LAS VEGAS – With the eyes of the Western sports world on the PBR World Finals, there are few better places to celebrate a new PBR sponsorship than the five-day chase for one of the most challenging championships in sports.

And in the case of Can-Am, if your product’s key attributes include performance and toughness, it’s hard to find better brand ambassadors than the cowboys climbing on top of 1,800-pound bucking beasts and trying to claim a gold buckle which signals that during one grueling year, nobody in the world was better.

This Sunday at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, the coveted gold buckle and million-dollar bonus includes another pretty special prize – a 2020 Can-Am Defender side-by-side vehicle.

Can-Am, a worldwide leader in performance and utility off-road vehicles, is executing its first major PBR sponsor activation since becoming an official sponsor several months ago. In addition to fan experiences like a free boot shine booth, the company introduced its initial roster of brand ambassadors, including Chase Outlaw and Derek Kolbaba, along with industry personality Dale Brisby, at an event at PBR bull housing behind South Point Hotel and Casino.

“As a bull rider, you want to be partners with a company that’s a tough as you are and believes as much in you as you believe in them,” Kolbaba said.

Outlaw also put it plain and simple, as would be expected.

“Can-Am is the best line of utility vehicles in the business, so why wouldn’t we want our name associated with that kind of sponsor?” he said.

The world No. 3 bull rider is looking forward to loading up his wife, kids and dog, and having fun away from the stress that can be found in a career revolving around eight crucial seconds each day.

“Sometimes you want to go to the woods and get away and leave all your worries behind,” he said.

Kolbaba agreed that downtime is important in a demanding sport that punishes more than muscles and bones.

“Bull riding is grueling – physically and mentally,” he said. “It’s cool to go home and just cruise around your place, getting away and forgetting about everything.”

But a new Can-Am Defender won’t be all fun and games for Outlaw. He’ll pull his welding machine and tote sacks of feed on his Arkansas ranch as well.

Until then, there’s business at hand in Las Vegas on the second day of World Finals.

The four-time Unleash The Beast event winner this year rode Foghorn Leghorn for 88.5 points last night in T-Mobile Arena, tying for second in the round and earning 152.2 world points.

“You can’t tell yourself good job because your job ain’t done yet,” Outlaw said. “You ride this one, you still gotta ride the next one. You can’t be satisfied.”

Outlaw sits 1,715.83 points behind Jose Vitor Leme and could score more big points tonight with a match up against Magic Train.

The Matt Scharping bull bucked him off at the World Finals two years ago. However, Magic Train has been known to produce round-winning rides, such as Marco Eguchi for 94 points in Round 2 last year in Las Vegas and Leme for a massive 94.5 points in the 2017 championship round.

A ride like that could put Outlaw on top of another key asset to PBR’s new partnership – the bright yellow Can-Am Cage that sits right on the field of play. It’s the most intense seat in sports, providing an up-close, bull-level VIP experience set in the middle of the arena.

It’s like being seated on the 50 yard line of an NFL game except here, the roughness is necessary.

Whether it’s Outlaw, Kolbaba, or any of the other 38 riders equally capable of taking Round 2 tonight, the Can-Am Cage is a pretty cool place to stand as well. It’s where every rider wants to be.