{gallery}07_07_09/extremebulls{/gallery} Chad Denton stays aboard Cajun Monkey for a 91-point ride and the Cody/Yellowstone Xtreme Bulls title on Sunday night. Tribune photo by Randal Horobik Denton wins Xtreme Bulls as alternateChad Denton bested a field of 39 other top bull riders, including five former world champions, and a pair of bucking bulls to walk away with champion honors at the 2009 Cody/Yellowstone Seminole Hard Rock Xtreme Bulls competition on Sunday night.

Not bad for someone who originally wasn't even scheduled to compete.

Denton, from Oreville, Calif., was a late addition to the star-studded field after getting bumped up from the alternates' list. He made the most of the opportunity by turning in the night's only two 90-plus point rides to walk away with more than $15,000 in prize money for his evening of work.

On a night where the bulls got the better of the cowboys time and again, Denton bucked the trend. His ride of 90.5 put him at the head of the class among the dozen riders to successfully stay aboard their bulls for a full 8 seconds.

Fruita, Colo., native Tyler Smith received credit for an 89-point ride to enter the short go in second place. Ryan Shanklin of Rock Springs, Texas, was third with 87 points going into the final round.

Neither of those cowboys were able to remain aboard their draws for the finals as the bulls continued their dominance in the late round. Casper's Clayton Savage was the first rider to chain together a pair of successful rides and was sitting pretty until getting displaced by an 88-point ride from Wheatland's Tyler Willis.

It looked as though home-state advantage might carry the pair of Wyoming riders to victory until Denton climbed aboard Cajun Monkey and mastered the erratic bull for a 91-point score on the final ride of the night.

“He was mean,” Denton said of his final-round draw. “He was hooking everything back here. You just have to take it one jump at a time, but it worked out good. He had me in a little bit of a bind a couple of times.”

Willis wound up with roughly $8,500 in prize money for the night. Savage's share of the prize money came to Approximately $6,100.

The Cody/Yellowstone Seminole Hard Rock Xtreme Bulls event is scheduled for broadcast at 10:30 a.m. on Sunday, July 19, on ESPN2. The program will re-air on Aug. 1 and Oct. 4 on ESPN Classic. Broadcast schedules are subject to change.

Average: 1. Chad Denton, 181.5 points on two, $7,050; 2. Tyler Willis, 171, $5,405; 3. Clayton Savage, 166, $3,995; 4. Tyler Smith, 89 on one, $2,585; 5. Ryan Shanklin, 87, $1,645; 6. J.W. Harris, 84.5, $1,175; 7. (tie) Jarrod Craig and Chris Roundy, 83, $822.

First round: 1. Chad Denton, 90.5, $4,230; 2. Tyler Smith, 89, $3,243; 3. Ryan Shanklin, 87, $2,397; 4. J.W. Harris, 84.5, $1,551; 5. (tie) Jarrod Craig, Chris Roundy and Tyler Willis, 83, $752; 8. Clayton Savage, 82, $423.