Game Changer (continued) *No entry fees. Rodeos traditionally have used
competitors’ entry fees to swell the purse. In fact, more than half of the total purse at most rodeos is generated from competitors’ entry fees. But in 1996, the PBR abolished entry fees on its top-tier tour, then the Bud Light Cup Series. Since then, the purse has been generated through ticket sales, concessions, program and memorabilia sales, and sponsorships.
*Appearance fees.
In 2000, the PBR began paying appearance fees to each member of its shows on the top-tier tour. Today, each of the 45 members of the Ford Series receives an appearance fee: $575 for a three-day show and $400 for each two-day competition. Though the stipend seems nominal in comparison to the salaries of star athletes in major sports such as football and baseball, an appearance fee at any bull riding event is revolutionary. This is an industry that has required its athletes to pay to compete for more than a century.
*Less costly roadtrips.
When the PBR’s founding fathers competed on the rodeo circuits, they would often ride in 80 to 100 rodeos a year, and faced soaring road costs. But the PBR’s Built Ford Tough Series consists of only 33 shows. Competitors know far ahead of time when they will compete, so they can book lower air fares and hotel rooms. Each show is one to three days in one city. By comparison, when cowboys compete on the rodeo circuit, they might travel to five cities in one week, and even visit a particular city more than once. In a day of rising fuel costs, that gets pretty expensive.
*More time at home.
At many of the Ford Series shows, riders fly in on Friday, and head home by Sunday night. That gives them more time during weekdays to spend with their families, run an additional business, and engage in physical fitness.
2001
y Ross Coleman rides Tuff E Nuff for $100,000. y PBR buys back its television rights. y First network broadcast. y Adriano Moraes wins his second world title.
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*Big shows in big cities.
The PBR conducts its tour stops in smaller cities, such as Billings, Mont., and Omaha, Neb., towns that are surrounded by fans who have strong ties to agriculture and ranching. But the PBR also features its top-tier tour in huge metropolitan areas, ranging from Anaheim, Calif., to Orlando, Fla., to New York City. The PBR has the same strong appeal as NASCAR, a sport that wows fans from all walks of life. In the early days of the PBR, some of the top tier-tour stops were conducted in smaller cities such as Del Rio, Texas, and Odessa, Texas. But as the association grew, the organizers moved the stops away from the smaller communities to the larger cities. Gilbert Carrillo, who was one of the PBR’s earlier stars, said the sports organization has grown because it has captivated loyal fans who crave watching a sport that features the element of danger. “Everybody wants to see a wreck,” Carrillo said. “They want to see a good ride, but they also want to see somebody get hurt. That sounds bad, but that’s just the fact of life of human beings. It’s like NASCAR. Who wants to just see a guy only go round and round the track? They’re waiting for wreck to happen.”
2002
y March 10: Jim Sharp rides Dillinger for 95.5 points in Fort Worth, and earns a total of $120,720 in prize money from the event. y May 14: Ty Murray retires.
y Ednei Caminhas wins the World Championship.
Andy Watson (Luke Snyder, Ednei Caminhas)
y Luke Snyder wins both Rookie of the Year and World Finals.
“There’s no entry fees on the Built Ford Tough Series and you get paid to go,” said Ty Murray, a PBR founding father. “The performances are on back-to-back days, so there’s no going back and forth like you do at many rodeos, which cuts into your chance of breaking even, even if you win. You’re gone to PBR events on Friday and Saturday and you’re home by Monday. In many cases, cowboys load up their families and go to the events on the weekend, and then they’re back home the rest of the week, taking their kids to school and watching them play soccer.”
Q&A with Ty Murray (cont.)
2004 2003
y The Bud Light Cup Series becomes the Built Ford Tough Series.
Answer from previous page
harder to relate to and appreciate because most people haven’t even seen a live bull, much less are able to imagine what it is like to get on one. But the PBR has made great strides and we have made fans out of people who never thought they’d be fans. I personally have gotten letters and meet people all the time who will say something like “We’re from New Hampshire and we’d never even heard of bull riding and then we saw the PBR on TV,” and now they are hardcore fans.Television has definitely been key, because it has allowed us to reach so many people and allows us to keep putting it out there in new and exciting ways.What we have learned is that if you can get a person to come to an event, they’ll usually come back.
y American Bucking Bull, Inc. is founded. y April: Mike White wins the Albuquerque event for the third consecutive time. y April 25: Michael Gaffney ties the 96.5-point record on Little Yellow Jacket in Nampa. y Ty Murray becomes PBR President. y World Finals becomes a twoweekend, eight-round affair, with the first weekend held at the Mandalay Bay Events Center. Points available at World Finals grow from 1,500 to 6,500. y Little Yellow Jacket wins World Champion Bull title for the third straight year. y Mike Lee becomes the first man to win both the World Finals and the World Championship in the same year.
