Featuring the best bull riders in the world, led by “Titanium Tough” Luke Snyder of Raymore, Mo., the Professional Bull Riders Built Ford Tough Series returns to the Scottrade Center for the St. Louis Invitational on Feb. 25-27.
The PBR is offering a special Family 4-Pack which includes four tickets, four hot dogs and four drinks for only $99. Good seats are still available, beginning at $10 for Friday and $15 for Saturday and Sunday, at the Scottrade Center box office, online at www.Ticketmaster.com, and by telephone at (800) 745-3000.
Snyder has earned more than $1 million and holds the PBR record for consecutive events started with 275. The streak began when he debuted at 18 years old in 2001 and continued until 2010 through a multitude of injuries, including broken bones. It ended when he was not ranked high enough to compete in the 2010 Iron Cowboy Invitational. Snyder broke the C-7 bone in his neck in April 2010 and was unable to compete for three months. He returned to competition and won an event in Sydney, Australia, and went on to qualify for his 10th consecutive Built Ford Tough World Finals.
Show Me State fans will be able to experience 8-second rides and jaw-dropping wrecks as the Top 40 bull riders in the world compete against the fiercest bucking bulls. Bull riding begins at 8 p.m. on Friday, Feb. 25, at 6:50 p.m. on Saturday, Feb. 26, and at 2 p.m. on Sunday, Feb. 27.
The field in St. Louis will also include Colby Yates, who won $50,000 and the Iron Cowboy championship on Saturday in front of 38,641 fans at Cowboys Stadium in Arlington, Texas. Four PBR World Champions – Kody Lostroh (2009), Guilherme Marchi (2008), Mike Lee (2004) and two-time World Champion Chris Shivers (2000 and 2003) – are all scheduled to compete.
Fan favorite and Amazing Race contestant Cord McCoy is also going to be in St. Louis. Known for his determination and positive attitude, McCoy and his brother Jet finished second in the CBS hit “The Amazing Race,” in 2010. The two are currently appearing on the 18th season of “The Amazing Race,” which premiered on Feb. 20.
Austin Meier of Kinta, Okla., who is one of the hottest riders going with three runner-up finishes in a row, is scheduled to compete. Meier, who led the BFTS with five wins in 2010, is ranked second in the world, and has posted the high-marked ride at two events already.
Each of the 40 riders will ride on Friday, Saturday and Sunday. Following Round 2 on Saturday, the riders with the 10 highest scores will each compete with one more bull. Following Round 4 on Sunday, 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 five rounds.
The first seven events of the 2011 season have produced seven different winners. Valdiron de Oliveira won the season opener at Madison Square Garden in New York. He has added four Top 5 finishes, and comes to St. Louis as the top-ranked rider on tour. 2008 PBR World Champion Guilherme Marchi won in Portland and is ranked third. Ben Jones of Australia has two Top 5 finishes and is ranked fourth while 2010 PBR Rookie of the Year Silvano Alves won in Anaheim, Calif. and is ranked fifth.
PBR riders will be signing autographs from 12-1 p.m. on Saturday, Feb. 26, at Bass Pro Shop, 1365 South 5th Street in St. Charles, Mo. There will be family-friendly activities from 10 a.m.-3 p.m., including stick-bull racing, bull roping, and mechanical bulls. PBR in-arena announcer and experienced angler Clint Adkins will host a fishing seminar from 12:30-1 p.m. Brandon Bates, who is host of “The Elk Chronicles” on the Outdoor Channel as well as an announcer for the PBR, will host a hunting seminar from 1-1:30 p.m.
The action will be televised in HD on VERSUS at 8 p.m. ET on Saturday, Feb. 12, and Sunday, Feb. 13. 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 be doing dirt-level interviews. Built Ford Tough Series telecasts are 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 serves as executive producer and creative lead.
St. Louis is the eighth stop on the nationally-televised BFTS, which makes 28 stops in 23 states. The season began at world-famous Madison Square Garden in New York, and culminates Oct. 26-30 in Las Vegas at the richest bull riding event in the world, the PBR Built Ford Tough World Finals. The Finals is where the 2011 PBR World Champion will be crowned and awarded the $1 million Built Ford Tough bonus.
2011 Professional Bull Riders Built Ford Tough Series Season Standings
(Events, Wins, Top 5 Finishes, Points, Earnings)
- Valdiron de Oliveira, 7, 1, 5, 3,917.25 points, $102,257.30
- Austin Meier, 7, 0, 4, 3,298.75 points, $87,075.00
- Guilherme Marchi, 7, 1, 3, 2,529.50 points, $66,626.67
- Ben Jones, 7, 0, 2, 2,339.25 points, $49,404.16
- Silvano Alves, 7, 1, 2, 2,273.75 points, $66,175.27
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.
