Led by defending event champion J.B. Mauney of Mooresville, N.C., and Brendon Clark of Hollister, Calif., the nationally-televised Professional Bull Riders Built Ford Tough Series returns to Sacramento, Calif., on Friday, Jan. 14, and Saturday, Jan. 15.
Mauney electrified a standing-room-only crowd of more than 10,000 at ARCO Arena when he won in 2010. He is one of the Top 40 bull riders in the world who will be competing against the fiercest bucking bulls at 8 p.m. on Friday and at 7 p.m. on Saturday. Tickets begin at $10 and can be purchased at the ARCO Arena box office, by telephone at (800) 745-3000, and online at www.Ticketmaster.com.
Each of the 40 riders will ride on Friday and Saturday. Following Round 1 on Friday, the riders with the 10 highest scores will each compete with one more bull. Following Round 2 on Saturday, the riders with the 10 highest cumulative scores will advance to the Built Ford Tough Championship Round where they will compete with one more bull. The overall event winner will be the rider with the highest combined score from all four rounds.
The field has five PBR World Champions, including the past three winners, with Renato Nunes of Buritama, Brazil (2010), Kody Lostroh of Longmont, Colo. (2009), and Guilherme Marchi of Leme, Brazil (2008). Mike Lee, who won the World Championship in 2004 and the Sacramento event in 2006, and two-time World Champion Chris Shivers are also scheduled to compete.
Sacramento is the second of 28 stops in 23 states on the BFTS schedule. The season concludes Oct. 26-30 in Las Vegas with the PBR Built Ford Tough World Finals, and the crowning of the 2011 PBR World Champion. The World Finals are the richest bull riding event on the planet with the winner receiving the World Championship PBR Buckle and a $1 million bonus.
The action 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 2011 season opener last weekend 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.
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.