Q Would you have done anything differently over the past 15 years?
Matt Brenneman (Darrell Diefenbach, bullfighter); Mark Scott (Carrillo bros., J.W. Hart)
A
y Bullfighters trade in the makeup and clown clothes for athletic uniforms. y Owen Washburn rides previously unridden Hammer in Bossier City, La., wins the event, and walks away with $125,210 for the weekend. y April 19: Chris Shivers faces Little Yellow Jacket for $1 million. He does not cover. y J.W. Hart’s record of consecutive events attended ends at 197. y Chris Shivers wins his second y world title, and the first milliondollar bonus, courtesy of Ford Trucks.
y Adam Carrillo, Gilbert Carrillo, and J.W. Hart compete in their 11th straight World Finals.
No, not really.You learn things along the way and we continue to learn a lot. You’ve got to keep trying new things. A really magical group of guys came together at the right time.We were really hard-headed and not that experienced, but we had a real simple concept and a belief that it would work. It isn’t like what we did was rocket science; we started presenting our sport in a way that other sports properties had been presenting their sports for a long time. We just kept pushing forward, no matter what.We were laughed at and had a million doors shut in our face, but we just kept working at it.We tried things that worked great and we tried things that fell flat, but the main thing was that we keep trying. I think what we have going for us is that we had the same approach that a bull rider has — bear down, keep pushing ahead, grit your teeth and learn from your mistakes. Like any business, it is a fight and a struggle and you work hard any day.
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Game Changer (continued) *International appeal. The majority of PBR shows are conducted in the United States, but the PBR also has circuits in Australia, Canada, Brazil and Mexico. In 2007, the PBR began conducting a team competition that featured teams from each of the five countries. Brazil won the first World Cup title in Gold Coast, Australia. In 2008, the United States snared the cup title in Chihuahua, Mexico. Next year, the World Cup moves to the biggest rodeo in the world – Barrettos, Brazil.
*A minor-league system.
In the earlier years of the PBR, the minor league system was called the Touring Pro Division. Several times during the season, competitors were bumped off of the top-tier tour, and the top cowboys from the Touring Pro Division advanced to the big leagues. Today, the PBR works in similar fashion, using three tours in its minor-league system: the Copenhagen Bull Riding Challenger Tour, the Enterprise Rent-A-Car Tour and the Discovery Tour. After every five shows on the Ford Series, the five
2005
y Justin McBride wins his first World Championship.
top money winners from the lower-tier tours are moved up to the Ford Series, and top-tier tour members who are failing to produce descend to the lower levels.
*Easy to follow.
Fans can follow the PBR’s Built Ford Tough Series by watching the tour stops on Versus, NBC and Fox. In the early years, the tour stops were televised on The Nashville Network, but TNN would often air the regularseason shows weeks later. Over the years, the PBR negotiated better deals with the networks and most of the top-tier tour stops now are broadcast on the same weekend they occur. The PBR also immediately posts the latest results and standings on its website, www.pbrnow.com. “We are a followable sport on television that’s live, and you can tune in and follow us every weekend,” Murray said. “When we go to Madison Square Garden, fans already have watched our top cowboys on TV. They already know about Justin McBride, Guilherme Marchi and Brian Canter. By comparison, if you go to watch pro basketball, you want to watch a star like Michael Jordan. You’re not going walk across the street to watch guys that you’ve never even heard about.”
*The Bull Team Challenge. The program
2006
y Flint Rasmussen signs a five-year contract to work exclusively with the PBR. y Adriano Moraes wins his third World Championship.
debuted in 2008 and features 22 teams with five bulls on a team, and three alternates. Team titles are awarded based on the bulls’ cumulative scores at the competitions. In addition to awarding a $250,000 grand prize at the 2008 World Finals, the secondplace team receives $125,000. And during a regular-season competition, the winning team earns $20,000 and the runner-up pockets $10,000.
y Bullfighter Greg Crabtree is killed in an accident at his ranch. y Troy Dunn, Michael Gaffney and Owen Washburn retire.
