Returning to competition for the first time since suffering a partially collapsed lung in May, J.B. Mauney (Mooresville, N.C.) finished first on Wednesday at the Professional Bull Riders Touring Pro Division event at the Salinas Sports Complex in Salinas, Calif.
The largest crowd in the history of the TPD event in Salinas saw Mauney finish with 178 points, including a re-ride in the first round. Ned Cross (Midland, Ore.) finished second after posting back-to-back 88.5-points rides and Casey Stirling (Highmore, S.D.).
The TPD 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 TPD 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 TPD are allowed to move into the BFTS.
Mauney returns to the elite Built Ford Tough Series on Friday at the BOK Center in Tulsa, Okla. with the Express Classic presented by Cooper Tires and brought to you locally by Troy-Bilt and Blue-Emu. He suffered a partially-collapsed lung, which required surgery, on May 7 at Wichita, Kan., causing him to miss the last event before the BFTS’ annual break.
Tickets are still available for Tulsa starting at $10 and can be purchased at the Arby's Box Office at the BOK Center, at Reasor’s locations in Broken Arrow, Catoosa, Claremore, Jenks, Langley, Owasso, Sapulpa, Tahlequah and Tulsa, online at www.bokcenter.com and by telephone at (866) 7-BOK-CTR. Bull riding begins at 8 p.m. on Friday, July 16, 7:30 p.m. on Saturday, July 17 and 2 p.m. on Sunday, July 18.
Fans unable to make it to Tulsa will be able to watch every ride live online at www.pbr.tv and www.versus.com, beginning with Round 1 at 9 p.m. ET on Friday, July 16. Round 2 will be shown at 8:30 p.m. ET on Saturday, July 17, and Round 3 will be broadcast on Sunday, July 18, at 2 p.m. The broadcasts will also be available on demand following each performance.
The Tulsa event will feature three rounds of the Top 40 bull riders matched against the top bulls in the PBR. The scores from the three rides will be combined, and the Top 15 riders will advance to the Built Ford Tough Championship Round following intermission on Sunday afternoon, where they will compete with one more bull. The rider with the highest total score after the championship round will be declared the winner.
The PBR is having the deepest title race in history. In the first half of the season there were nine lead changes, with six different riders on top of the standings, including Renato Nunes (Buritama, Sao Paulo, Brazil), who is ranked first for the second time after posting his second victory of the year at Pueblo, Colo., in May.
The first 20 BFTS events have produced 15 different winners, including Austin Meier of Kinta, Okla., who has won a season-leading four events and enters Tulsa ranked second, only 660.75 points behind Nunes.
Tulsa will be the fourth American Bucking Bull, Inc. Classic event of the BFTS season, as 40 ABBI bulls will compete in Round 1 and again in Round 3. The ABBI, which introduces young bucking bulls at select BFTS and Touring Pro events, is dedicated to unifying, developing and promoting the bucking bull industry through pedigree preservation; enhancement and promotion of bucking bull ownership, breeding, and welfare; and development of programs and events showcasing the world's finest bucking bull stock. The ABBI is the third-largest cattle registry and is set up to record and preserve the pedigrees of the world's premier bucking bulls.
The PBR Fan Zone will be set up at Bass Pro Shop, 101 Bass Pro Drive, in Broken Arrow from 10 a.m.–3 p.m. on July 17. Family-friendly activities include stick-bull racing, bull roping, face painting and mechanical bulls. The second-round bull draft will be held on the Cooper Tire stage from 11 a.m.–12 p.m. and riders will sign autographs from 12–1 p.m. PBR in-arena announcer and experienced angler Clint Adkins will host a fishing seminar at 1:30 p.m., while Brandon Bates, an announcer for the PBR and host of “The Elk Chronicles” on the Outdoor Channel, will host a hunting seminar at 2 p.m.
Ariat and the PBR will be at Drysdales, 3220 S. Memorial, from 12–5 p.m. on Friday with the mobile merchandise truck and the mechanical bulls while four riders will sign autographs from 2–3:30 p.m. Ariat and mobile merchandise truck will visit Cavender’s, 8035 E. 31st Street, from 3:30–5:30 p.m. on Saturday with four riders signing autographs from 3:30–5 p.m. Wrangler riders Jody Newberry, Mike Lee and L.J. Jenkins will be signing autographs at Drysdales, 3220 S. Memorial, from 12:30–2 p.m. on Saturday.
Professional Bull Riders Touring Pro Division Event Results:
California Rodeo Salinas
July 14, 2010 at Salinas, Calif.
- J.B. Mauney, Mooresville, N.C., 178 points
- Ned Cross, Midland, Ore., 177 points
- Casey Stirling, Highmore, S.D., 161.5 points
For more information on the Professional Bull Riders, please visit www.pbr.com or contact Jack Carnefix at (719) 242-2800 or jcarnefix@pbrnow.com or Sara Broun at (719) 242-2800 or sbroun@pbrnow.com.
About the Professional Bull Riders, Inc. (PBR)
More than 100 million viewers tune in each year to the PBR on VERSUS, NBC, CBS 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.
