STEPHENVILLE, Texas - Wednesday night presented yet another illustration of how strong the bucking bull industry currently is.

Last New Yer's Eve, stock contractors got to see how a pen of 80 Classic bulls at the Cowtown Classic in Fort Worth, Texas. Last night, they entered another 45 Classic bulls in the weekly Buck & Duck at Lone Star Arena in nearby Stephenville.

The weekly event produced by Brad Boyd and Toby Floyd typically provides area contractors with an opportunity to work their younger bulls in a competitive environment.

There were so many bulls in Fort Worth that 50 had to be drawn out of the event for lack of space.

Boyd, who is also President of the ABBI, worked with Executive Director Kaycee Simpson and decided that Wednesday's event would serve as a sanctioned ABBI Classic event to give the bulls drawn out of the Fort Worth event an opportunity to earn a score prior to the first Built Ford Tough Series event that will feature Classic bulls.

That event will take place in another two weeks in Oklahoma City.

Everyone from PBR Livestock Director Cody Lambert to Boyd and Simpson agreed that the Classic success is a tribute to the growth of the PBR and ABBI despite the economic climate.

"Everybody's talking about how the economy has hurt the bull business," Boyd said. "It doesn't show it. Our registries are up in the ABBI, and when you have 130 people wanting to enter bucking bulls, that just shows you how strong it really is."

"The ABBI sure is looking strong in the bull business," Simpson added.

"We had a 130 who wanted to enter, which is really amazing that many people sat around in the winter and got their calves ready to go. We're excited that they know the bull business is strong and healthy with the economy the way that it is."

Wednesday's event in Stephenville drew 45 more Classic bulls.

Super Cool Cat scored 89 points and took home $4,111 for his owners, and will be among the bulls Lambert is likely to consider when he assembles the Classic pen for Oklahoma City.

Last night's event gave out $14,685 in prize money, with the Top 10 bulls all earning a check. In addition to the money won at individual ABBI events, the 2012 ABBI World Champion Classic Bull will earn a $250,000 bonus at season's end.

Following the New Year's Eve event, Lambert said the Top 10 Classic bulls competing in Fort Worth were good enough to compete at any BFTS event.

The high scoring bull that weekend was Ringo, who earned 92.5 points, followed by Shepherd Hills Tested, Carney Man and Gonzo, who all scored 89.25 points. Jungle Juice was fifth with 88.75 points. Ringo easily outscored the competition with scores ranging from 22.75 points to as high as 23.5 points from all six judges.

The high and low marks are discarded in calculating the bull score for Classic competitions.

"It's nice to see good bulls everywhere," Lambert said.

With the help of the ABBI, that dream is now a reality.

Some of the most influential contractors - Tom Teague, Boyd & Floyd and D&H Cattle - are hauling Classic bulls this year, along with dozens of other contractors spread across the United States from the East Coast to the West Coast.