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also has formed lucrative incentive programs for bringing talented young bulls through the competitions that are produced by the American Buck-
y Bullfighter Rob Smets retires.
Mark Scott (Greg Crabtree); Andy Watson (Rob Smets)
*The ABBI. The PBR
ing Bull Inc. Last year, a bull named Troubadour, owned by Julio and Cindy Moreno, was the 2007 ABBI Bucking Bull Classic Champion (3 and 4-year-old bulls). Troubadour earned the Moreno family $259,500 after clinching the title at the ABBI’s finale, which was held in conjunction with the PBR’s 2007 World Finals. After that, Troubadour became one of the rankest bulls on the 2008 Built Ford Tough Series.
*Instant replay.
The PBR implemented the instant replay in 2006. If a cowboy feels the judges have made an incorrect call, he can ask for a review. If the ruling is not in the competitor’s favor, the cowboy must pay $500. Judges also often use the replay system to determine whether a cowboy has made a qualified ride.
*The draft.
Another element that has added to the drama has been the draft, a new format that allows riders to select the bulls they will ride in designated rounds. The PBR added the draft at the beginning of the 2008 season in an attempt to increase the percentage of riders who complete rides, generate higher scores and create a buzz among fans. For example, Brazilian Renato Nunes turned in a stunning final round score of 95.75 points aboard Robinson/Tedesco/Larry the Cable Guy’s bull Chicken on a Chain in St. Louis in February after selecting the bull in the draft. After picking Troubadour for the final round at the Tulsa, Okla., tour stop in July, Mike White scored 95.75. Throughout the season, the draft has been conducted at host hotels and on the arena floors, and it’s been a big hit with fans and riders. “The draft has been so much fun for the fans because they get to know the personalities of the riders,” said Cody Lambert, the PBR’s longtime livestock director and a founding father. “The riders seem to enjoy it, too. They’re all good bulls to pick from. There are some bulls that the cowboys would rather pick and some that they would rather stay away from.” A lot can happen in 15 years. Generations come and pass. Four presidents can be elected. And somehow, with the right people and the right ideas, a backcountry spectacle became a worldwide phenomenon.
AD
2007
y January: The Built Ford Tough Series debuts at Madison Square Garden. y February: The purse for the Copenhagen Challenger Tour Championship reaches $1 million.
y Spire Capital purchases the majority of PBR shares. y The PBR moves to a new headquarters building in Pueblo, Colo. y The inaugural PBR World Cup is held in Australia. y Luke Snyder breaks J.W. Hart’s record of consecutive events attended. y Justin McBride sets a new record of 8 event wins, and a new record of season earnings at $1,835,321.
Brett Hoffman has written a sports column on Western events for more than two decades for the Fort Worth Star-Telegram and he is a member of the Texas Cowboy Hall of Fame in the Fort Worth Stockyards. He has consistently covered the Professional Bull Riders since its first season in 1994.
2008
y Justin McBride becomes the first cowboy in history to earn more than $5 million in a career. y Adriano Moraes and Justin McBride retire.
Q&A with Ty Murray (cont.) Q What are you most proud of? A
When we started this in 1992, looking back, all of the famous bull riders up to that time had many titles and championships, but when they were done riding they didn’t have much. Pretty much the day they retired, they had to find a job and they didn’t have much put together from years of riding bulls. Now to see Justin McBride have a 3,000-acre ranch and for him to be making the money he’s made for being the best, and going out there and trying his guts out, is a thrill.To see what Justin and guys have been able to put together — well, the day Justin bought his ranch was almost as big of a deal for me as the day I bought mine. It is good to see guys having something for what they put into the sport.The PBR’s goal was always to reward the best bull riders for their talent and sacrifice. Everything about the sport is pointed toward striving for excellence.We weren’t about creating something for the weekend warrior. It is a professional sport and we want anybody in the world to have the opportunity to be a success.That is why we have the international tours and the world events. If there is a great bull rider out there, we want to find a way to get to him and give him an opportunity to climb the ranks and be able to do what Adriano or Troy Dunn were able to do.Whether there’s a bull rider in China or in Timbuktu, we want all talented bull riders to have the opportunity to compete and fulfill their potential.
“If there is a great bull rider out there, we want to find a way to get to him and give him an opportunity to climb the ranks and be able to do what Adriano or Troy Dunn were able to do.” - Ty Murray
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Q& A
15-Year Retrospective “I always said if I leave tomorrow, this is a ship that is on course that is full throttle ahead; that anybody could do it.”
with Randy Bernard by Keith Ryan Cartwright
- Randy Bernard
Q When you first started with the PBR, what was your initial goal? What did you think had to be accomplished before anything else? A
First was to create a brand. At the time there was BRO and PRCA, and the PBR had no brand or any credibility, so it was essential for us to create a brand. Number two was a stronger television presence.
