Professional Bull Riders

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Professional Bull Riders
Professional Bull Riders
Sport Bull riding
Founded 1992
No. of competitors Over 800 total, 30 in highest ranked tour
Country  United States
 Canada
 Mexico
 Brazil
 Australia
Current champion Brazil Silvano Alves
Official website PBR.com

Professional Bull Riders, Inc. (PBR) is an international professional bull riding organization based in Pueblo, Colorado, USA. In the United States, PBR events will be televised on CBS and CBS Sports Network, beginning in 2013.[1][2] More than 800 cowboys from the U.S., Canada, Brazil, Australia, and Mexico hold PBR memberships.

The organization began in 1992 through the efforts of 21 professional bull riders, who gathered in a hotel room in Scottsdale, Arizona and each contributed $1000.[3] Since that time, the organization has grown to include four tours which collectively stage over 300 events worldwide every year. Prize money has exploded from $250,000 in 1994 to over $11 million in 2008.

The PBR's premier tour, the Built Ford Tough Series, includes 31 events across the country every year. Pyrotechnics, pulsating music and special effects open each event, and each features the top 30 riders in the world at the time (plus 10 alternates). The season culminates in Las Vegas, where the PBR World Finals are held.

Riders attempt to stay on a bucking bull for eight seconds, and rides are judged based on both the rider's and the bull's performance, with two judges scoring the rider and two scoring the bull. At the end of each event, the top 15 riders compete in the short round, or "short go"; the rider with the highest point total from the entire event becomes the winner.

Since 2007, PBR also hosts a team competition format called PBR World Cup, where 25 bull riders (altogether representing 5 different countries) compete to win the title of best bull riders in the world.

Total viewership, including event attendees and the television audience, grew 51.93 percent between 2002 and 2004. In 2004, 16.4 million fans watched or attended a PBR event. In 2008, over 100 million watched the PBR on television, and over 1.7 million attended a live event.

Randy Bernard became CEO of the PBR in 1995, a position he held until he resigned in 2010 to become the CEO of the Indy Racing League.[4] On February 23, 2011, the PBR announced that Jim Haworth had become its new CEO.[5]

Canada, Brazil, Australia, and Mexico each have their own PBR tours, and money earned on those tours counts towards the U.S. qualifier standings and a spot in the PBR World Finals.

The PBR publishes its own magazine, Pro Bull Rider, six times a year.

Contents

PBR World Champions [edit]

Other Awards [edit]

The PBR has some secondary awards, in addition to the World Championship, given out annually, many named after bull riders fatally injured during competition.[6]

The Glen Keeley Award is for the Canadian bull rider who earns the most money through the PBR season. It is named for Glen Keeley, a Canadian bull rider who was fatally injured during the 2000 Ty Murray Invitational in Albuquerque, New Mexico.

The Lane Frost/Brent Thurman Award is for the highest-scoring single ride at the World Finals. It is named for Lane Frost, fatally injured during a competition in Cheyenne, Wyoming in 1989, and Brent Thurman, fatally injured during the National Finals Rodeo in Las Vegas in 1994.

The PBR Rookie of the Year award goes to the rookie (first year of PBR competition) bull rider who wins the most money of all first-year competitor. Prior to 2003, the award was points-based, rather than based on earnings.

The Stock Contractor of the Year goes to the stock contractor who has supplied the best bulls to PBR events. This award is given based on a vote among bull riders.

References [edit]

  1. ^ "PBR SIGNS EXCLUSIVE TELEVISION AGREEMENT WITH CBS SPORTS". PBR. Retrieved 24 December 2012. 
  2. ^ "PBR SIGNS EXCLUSIVE TELEVISION AGREEMENT WITH CBS SPORTS". CBS Sports. Retrieved 24 December 2012. 
  3. ^ * Fried Twinkies, Buckle Bunnies & Bull Riders: A Year Inside The Professional Bull Riders Tour, Josh Peter, Rodale, 2005
  4. ^ http://www.pbrnow.com/release/?id=6094
  5. ^ http://www.pbrnow.com/release/?id=7200
  6. ^ "PBR Bull Riding Dictionary". PBR. Retrieved 9 July 2011. 

External links [edit]

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