- 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
AustraliaCurrent champion Silvano AlvesOfficial website PBR.com Professional Bull Riders, Inc. (PBR) is an international professional bull riding organization based in Pueblo, Colorado, USA. PBR events are televised on Versus, Fox, CBS and NBC. 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[1]. 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.[2] On February 23, 2011, the PBR announced that Jim Haworth had become its new CEO.[3]
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
- 2011 Silvano Alves
- 2010 Renato Nunes
- 2009 Kody Lostroh
- 2008 Guilherme Marchi
- 2007 Justin McBride
- 2006 Adriano Moraes
- 2005 Justin McBride
- 2004 Mike Lee
- 2003 Chris Shivers
- 2002 Ednei Caminhas
- 2001 Adriano Moraes
- 2000 Chris Shivers
- 1999 Cody Hart
- 1998 Troy Dunn
- 1997 Michael Gaffney
- 1996 Owen Washburn
- 1995 Tuff Hedeman
- 1994 Adriano Moraes
Other Awards
The PBR has some secondary awards, in addition to the World Championship, given out annually, many named after bull riders fatally injured during competition.[4]
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
- ^ * Fried Twinkies, Buckle Bunnies & Bull Riders: A Year Inside The Professional Bull Riders Tour, Josh Peter, Rodale, 2005
- ^ http://www.pbrnow.com/release/?id=6094
- ^ http://www.pbrnow.com/release/?id=7200
- ^ "PBR Bull Riding Dictionary". PBR. http://pbrnow.com/about/sportinfo/dictionary.cfm. Retrieved 9 July 2011.
External links
- Professional Bull Riders, Inc.
- TeamPBR - official fan club
- Professional Bull Riders ticketing information
- Feature story about PBR on Hossli.com
- [1] World's best bull riders are ready for their 8 seconds
Categories:- 1992 establishments
- Rodeo organizations
- Organizations based in Colorado
- Sports in Colorado
- Pueblo, Colorado
- 2011
Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.