Q I was once told you can’t be edgy if you’re not willing to go right to the edge. Has the success of the PBR hinged on the fact that you’re willing to try so many different ideas? A
Absolutely not. I think when you boil it all down and take all the flamboyancy and pyro and everything away, you still have the greatest bull riders in the world and the greatest bulls.That’s the key to this sport. I always said if I leave tomorrow, this is a ship that is on course that is full throttle ahead; that anybody could do it. I think if I hadn’t have done it, somebody else would have been there to do it. I’ve been blessed enough to take such a great sport that has so much history and help take it mainstream, but there were so many things … from the staff to the cowboys. I just think we’ve been very lucky and very blessed.
Q Talk about Ty Murray’s vision… his influence on the sport of bull riding goes well beyond sticking his hand in a rope and nodding his head.
A lifesize bronze of Adriano Moraes and Little Yellow Jacket graces the entrance to the PBR’s year-old headquarters building in Pueblo, Colo.
A
There are several dimensions of Ty. First of all, he’s a champ.Whatever he does, he’s going to do it the best. He learned that a very young age, and that’s why he was such a great World Champion. Then there’s also the other dimension of Ty: he’s a businessman.When you put Ty Murray in a sentence, Cody Lambert is mentioned as well. Everything they do is together. They argue, but they’re also looking at what is in the best interests of the PBR, and that is their No. 1 interest.The biggest thing about Ty Murray is that he’s been 110 percent in support of me regardless of some of the decisions we needed to make. He would question me, he would be the devil’s advocate, but he always has backed me in all my decisions.They felt I was the coach of the team. Jon Asp
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Rider or Bull?
Pick one... ...press start... ...and hang on! Start a career as a Rider or a Bull Unlimited Mode eliminates the clock for a battle of wills Play as 12 real pro bull riders or 12 real raging bulls Compete against a friend in Rider vs. Bull Mode
PBR Out of the Chute TM 2008 Crave Entertainment, Inc. All rights reserved. Certain Code © 2008 D2C Games, Inc. All Rights Reserved. Additional Code © 2008 Vicious Cycle Software, Inc. (and its licensors). All rights reserved. PBR and the PBR Logo are registered trademarks of Professional Bull Riders, Inc. Official Licensed Product of the PBR © 2008. All rights reserved. Crave Entertainment, Crave Games, and their respective logos, are trademarks or registered trademarks of Crave Entertainment, Inc. in the United States and other countries. D2C Games and its logo are trademarks or registered trademarks of D2C Games Inc. in the United States and other countries. Totally Games and its logo are trademarks or registered trademarks of Totally Games. All other trade names and trademarks are the property of their respective holders. Wii and the Wii logo are trademarks of Nintendo. (C) 2006 Nintendo "PlayStation" and the "PS" Family logo are registered trademarks of Sony Computer Entertainment Inc.
15-Year Retrospective
Q&A with Randy Bernard (cont.) Q What’s the greatest moment or accomplishment achieved by the PBR?
Q It’s been an incredible 15 years… perhaps the most innovative 15year period in any sport. Can you even begin to envision the next 15 years?
A
A
The first one was having a million-dollar Finals. I think that was a huge plateau.The second one would be network television. And then a million dollars to the World Champion. I think those three, when you look back on the sport, those would be the three biggest (accomplishments) that helped bring national attention and credibility to the sport.
Q Cody Lambert told me that you taught them how to reach for the stars. I’m curious… do you think PBR has reached up as high as it can? A
I think all of us dreamed, but I also think that everyone on that board of directors was one of the best in the world. They all dreamed of being a World Champion, and maybe my dreams were more business-oriented, but I think when you mix dreams and passion together, those are instant ingredients for success. God knows you have to have luck involved, too.You do. One of our decisions could have easily gone wrong, but it didn’t. I think that’s the American dream.To have a dream and to back it with passion and hard work.
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Q Really? A
Yeah, but that doesn’t mean I won’t be involved.
