The bullrider from Granby, Mo., was sitting atop the National Federation of Professional Bullriders points standings and poised to lock up the Federation Cup for 2001 when tragedy struck.

Hickman broke his leg on the first night of the NFPB Finals in St. Joseph, snapping his chances of claiming the crown.

“He’s back and doing real well this year,” said Jim Lower, marketing director of the federation.

In fact, Hickman is sitting in second place in the points standings, and will duel with current points leader Sean Rutherford of Fair Grove, Mo., and 23 other riders from eight states in this year’s event at Civic Arena. The competition begins at 7 tonight, and the Friday and Saturday shows are scheduled for 8 p.m.

Riders have competed in events throughout the season for the opportunity to compete in the finals in St. Joseph, home to the event for the past four years.

Other riders hail from Wisconsin, Arkansas, Iowa, Oklahoma, Minnesota and Ohio, but Dan Welch — “The Connecticut Cowboy” — is coming from the longest distance this year.

The riders are scheduled to ride two bulls each night, barring injury, from approximately 60 bulls provided by contractors from Missouri, Arkansas, Oklahoma, Iowa and Minnesota.

Four riders went to the buzzer on both of their bulls Thursday night and George Faskell from New London, Wis., leads the averages with rides of 79 and 81.

“The money is in the averages, so I’m happy,” Faskell said as he received treatment for a sore back from a chiropractor after his second ride.

Faskell’s rides weren’t the biggest of the night, but riders say any time you get on a bull it takes its toll. Just ask Faskell. His first-round 79 came at a small cost, when his bull turned as he came off and its horn caught him in the tricep.

“I came right in and got ice on it,” said Faskell, face down on the training table. “I think the adrenaline worked the rest of it out.”

Matt Werries of Fort Scott, Kan., also earned scores in both rounds with a 79 and an 80, placing him in second by just .5 points. Justice Baker (Birch Tree, Mo.) and Kenny Hickman (Granby, Mo.) rode both of their bulls for 77.5 and 76 averages, respectively. Hickman came into the finals in second place in the money standings.

While he didn’t get scores for both rounds, defending champion Justin Carlton (Trenton, Tenn.) got the hardest one out of the way, riding his first bull for an 81.

Matt Pajonowski also rode his first bull for the highest score of the round and eventually the night, scoring an 87. Pajonowski, of Woodbury, Minn., was unseated in the second round just short of the required eight seconds.

The second round high score belonged to Jack Guerin (Chadwick, Mo.) with an 85. Guerin sits third in the money standings.

Sean Rutherford (Fair Grove, Mo.), the top-money winner this season, scored a first round 79, but was unable to stay on his second bull.

In the third round, only five of 24 riders received marks for their rides. The high point ride belonged to Woodbury, Minn., resident Matt Pajonowski, with an 84. Pajonowski also had the highest first-round score of 87 on Thursday night.

In the fourth round, the cowboys got back in the saddle and nine riders stayed on long enough to receive scores, three of them 84s.

One was by Fort Scott, Kan., rider Matt Werries, who rode both his bulls Thursday night. His total of 243 placed him in second behind Jack Guerin’s 246. Guerin had the high-point ride of the second round with an 85. His fourth round was a solid 81.

“I’m pretty happy,” said Guerin, who lives in Chadwick, Mo. “Everything went well, but there’s a lot of good guys out left.”

One of those guys is 17-year-old Corey Montana Davis, who is from New Bloomfield, Mo. His 83 in the third round was the night’s first complete ride. The fourth round gave him a 79 for a 242 total and third place in the averages.

“I wish I could have done a little better on my second bull,” Davis said. “My outside foot, I couldn’t get a hold with it.”

Fourth place currently belongs to Justice Baker, who earned one of the 84s in the fourth round and has a 239 total.

Though only four riders have three rides, the race is much tighter than it looks at first glance. If riders such as the season’s leading money winner Sean Rutherford, who has ridden two bull so far, gets scores on both of his bulls tonight, he will be right back in it.

“It’ll take two bulls,” Guerin said as he signed autographs after the fourth round was complete. “Two more bulls will make it a lot easier.”

The Ozark, Mo., bullrider held his right arm at chest level with a bulky icy bag wrapped around it. His nose was scraped and bloodied. But like the bullrider that he is, he didn’t ask for sympathy and wouldn’t take it if it were offered.

He’s simply tough. Period.

Roussell suffered a broken wrist on his fall during a ride Friday night. He’s uncertain of the damage, but he’s felt the same kind of pain before.

“I just had knee surgery,” Roussell said of the operation that kept him off the bullriding circuit for four months. To add to those injuries, Roussell has suffered fractures to his skull and ribs and felt the sting of more bruises than you’d find marshmallows in a box of Boo Berry cereal.

What keeps him going?

“I don’t know, just addicted to it I guess,” Roussell said. “But it pays good.”

Travel and pay keeps Kristin, his wife of more than 3 years, happy and understanding. But she also knows danger escalates every time he leaves the chute on the back of a bucking bull.

“It’s fun to travel and fun to go and win a lot of money, but it’s bad that he’s hurt all the time,” she said. “He’s hurt for four months and then he’s right here and breaks his wrist.”

The bumps and injuries that accompany bullriding swing like an evil pendulum for most cowboys. But they can’t get enough of the show. Most sacrifice limb and skin for eight seconds of stardom. Is it worth it? For these guys, all of which have bulging forearms like Mark McGwire and wrestler-like body fat, the chase is worth more than the kill.

“It’s a challenge each and every time,” said Will Hellentall, who rides between 150 and 200 bulls each year. “You’re challenged every time you go out there.”

Hellentall has rode bulls for the last seven years and wears his injuries like a badge of courage. He talks of a separated chest, broken ankles and the current problem, a separated shoulder. He’s like a walking, riding version of a Chris LeDoux song. Of course, financially his physical ailments pale in comparison to your average pro football player.

“He might sit out a little longer than us, because they make more money than we do,” said Hellentall, who lives in Shueyville, Iowa, located outside of Cedar Rapids. He shoes horses when he doesn’t ride. “They can afford to sit out and we can’t. We keep going.”

Yeah, these guys might be the toughest people we meet. Few can take the punishment these guys endure on a weekly basis and come back for the love of a sport. Most are more stubborn than the bulls they ride. That’s why they’re the best at what they do.

Hellentall gives himself another five years on the bulls before he hangs his spurs on the barn wall. He’ll call it a career but he won’t be finished just yet.

Likewise, don’t be surprised if Roussell’s out there riding with a cast or wrap anytime soon.