The Professional Bull Riders (PBR) Touring Pro Division action continues this weekend in Texas, Louisiana, Colorado, North Dakota, and next Wednesday in Oregon.
The PBR Touring Pro Division is the minor-league tour of the PBR, where both established veterans and newcomers to the professional ranks compete against some of the most famous bucking bulls. The tour gives riders the opportunity to compete in PBR-sanctioned events while earning money to qualify for the elite Built Ford Tough Series, which is comprised of the Top 40 bull riders in the world. Every five events on the BFTS, the bottom five riders (based on points) are dropped from the BFTS and the Top 5 riders (based on money earned) from the Touring Pro Division are allowed to move into the BFTS.
This Friday, June 25, the San Antonio, Texas PBR Touring Pro Division will take place at Cowboys Dancehall in San Antonio, Texas. All of the action will begin at 8:30 p.m. and tickets can be purchased at the door for as little as $7. PBR stars such as Pete and Jared Farley (Kempsey, NSW, Australia), fellow Australian Ben Jones (Goulburn, NSW, Australia) and Brazilian Robson Aragao (Aracaju Sergipe, Brazil) are among the riders slated to compete in San Antonio.
On Friday, June 25, and Saturday, June 26, fans will get to see PBR great, “Mighty” Mike White (De Kalb, Texas) ride the final two bulls of his career at the Mike White Invitational PBR Enterprise Rent-A-Car Touring Pro Division in Lake Charles, La. The first bulls will be bucked at 7:30 p.m. both nights and tickets can be purchased for as little as $8 at www.mikewhitepbr.com, at the Burton Coliseum Ticket Office, at Meaux’s Western Wear or Patton’s Western Wear in Lake Charles, La. or at The Ranch Outlet in Lafayette, La.
Some of the PBR’s biggest riders will be competing in Louisiana on Friday, including Ned Cross (Midland, Ore.), Kasey Hayes (Liberal, Kan.), Cord McCoy (Tupelo, Okla.) and Sean Willingham (Summerville, Ga.). On Saturday, the field also includes Zack Brown (Santa Fe, Texas), Cody Nance (Paris, Tenn.), Caleb Sanderson (Kissimmee, Fla.) and McKennon Wimberly (Cool, Texas).
The Greeley Stampede PBR Touring Pro Division will take over the Greeley Stampede Arena in Greeley, Colo. on Saturday, June 26, at 1 p.m. Tickets start for as little as $12 and can be purchased at www.TicketsWest.com, the Greeley Stampede Box Office, by calling (866) 464-2626 or at any Colorado King Soopers grocery store. A few of the PBR athletes expected to compete in Greeley are Colorado native Josh Koschel (Greeley, Colo.), international superstar Brendon Clark (Morpeth, NSW, Australia), and veteran bull rider Dustin Elliott (North Platte, Neb.).
Also coming up this weekend is the Binford PBR Bull Riding Touring Pro Division in Binford, N.D. All of the bull riding thrills and spills start at 8 p.m. on Saturday at the Binford Rodeo Grounds. Tickets can be purchased for $15 in advance by calling (701) 676-2592 or for $20 at the gate. PBR athletes such as Cody Campbell (Summerville, Ore.), Aaron Roy (Asquith, SK, Canada) and Pistol Robinson (Burleson, Texas) are entered in the Binford event.
The following week, on Wednesday, June 30, the “Best of the West” PBR Touring Pro Division will take place at the St. Paul Rodeo Arena in St. Paul, Ore. All of the bull-riding action begins at 7:30 p.m. and tickets are on sale now for as little as $10. Tickets can be purchased by calling Ticketmaster at (503) 224.4400. Fans can expect to see PBR greats such as Ross Coleman (Molalla, Ore.), Australian Brendon Clark (Morpeth, NSW, Australia), Ned Cross (Midland, Ore.) and Cody Campbell (Summerville, Ore.).
In PBR Touring Pro Division action last weekend, Colorado native Dillon Tyner (Hoyt, Colo.) took home the win in the Evergreen Rodeo PBR Touring Pro Division event with 156.5 points, while Tarren Calhoun (Grandby, Colo.) came in a close second with 153 points. Jory Markiss (Longmont, Colo.) rounded out the top three with 146.5 points.
On Friday night at the Bismarck, N.D. PBR Touring Pro Division, Ben Jones (Goulburn, NSW, Australia) walked away with the winning ride at 88.5 points, followed closely by Stetson Lawrence (Trenton, N.D ) with 88 points and Nathan Schaper (Grassy Butte, N.D) with 87.5 points. Saturday’s event went to Texan Reese Cates (Carthage, Texas), who won day two with 90 points. Second place went to Cord McCoy (Tupelo, Okla.) with 87.5 points while third place went to Matt Werries (Jacksonville, Ill.) with 86.5 points.
