PUEBLO, Colo. – The world’s premier bull riding circuit will return to Springfield, Missouri, on Sept. 11-13 for the PFI Western Invitational presented by Bass Pro Shops and brought to you locally by Sonic, one of the most popular stops on the PBR’s (Professional Bull Riders) 2015 Built Ford Tough Series (BFTS).

Missouri State University’s JQH Arena will host the Top 40 bull riders in the world, in support of PFI Western’s 40^th anniversary, for the seventh consecutive year and serve as the setting for non-stop, nail-biting, edge-of-your-seat excitement when the toughest men on dirt battle with 2,000-pound opponents through the most harrowing 8 seconds in sports. 

The bull riding action begins at 8 p.m. on Friday, Sept. 11; 7 p.m. on Saturday, Sept. 12; and 4:50 p.m. on Sunday, Sept. 13.

Tickets for the three-day event can be purchased at JQH Arena Box Office, PFI Western Store, Missouri State Tickets or by calling (417) 836-7678 or PFI Western Store at (417) 889-2668. Prices range from $15 to $110.

New this year is the 3-day pass on select seats, providing a $35 savings to attendees. In addition to a discount on tickets, this pass also includes a PFI Western Store gift card and a $10 PBR merchandise voucher. 

Scheduled to compete are the best in the world, including Holt, Missouri’s Brady Sims, reigning and three-time PBR World Champion Silvano Alves, current No. 1 rider in the world, and 2013 World Champion J.B. Mauney, 2008 World Champion Guilherme Marchi; fan favorites Matt Triplett, Reese Cates and rookie sensation Kaique Pacheco. Native American Zane Cook was also invited to compete this weekend on behalf of Downstream Casino Resort.

Fans will get to enjoy all of the Top 40 bull riders Friday, Saturday and Sunday, riding one bull each. Following Round 3 on Sunday, the riders with the 15 top cumulative scores will advance to the Built Ford Tough Championship Round where they will attempt to ride one more bull. The overall event winner will be the rider who has acquired the most event points throughout the weekend.

More than $140,000 will be on the line in Springfield, as well as valuable points toward the overall PBR World Championship worth $1 million.

Mauney will go against Spin Machine during Round 1 on Friday, a bull owned by Philpott Bucking Bulls and PBR bull rider Ryan Dirteater. Spin Machine has been ridden all five times he has bucked on the BFTS, including an 89-point effort by Triplett when he covered the bovine in Oklahoma City, in January.

Cord McCoy’s Come On Baby awaits Sims on Friday. This bull has been successfully ridden once in the three BFTS outs he has made, when Michael Lane picked up 86.5 points atop him in Tulsa, Oklahoma, in August.

Alves takes on I’m Trouble (Franklin Rodeo Stock) on Friday night, a bull he faced in February during the Kansas City, Missouri, event where he was bucked off in 4.56 seconds.

The PFI Western Invitational presented by Bass Pro is the 23^rd of 27 events on the 2015 PBR Built Ford Tough Series. The season culminates with the Built Ford Tough World Finals in Las Vegas on Oct. 21-25. The finals will crown the 2015 PBR World Champion, who will receive the coveted championship buckle, a $1 million bonus and a new pickup truck from Ford, the title sponsor of the Built Ford Tough Series. Tickets sales and additional information about the World Finals can be found at www.pbrworldfinals.com. 

The PBR Built Ford Tough Series is televised every week on CBS, CBS Sports Network – the home of the PBR - 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.