Professional Bull Riders fans will be able to watch Touring Pro Division events this weekend in Florida, Ohio and Washington.
The TPD is the development tour of the PBR, allowing established veterans and newcomers the opportunity to compete against some of the world’s best bucking bulls.
“There are a lot of familiar names and some names that will become familiar in the future competing this weekend,” said PBR Senior Vice President of Competition Jay Daugherty. “TPD events also feature some of the top bulls, who we aren’t able to use in a Built Ford Tough Series event because of location, yet still need to compete.”
The TPD will be in Toledo, Ohio, on Friday, Jan. 14, and Saturday, Jan. 15, at the Huntington Center. Bull riding begins at 7:30 p.m. each night and tickets can be purchased at the Huntington Center box office, online at www.Ticketmaster.com, and by telephone at (800) 745-3000. Riders scheduled to compete in Toledo include 2008 PBR Rookie of the Year Reese Cates, and Cord McCoy, who was recently a runner-up in the CBS hit “The Amazing Race,” along with his brother Jet.
The Wrangler PBR Classic TPD will visit Spokane, Wash., on Friday, Jan. 14, and Saturday, Jan. 15, at the Spokane Arena. Bull riding begins at 8 p.m. each night and tickets can be purchased at the Spokane Arena box office, online at www.TicketsWest.com and by telephone at (800) 325-SEAT (7328).
The TPD returns to Bud Adams Equestrian Arena at the St. Lucie County Fairgrounds on Saturday, Jan. 15. Bull riding begins at 5 p.m. and proceeds from the event benefit the Busch Wildlife Sanctuary.
The TPD gives riders the opportunity to compete in PBR-sanctioned events while earning money to qualify for the nationally-televised Built Ford Tough Series, which is comprised of the Top 40 bull riders in the world. Every five events on the BFTS, the Top 5 riders (based on money earned) from the TPD are allowed to move into the BFTS.
The 2011 BFTS season opened last weekend in New York at world-famous Madison Square Garden. The season will conclude Oct. 26-30 in Las Vegas with the PBR World Finals, where the 2011 PBR World Champion will be crowned and awarded a $1 million bonus.
The BFTS Sacramento Invitational will be televised in HD on VERSUS at 8 p.m. ET on Saturday, Jan. 15, and at 8 p.m. ET on Sunday, Jan. 16. Play-by-play broadcaster Craig Hummer will be joined by PBR Ring of Honor member J.W. Hart, who will provide color commentary, and Leah Garcia, who will do dirt-level interviews. Beginning in 2011, all Built Ford Tough Series telecasts will be produced for the PBR by David Neal Productions, a Los Angeles-based production company led by 30-time Emmy® Award winner and Peabody Award winner David Neal, who will serve as executive producer and creative lead.
In the season opener in New York, Valdiron de Oliveira of Aparecida de Goiania, Brazil, rode all five bulls to win the Madison Square Garden Invitational for the second time. Oliveira, who also won the event in 2008, won the last four rounds, including the Built Ford Tough Championship Round with 91.5 points on Mellow Yellow Jacket (Dakota Rodeo/Chad Berger/Clay Struve). Ben Jones of Goulburn, Australia, finished second, also riding all five bulls, followed by Paulo Lima of Bezerros, Brazil; Dustin Elliott of North Platte, Neb.; and Jordan Hupp of Cheyenne, Wyo.
Professional Bull Riders Touring Pro Division Event Results:
Jan. 10-12 at Denver
- Pete Farley, Kempsey, Australia, 262.5 points
- Valdiron de Oliveira, Aparecida de Goiania, Brazil, 258.5 points
- Paulo Lima, Bezerros, Brazil, 257.5 points
Jan. 13 at Pueblo, Colo.
- Pete Farley, Kempsey, Australia, 176.5 points
- Marco Antonio Eguche, Poa, Brazil, 169.5 points
- Zack Brown, North Shore, Hawaii, 166.5 points
About the Professional Bull Riders, Inc. (PBR)
The PBR is the world’s premier bull riding organization. More than 100 million viewers annually watch over 400 hours of primetime PBR programming on VERSUS, NBC, CBS and networks around the world. The PBR has awarded over $100 million in prize money, and 20 riders have earned over $1 million, including Justin McBride with $5.5 million – the most of any western-sports athlete in history. 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. Nearly 2 million fans attend Built Ford Tough Series and Touring Pro Division events each year. For more information on the PBR, go to www.pbr.com, or follow on Facebook at www.facebook.com/TeamPBR and http://twitter.com/TEAMPBR.