Q In the meantime, what else are you dreaming about? A
I want our sport to be just like any other major league sport. I want to be able to pick up the USA Today and see it not once every three months – that was a dream of ours just to get in there back in 1995 – I want to see it in there on a very consistent basis. I want to see us on Letterman and Jay Leno, the late night shows. I want to see international growth. I think we have phenomenal growth opportunities in Europe. Right now we’re broadcast in 85 countries. I want to see it broadcast in every country. It’s a great sport. It’s dangerous. It’s easy to understand. I want to see great movies done on the PBR and I want to see the cowboy in a great light. We’re not mainstream.We’ve got a long ways to go, but we’re on the right track. I want to see bull riders, well, I don’t want to see one guy make a million dollars, I want to see 10 guys make a million dollars. If the tenth guy is at a million, then maybe the top guy is at 3 or 4 million.We have a long way to go, and I’m not sure we can get there in five or 10 years, but I just think that those have to be our goals. If you fail, then you have to look at it and try again and, trust me, in the last 15 years we’ve failed on several fronts, but we’ve always just brushed ourselves off and tried to figure out how to do it better.
Jon Asp
Adriano Moraes, Michael Gaffney, Randy Bernard, Cody Lambert, Sculptor Kelly Graham and Ty Murray were on hand at the opening of PBR headquarters in 2007.
I sure hope so. I think I still have that same passion. I still have that same work ethic and I definitely love to dream, and I think that this sport has got so much further to go. I think we’re at 33 percent of where we should be. I would love to see our sport pay as much as some of these other major league sports. I don’t think that’s going to happen overnight, and I think we have to continue new ideas to figure out how we’re going to get there. I think the key is that the day I don’t believe or have those same dreams or I lose my passion is the day I need to be able to say, “It’s been a great run and I need to step aside and let someone else who’s young take the reins.” Fifteen years for any sports commissioner is a long time, and I just think that if I could get three to four more years in, it’ll be time for me to help look for a replacement.
Q& A
15-Year Retrospective
“We always knew that bull riding was way more dangerous than any other event in rodeo. But we got paid exactly the same as the less dangerous events…”
with Cody Lambert by Keith Ryan Cartwright
- Cody Lambert
Q Take me back to the very beginning … set the scene for the first time you heard about the concept of the PBR. A
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Rodeo historically always had the bull riding as the very last event, because if they had it first, half the crowd would leave after the bull riding … it was the fans’ favorite event, always. It was dangerous and it was exciting.They save the very best for last. We always knew that bull riding was way more dangerous than any other event in rodeo. But we got paid exactly the same as the less dangerous events … the same as the events that no one would buy a ticket to watch.We were carrying more than of our share of the load, but we weren’t being rewarded any more than anyone else. There was no doubt that bull riding could stand on its own.We felt the best way we could make the sport better and present it to more people was to focus on the very best. At that time there was a group of bull riders who were as good or better – probably a bigger group of bull riders than there had ever been – that were just really tough, just really good riders. So we decided that we would have a meeting and talk. We were at a bull riding event in Scottsdale, Arizona, and we knew the Top 30 guys in the world were going to be there.We invited Brian McDonald, who was the bull riding director for the PRCA and had really helped and advised us along the way for years.We wanted him to be a part of this deal because he had done so much for this sport and had never really been paid. He invited a businessman from California, Sam Applebaum, who came and told us his take. We talked about having control over the rules, having better competitive opportunities, making the bulls more equal and good instead of making it a drawing contest, and only having the best guys at these events … making it really something special for the people to see.We weren’t thinking about promoting our own events or anything, we were thinking about sanctioning other people’s events and saying, “If you’ll put up this much money with this quality of stock, these rules, we’ll guarantee all of us will come ride in this event.” We thought about doing it that way. So Sam gave us his take on things, and we felt like he was the businessman that we wanted to start running the thing for us. He got the ball rolling.
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We had learned so much from being in the PRCA.We learned some great things we wanted to do, and a lot of things that we didn’t want to do.We tried to sift through things and decide which rules didn’t make sense. We wanted to make it better for ourselves because we were looking at guys who had been champions or nearly champions − who were our heroes when we were growing up − and they ended up with nothing at the end of it all. When they were 35 years old and their bull riding career was over, they didn’t know how to do anything else.We wanted to make it that when a guy retires, that he would have something.
