Hotel California passes on.

IowaDeerHunter · March 9, 2005

Read this in another post and found an artile on it. It is sad to see him go because he was such a great bucking bull. RIP Hotel California.

Page and Teague Bucking Bulls' Hotel California Passes.

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (March 7, 2005) - The unfortunate passing of Page and Teague Bucking Bulls' Hotel California on March 7, 2005, is a sad day for bull riding fans and bucking bull breeders alike. Hotel California maintained an incredible streak of buckoffs from the time of his debut on the Built Ford Tough Series (BFTS) tour in 2002. It was not until the 2004 season when 1994 and 2001 Professional Bull Riders (PBR) World Champion, Adriano Moraes (Sao Paulo, Brazil), managed to survive eight harrowing seconds aboard Hotel California. Moraes and Hotel California crossed paths during the Springdale, Ark. BFTS event which was held in Mid-May of last season. The only other time that the bull was successfully ridden in tour action came very recently during the Enterprise Rent-A-Car Classic, which took place in St. Louis, Mo. on February 25-27, 2005. 2005 BFTS point standings leader Justin McBride (Elk City, Okla.) survived the storm for an outstanding 89.5 point score. Hotel California cranked out one stunning performance after another and was ridden only twice in 28 BFTS career outs, launching an astounding 92.9% of all challengers. Hotel California debuted on the tour as a young bull and went on to prove his abilities against top PBR bull riders of undeniably world class caliber.

Said H.D. Page of Hotel California's dynamic career, "He will definitely be missed. In my mind he was one of the grittiest bulls going and I will absolutely miss him. He was kind of my baby and when they reach the level he was at, it leaves a big void when they're gone."

Echoed PBR Vice President Cody Lambert, "I was recently interviewed about PBR World Champion Bull contenders and in each conversation Hotel California came to the forefront of the discussion. He was an extremely hard working bull and one of the top five contenders for the 2005 PBR World Champion Bull honor in my opinion. The last time I watched him buck I told H.D. that Hotel California works harder at it than any bull out there." Continued Lambert, "The odds were stacked against him from day one, but he overcame them. Considering that had he been completely healthy in his career, he was still a small bull, and had his stature to overcome. He had a disease that damaged his muscle tone and although he probably should have died about three years ago, he just refused to lay down."

Every effort was made to save Hotel California, who was transported to Oklahoma State University's veterinary medicine facility for treatment. While autopsy results are still pending, preliminary findings reveal that the cause of death was reportedly kidney problems.

March 9, 2005