bull score this weekend.With an average score of 45.1 in the PBR Championship Round, he was almost always in contention for Bull of the Event anywhere he competed. Only three men had ridden the great bull on the Built Ford Tough Series: Fabiano Vieira (90.25 points), Eduardo Aparecido (93.25 points) and Cody Nance (89 points).
A son of the great Reindeer (out of Naccarato bloodlines), Roy's dam was Moreno 107/3. She was a daughter of the great Whitewater Skoal, who in turn was out of the legendary Oscar's Velvet.Most fans first took notice of Roy at the 2013 ABBI Classic World Finals where he was matched up against Nance and Stormy Wing (who bucked off at 6 seconds). The Classic Finals are held in conjunction with the PBR and after his performances in Round 1 and Round 4 of the World Finals, Roy's third place finish left a lasting impression on the crowd.
Over the last four years Roy delighted crowds in arenas coast-to-coast, while challenging cowboys to rise to the occasion and make the whistle atop his back. He will be remembered and missed.