Q Looking back, you guys seemed very aware of what you were capable of at any given time. How important was that selfawareness to the growth and success of the PBR? And how do you balance that with the ambition to keep pushing forward? A
Every day there was a new challenge that we didn’t know what to do…every single day. But we held the integrity of the sport above any individual. Above any of us.We weren’t going to turn it into wrestling.We weren’t going to turn it into something that was overhyped and wasn’t as good as what it is. We were going to make sure that the great bulls were there, and if the guys can ride ‘em, fine. And if they don’t, the bulls win, but we’re going to make sure that when we tell the fans these are the best guys in the world, we were all going to be there. It wasn’t going to be one of the best guys and a bunch of chumps. That’s how we were going to present it to the world. Every day we talked about sticking together, and we talked about taking care of the people who can die in the arena. We’re going to run it like a business, but those guys people buy a ticket to come watch, the guys people want to watch on TV, are going to be the first ones taken care of.
We’re going to run it like we think every business in America should be run:You don’t produce, you don’t get paid. If you do your job better than everybody else, you get paid more than everyone else, and that’s how we meant for it to be.Today, 15 years later, we still mean for it to be that exact same way.
PBR photo
Q The PBR was obviously able to capitalize on the growing interest in bull riding and establish itself as a stand-alone sport, but was there a moment when you knew the competition you were offering – whether it was the bulls or the riders – was far superior to any other bull riding event?
A
It was easy for us to know we had the best bull riders in the world, and we needed worthy opponents for them, so we made every effort to make sure we had the best bulls that were available. To this day, we haven’t perfected it.We do say it’s better than everywhere else.There’s no doubt about it.The money is better.The competitors are better. It’s better for the fans to watch. It’s easier to follow.We planned that out from day one, so there never really was a point where we said, yeah, we’re better than them.When we started out we didn’t start out with some of the best bull riders in the world − we had ‘em all.There was a group of guys that were better than any group had ever been before, and they all had the same plan and the same goal and we stuck together. You could try − and people have tried − over and over again to duplicate it, and it just can’t happen. It was a magical time and everything fell into place. We tried to surround ourselves with great people, and when we hired Randy Bernard, that was more of a turning point than anything we’ve ever done. Randy is more responsible for the success of the PBR than the great bull riders and the great bulls.That’s the most I can say. Randy’s in a league of his own when it comes to Western-oriented sports and rodeo-oriented stuff. Randy has no peers.
Who wants to be a millionaire? PBR shareholders, along with staff executives, pose after agreeing to sell a majority share of the organization to Spire Capital in 2007.
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15-Year Retrospective
Q&A with Cody Lambert (cont.)
Adriano Moraes and Randy Bernard ring the opening bell at the New York Stock Exchange on Jan. 4, 2007.
Q You mentioned earlier the first goal of the PBR was to be in a position to take care the men who risk their lives in the arena.Talk about the sense of accomplishment and the feeling of pride that comes with being able to offer the World Champion a $1 million bonus. A
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A
We had a vision to make it better.We didn’t know exactly where we were going to go or how we were going to get there.We knew we were going to do it together and we knew we were going to concentrate on the elite group, and everything else would follow. No one wants to imitate the amateurs…they want to imitate the pros. We knew that if we could all stick together, we could take it in a direction that was positive.We didn’t know how far, how hard it was going to be, but we knew that our sport is based on effort.You don’t get paid unless you put forth the effort, and it’s based on achievement. Even the effort doesn’t get paid. It gets admired, but it doesn’t necessarily get paid. Achievement is rewarded, so we all knew if we worked that direction and we worked hard and we were honest about it – when we said we were going to show up, we showed up. We said if you don’t do it this way we won’t be there—we meant that too. But when we hired Randy we had a vision.We thought we were reaching for the stars, but we weren’t even looking at it from the same angle, and Randy taught us to reach for the stars.
PBR photo
96
That was our goal − not necessarily that number − but a goal where a guy could make a better living doing this and be paid somewhere along the lines of other sports, and we’re still working toward that.The sense of pride that I get – and I think about this all the time – but I think about how I want to explain it to my son, what we do. We don’t own bull riding, we didn’t invent bull riding. But when I leave this sport, I want to leave it in way better shape than I found it. If I have a horse at home and I have him for a year or five years, or I have him for a week, I want him to be better when he leaves. If I borrow someone’s car, I want to give it back to them in better shape than they gave it to me. Everything we’re around, I want it to be better off for being around us, and the sport of bull riding and the bull riding fans and everyone that’s ridden a bull is better off because of the PBR. I want to leave this sport someday. I’m not going to be a part of it my whole life. But the day I leave, I want to feel that sense of accomplishment that this sport is better off for knowing me than it was if it hadn’t known me.We all intended to make it better for ourselves, for our families and for the next generation and generations beyond that.