In Fort Myers, Fla., Florida native Kevin McKeeman (Lake Wales, Fla.) won the two-day event with 175 points. Travis Sellers (Wentzville, Mo.) came in second with 174 points and Luis Blanco (Irving, Texas) finished third with 172 points.
The winner of the final event from last weekend, the D&B Supply presents the Dickies Northwest PBR Touring Pro Division in Twin Falls, Idaho, was Casey Sullivan (Grantsville, Utah) with 85.5 points. Tim Bingham (Honeyville, Utah) and Cameron Craig (Battle Mountain, Nev.) tied for second place with 85 points each.
The elite BFTS is having the deepest title race in history, with 15 different winners through the first 20 events. The BFTS is currently on its summer break and will return on July 16–18 in Tulsa, Okla. for the Express Classic presented by Cooper Tires and brought to you locally by Troy-Bilt and Blue-Emu.
There are 12 riders in the Top 20 of the BFTS standings who have won an event. The multiple-event winners for 2010 are Austin Meier with four wins and Renato Nunes and Valdiron de Oliveira with two wins apiece. The BFTS standings lead has changed nine times and there have been six different riders at the top in the first half of the season. J.B. Mauney has been ranked first, three different times, while Austin Meier and Renato Nunes have each held the top spot twice.
Professional Bull Riders Touring Pro Division Event Results:
Evergreen Rodeo PBR Touring Pro Division (Evergreen, Colo.)
June 18, 2010
- Dillon Tyner (Hoyt, Colo.), 156.5 points
- Tarren Calhoun (Grandby, Colo.), 153 points
- Jory Markiss (Longmont, Colo.), 146.5 points
Bismarck, N.D. PBR Touring Pro Division (Bismarck, N.D.)
June 18, 2010
- Ben Jones (Goulburn, NSW, Australia), 88.5 points
- Stetson Lawrence (Trenton, N.D.), 88.0 points
- Nathan Schaper (Grassy Butte, N.D.), 87.5 points
June 19, 2010
- Reese Cates (Carthage, Texas), 90 points
- Cord McCoy (Tupelo, Okla.), 87.5 points
- Matt Werries (Jacksonville, Ill.), 86.5 points
Fort Myers, Fla. PBR Enterprise Rent-A-Car Touring Pro Division (Fort Myers, Fla.)
June 18–19, 2010
- Kevin McKeeman (Lake Wales, Fla.), 175 points
- Travis Sellers (Wentzville, Mo.), 174 points
- Luis Blanco (Irving, Texas), 172 points
D&B Supply presents the Dickies Northwest PBR Touring Pro Division (Twin Falls, Idaho)
June 19, 2010
- Casey Sullivan (Grantsville, Utah) 85.5 points
- (tie) Tim Bingham (Honeyville, Utah), 85 points
(tie) Cameron Craig (Battle Mountain, Nev.), 85 points
The PBR is the premiere bull riding organization in the world with the best riders from the United States, Mexico, Australia, Brazil and Canada. One of the fastest-growing sports in the country, PBR events air weekly on VERSUS, NBC, CBS and FOX. For more information on the Professional Bull Riders, please visit www.pbr.com or contact Jack Carnefix at (719) 242-2800 (jcarnefix@pbrnow.com) or Sara Broun at (719) 242-2800 (sbroun@pbrnow.com).
Join PBR on Facebook www.facebook.com/TeamPBR and Twitter http://twitter.com/teamPBR.
About the Professional Bull Riders, Inc. (PBR)
More than 100 million viewers tune in each year to the PBR on VERSUS, NBC, CBS, FOX and on television networks around the world. With approximately 400 hours of primetime programming annually, the PBR ranks among the most prolific sports on air. The PBR attracts nearly 2 million live event attendees each year to its marquee Built Ford Tough Series and the PBR Touring Pro Division. More than 1,200 PBR bull riders compete every year in approximately 300 PBR-sanctioned competitions in the United States, Australia, Brazil, Canada, and Mexico. The PBR was nominated as 2010 Sports League of the Year at the Sports Business Journal Sports Business Awards alongside the National Football League, National Basketball Association and Major League Baseball.
For more on the PBR, please visit www.pbr.com, www.teampbr.com, www.pbr.tv, www.myspace.com/teampbr, http://twitter.com/teampbr, or www.pbr.com/worldfinals.
