PUEBLO, Colo. ― Billings, Mont. is the most-visited, regular-season city for the Professional Bull Riders Built Ford Tough Series, so fans should get ready for its 19th consecutive visit.Â
The PBR’s Stanley Performance in Action Invitational, presented by the Nile, returns to Rimrock Auto Arena on Fri.-Sun., April 11-13, showcasing the Top 35 bull riders in the world, including newly crowned PBR World Champion J.B. Mauney.
The bull riding action begins at 8 p.m. on Friday and Saturday, April 11-12, and at 1:50 p.m. on Sunday, April 13. Tickets for the Stanley Performance in Action Invitational start at $15 and go on sale to the general public this Friday, Nov. 15, at the MetraPark Arena Box Office, all MetraPark outlets, online at metrapark.com or via phone at 406-256-8538.
For more than two hours each night, fans will be able to get up close and personal with the best bull riding and bovine athletes on the planet. The cowboys will face off with foes more than 10 times their weight in sinewy brawn during 8-second battles where only one athlete will be left standing.
In addition to more than 110 bulls competing over the course of three days, defending event champion and 2013 PBR Rookie of the Year Joao Ricardo Vieira is scheduled to return to Billings, along with fan favorites Jory Markiss, Douglas Duncan, L.J. Jenkins and Chase Outlaw; six former PBR World Champions: Mauney (2013), Silvano Alves (2011, 2012), Renato Nunes (2010), Kody Lostroh (2009), Guilherme Marchi (2008) and Mike Lee (2004); and local boys Nathan Schaper (Grassy Butte, N.D.) and Matt Triplett (Columbia Falls, Mont.) are also expected to ride.
All 35 bull riders will get on one bull each in Rounds 1, 2 and 3 on Friday, Saturday and Sunday. After Round 3 on Sunday afternoon, the riders’ individual three-round scores will be totaled and the riders with the Top 15 scores will advance to the Built Ford Tough Championship Round for one more ride and a chance at the $30,000 event title. Throughout the event’s 19-year history, the PBR has awarded more than $2.3 million in prize money in Billings.
Following Round 2 on Saturday evening, the sport’s best bovine athletes and bull riders will compete during the 15/15 Bucking Battle. The series’ Top 15 bull riders will be randomly matched against the 15 highest-ranked bulls in Billings for a special round of action. Airing on CBS Sunday, April13, the 15/15 Bucking Battle offers a total purse of $21,000 and double the PBR world points needed toward the season’s World Championship title. Stay tuned to www.pbr.com for more details.
Billings will be the 15th of 27 stops on the 18-state 2014 Built Ford Tough Series. The season kicks off Jan. 3-5 at the “World’s Most Famous Arena,†Madison Square Garden in New York and will conclude at the PBR Built Ford Tough World Finals in Las Vegas on Oct. 22-26. The 2014 PBR World Champion, the bull rider who amasses the most points during the 2014 season, will receive the coveted World Championship belt buckle and $1 million bonus while in Vegas.
The BFTS is televised every week on CBS, CBS Sports Network and networks around the world. BFTS telecasts are produced for the PBR under a multi-year agreement with David Neal Productions, a Los Angeles-based production company led by 34-time Emmy® Award winner and Peabody Award winner David Neal, who serves as executive producer.