Q Earlier you gave Randy Bernard an incredible compliment, but there’s no one person responsible for the success of the PBR. It was really the collective effort of everyone involved in the PBR.Talk about the importance of everyone sharing the same vision.
Q& A
15-Year Retrospective
with J.W. Hart
by Keith Ryan Cartwright
Q As a bull rider, what did the formation of the PBR mean to you 15 years ago?
Q At what point did you think to yourself, “There is something really special going on here?” A
The first couple of years, I still had the NFR, but probably around ’98 it just kind of dawned on a kid that here’s the chance of a lifetime. I learned what the financials were.You’re a kid and you think I’m going to go and rodeo and make a living, and once you get there − even if you’re one of the best − you’re still not making a great living. But after about 1998 I knew I could make a living riding bulls, and I could make a good living riding bulls.
Q What has Randy Bernard meant to the PBR and its evolution as a major stand-alone sport? A
JW Hart on Panhandle Slim, 1998.
A
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“I own 500 acres and a house and 100 head of cows and everything is paid for and it’s all because of bull riding.” - J.W. Hart Gary Jensen
98
I was young enough back then – I was 18 or so – that I didn’t know then what it meant. I was just a young kid that was out to prove to everybody I was the best bull rider in the world, a hot-shot kind of guy. It’s kind of like with [Brian] Canter and some of them guys right now. I was running with my hair on fire, but I knew that all my heroes were doing it—Ty [Murray] and Cody [Lambert] and G-Man [Michael Gaffney] and Aaron [Semas] and Tuff [Hedeman], at the time. I just wanted to be like them and that’s why I followed them to pursue my dream, because they were the best guys in the world and that’s who I wanted to beat. So, really, I didn’t know what it meant to me. I was just out doing it. If I knew then what I know now, I probably wouldn’t have stayed on anything I would have been so nervous. It’s just so unreal what it means to any bull rider at this point. A guy can actually go and make a living and be proud of what he does. I own 500 acres and a house and 100 head of cows and everything is paid for and it’s all because of bull riding.
He’s truly a man of vision, because I know that I could have never dreamed of some of the concepts and things that he came up with and probably none of us old cowboys could have. He’s done an unbelievable job and it would be scary to think where we would be without him. Luck was on our side one day – on every bull rider in the world’s side –when Cody, Tuff and Ty met him and hired him and he said yes to the job. He didn’t know how he was going to get paid, but he took the job and ran with it. Every bull rider from Cody Lambert to myself to the kids that will be World Champions 20 years down the road owes a good thanks to him.
Q Talk about the co-founders and the Q Can you pinpoint the most pivotal importance of their sacrifice to moment in PBR history? make the sport better for the bull A I think the corner, well, there [are] probably two milestones and two real pivotal moments that probably go handriders today and tomorrow. A
That’s the only thing today that I don’t believe the young guys – J.B. [Mauney], Brian Canter, McKennon Wimberly, or young kids coming up – that’s the only thing that I don’t believe that they understand and realize: what sacrifice those founders made of sticking together and not going to another bull riding when they were offered more money to go somewhere else. I, for one, had a chance to go other places and could have went somewhere else, but not near to the extent that they did. I’m not sure a lot of the fans understand the sacrifice that the original founders made to build the sport to what it is today—to a $100 million company.The stars aligned and everybody stuck together.
Q Can you fully comprehend that, yeah, this is a $100 million company that started from $21,000? A
In 15 years.There’s no stock today that has that return that I have ever heard of. It’s just truly frickin’ unreal. It just puts goose bumps down the back of your neck to think I or any other guy was a part of it. But, on the other side of the coin, you think we’ve got to be able to do better.We got this good, but we can do better. I can’t believe it … just knowing that I have a ranch that’s paid for, because we were poor when I was kid. It’s just unreal to be living the life that I’m living today. I don’t want to look back, but it’s sure nice to look back and remember waking up in a house with it below 30 degrees inside the house in the morning and just running like hell to the hot bathtub before you went to school. It’s damn sure nice now to have an air conditioner and heat in the house and be able to live a pretty decent life.
in-hand, and they happened pretty close to the same time. It’s the day they hired Randy Bernard and the day that the bull riders made a pact that they would stick together—that, to me, are the two most important things in the history of our sport.They stuck together, and then the day they hired Randy Bernard.Tom Teague is a big factor in this too, but we would have never got to Tom Teague had it not been for Randy, and would have never gotten to Randy had the bull riders not stuck together.
