Little Yellow Jacket
Chris Shivers on Little Yellow Jacket in 2003
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| Hall of Fame bull | |
| Country | United States |
|---|---|
| Breed | Brangus |
| Brand | P761 |
| Sex | Bull |
| Color | Dark red |
| Weight | 1,750 pounds (790 kg) |
| Born | August 20, 1996 Mandan, ND, U.S. |
| Years active | 1999-2005 |
| Sire | Yellow Jacket |
| Paternal grandsire | Wrangler Rivets |
| Paternal granddam | Berger Cow |
| Dam | Berger Cow |
| Breeder | Joe Berger |
| Owner | Joe & Nevada Berger, Tom Teague, Bernie Taupin |
| Notable riders | Chris Shivers, Michael Gaffney, Ty Murray |
| Died | September 19, 2011 (aged 15) Graham, NC, U.S. |
| Honors | |
| North Dakota Cowboy Hall of Fame 2006 | |
| Awards | |
| PBR World Champion Bull 2002-2004 | |
Little Yellow Jacket #P761 (August 20, 1996 - September 19, 2011) was a bucking bull. He was a three-time Professional Bull Riders (PBR) World Champion Bull, winning the title in consecutive years from 2002-2004. At the time, his three titles made him unmatched by any bull in the history of the PBR. He was also inducted into the North Dakota Cowboy Hall of Fame for his accomplishments. He was the son of #77 Yellow Jacket and the grandson of #LH600 Wrangler Rivets. Little Yellow Jacket's three-time World Champion Bull record has since been matched by #13/6 Bushwacker, who received his third title in 2014, his year of retirement. Little Yellow Jacket was sometimes referred to as the "Michael Jordan of professional bull riding" and had his own line of merchandise. It was said he was the greatest bull in the PBR when he was selected to the receive the inaugural Brand of Honor. Later, the bull Bushwacker was deemed to surpass Little Yellow Jacket as the best PBR bucking bull of all time. In Little Yellow Jacket's day he had the largest following of any PBR bull. Later, the bull Bushwacker was deemed to surpass all bucking bulls as the best of all time; In 2014, PBR co-founder and Director of Livestock Cody Lambert said Bushwacker was right up there with other legendary animal athletes Secretariat and Seabiscuit.
Little Yellow Jacket was bred on the Berger family ranch, named Rafter Arrow Ranch, in Mandan, North Dakota, by Joe Berger and his son Nevada. "'You can't train him to be a bucking bull,' said Berger on LJ's natural talent. 'It's about breeding and blood lines. He got it bred into him. The only thing you can train him is to not buck in the chute.'"
After Tom Teague of Tom Teague Bucking Bulls got involved with the PBR, he became interested in Little Yellow Jacket. Cody Lambert and top riders made it obvious how good the bull was before he had even won any titles due to his tremendous heart and instantaneous success in his first year. As such, in 2002, Teague tried hard to persuade owner Joe Berger to sell him a half interest in Little Yellow Jacket while in Denver, Colorado, but Berger would not budge until Little Yellow Jacket had won a World Champion Bull title. Later that year the bull won his first title and Teague approached Berger again. Berger named his price and Teague didn't even haggle, just paid it outright. Later, Englishman Bernie Taupin, a songwriter for Elton John, who has been fascinated with Western culture since childhood, managed to purchase an interest in the bull somewhere along the line.
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Wikipedia