Jesse Byrne thought it would be a good idea to leave early for the Jack Daniel’s Invitational in Indianapolis.

But the 24-year-old bullfighter didn’t make it to the Jack Daniel’s Invitational in time for the first flight of the opening round.

“I left (Friday) night,” Byrne explained, “which didn’t pan out.”

Snow kept the Calgary native in Toronto on Friday night, and for reasons unknown, customs officials kept him at O’Hare International Airport in Chicago for most of Saturday before he finally made the 45-minute flight to Indianapolis.

“You never know what you’re going to run into,” he said afterward. “Things just kind of stacked up on one another, and it was one of those days, I guess.”

“I think I lost a few years off my life due to stress getting here,” Byrne said, adding that one never knows what might happen when crossing the border from Canada into the United States as often as he and fellow Canadian Aaron Roy do.

Byrne added that customs officials never did mention the cause for the delay Saturday afternoon.

“I told them I had places to be,” he said, “but apparently everybody else did, too.

“I think I missed about five bulls. I made like Superman and was changing in the back of the car on the way over to the event, but got here, and am really happy to be here. … I think I might just move to where there’s no snow 365 days of the year.”

NEWS & NOTES

INJURY UPDATE: Dr. Tandy Freeman reported that Skeeter Kingsolver bruised his right leg when he was struck by a bull's horn during the first round. He is out of competition for the remainder of the event. Harve Stewart sustained a concussion when hit by a horn during the first short round. He is probable for this afternoon.

SHOULDER ISSUE: Austin Meier said his injured shoulder is a day-by-day situation. The Oklahoma cowboy said he was told it won’t get any better until he has it fixed, but he hopes it won’t get any worse until he takes the time to have it looked at. The first step will be to have an MRI, which he doesn’t plan on having until the summer break. If all it needs is a simple scope, he’ll take care of it then, because he would be healed and ready to ride by the time the Built Ford Tough Series resumes. Otherwise he’ll wait it out until sometime in the future.

SUBSTITUTION: Jordan Hupp is ill and will not be competing in Indianapolis this weekend. Cord McCoy is at the event, and has replaced Hupp in the draw. McCoy rode Friday night in North Charleston, S.C., and had no idea he’d be competing in Indianapolis until he got a phone call informing him that Hupp couldn’t make it. He immediately called the front desk at his hotel and said that he had an emergency and needed a cab right away. On the way to the airport, he called the airline and booked the first available flight to Indianapolis.

McCoy, along with his brother Jet, will appear on the 18th season of The Amazing Race, which premiers Feb. 20. Cord and Jet finished second in the 16th season of the hit CBS series.

CADILLAC MEN: Shane Proctor and his brother-in-law J. B. Mauney competed Friday night at North Charleston, which is just four hours south of their home in Mooresville, N.C. Afterward they drove all night to Indianapolis for this weekend’s BFTS event in a restored ’91 Cadillac Mauney bought from Proctor. Proctor and his wife Jessi Mauney-Proctor will fly to Ft. Worth, Texas, on Monday morning to compete in a rodeo, while Mauney will drive nine hours back to North Carolina.

Proctor won the long round in Indianapolis with an 86 and is sixth in the average after bucking off in the short round, while Mauney was 84.5 in the opening round and is seventh in the average.

IT’S A GIRL: Travis Briscoe and his wife Jessie announced they are expecting a girl. The couple, who make their home in New Mexico, are expecting their first child at the end of May.

CORRECTION: Justin Koon is competing in the second BFTS event of his career. The 27-year-old Arkansas cowboy was mistakenly described as a newcomer Friday, when in fact, he rode in Billings, Mont., in 2006. Koon qualified for the first short round Saturday night and is splitting sixth and seventh in the average with Stewart.

PBR ON NBC: The conclusion of the Jack Daniel’s Invitational will be on NBC. The live event starts at 1 p.m. ET. Check your local listings for airtimes in your area.

— by Keith Ryan Cartwright