Q Cody Lambert told me that Randy taught them that you’re supposed to reach for the stars.The PBR has been so instrumental advancing the sport… what more is there? What’s in the future? A
I don’t think anybody knows. Randy has a grip on the company and knows where it’s going, knows what’s going on with everyday business, what’s going on with the bulls, the guys at Spire Capital are heavily involved, everybody that works in that office, all the bull riders, the stock contractors… I don’t believe anybody knows just what is next. Everybody is just kind of going with their eyes wide open saying, “Golly, I can’t believe we got here, but we have to keep going to get further.”
PBR photo
PBR Board of Directors, circa 2004 (Left to right): Tom Teague, Clint Branger, Ty Murray, Michael Gaffney, Cody Lambert, Randy Bernard, Cody Custer, Aaron Semas.
XV Anniversary
99
JT Sumner
Cody’s
T
he PBR World Champion Bull is determined by the nominated bull that has the highest score at the end of the PBR World Finals. The top 45 bull riders in the world vote on their top choices, and then the one bull that does the best from their top five picks is awarded the crown. The 2007 PBR World Champion Bull was Chicken On A Chain.
PBR co-founder, Livestock Director, Ring of Honor recipient and industry legend Cody Lambert shared his choices for the top PBR bulls of the 2008 season. Lambert is the man who hand-picks each and every bull who receives the honor of bucking in Las Vegas at the PBR World Finals. He doesn’t get to vote on the top five, nor did he share his choices with the bull riders prior to their voting for their top five contenders for World Champion Bull.
“These are the five best bulls in my opinion, in no particular order” - Cody Lambert
Moreno/Flying U
Buckoff %
87.5
5
Avg. Mark
47.08
Avg. Score
94.62
Weight
1,500 lbs.
Sire
Whitewater Skoal
Dam
Moreno 97-1
2008
Owner Age
Troubadour
Avg. Buckoff Time 3.82 seconds
I
2007 Finals bull co-champion
Troubadour’s name – chosen by the late Mikel Moreno, son of stock contractor Julio Moreno – was inspired by singer/songwriter Jewel.
102
Cody’s All Stars
stats as of October 12
Matt Brenneman (Cody Lambert); Andy Watson (Rider: Brendon Clark, Bull: Troubadour)
think possibly the best bull going right now is Troubadour. He’s only been ridden twice ever, and both of those times they scored in the mid-90s. Coming into this year, he’s won more money than any bull ever. He looks like he’s going to continue his winning ways. When Mike White rode him at Tulsa, it could be the best ride we’ve ever seen in the PBR. What I like about Troubadour is that he looks like a real special bull when he bucks guys off in 4 seconds or less, but if they last longer than that-he gets stronger and faster. I was talking to Ty (Murray) on the phone and I told him it reminded me of a ride Ty made in the early 90s on Pacific Bell at Red Bluff, Calif. The bull was just getting stronger and stronger and Mike did everything perfect, but he was still on the verge of getting thrown off the entire way. You really had to be there in Red Bluff and Tulsa to know exactly what I’m saying, but both of those rides stay fresh in my mind like they were yesterday because they are, no doubt, two of the best there has ever been. I was a judge when Bubba Dunn scored 96.5 on Promiseland and I’ve always told people that was the best ride I’ve ever seen, and the ride Mike made on Troubadour was just as good —maybe better. If it didn’t break the record (White earned a 95.75), it at least should have tied the record.
Age
Beutler & Son Rodeo Company 6
Weight
1,650 lbs.
Sire
Houdini
Dam
BW51
2008
Owner
Voodoo child Only Justin McBride has covered Voodoo Child. Ironically, both athletes live in Elk City, Okla.
Buckoff %
95.45
Avg. Mark
46.14
Avg. Score
94.5
Avg. Buckoff Time 3.40 seconds
I
n my opinion, the second best bull is Voodoo Child. He is the reigning PRCA Bull of the Year and he looks like he has a very good chance of being World Champion Bull in the PBR. The only time he’s been ridden at any level was when Justin McBride rode him in Tulsa — and he got second because it was the same round Mike (White) rode Troubadour on. Justin would have won any round, anywhere — except for that round, that day. He was as good as a bull could be and Justin just dominated him. But the next time I saw him, Adriano (Moraes) had him in Guthrie and Voodoo Child changed it up a little bit. Adriano was ready for him to go to the left. He usually spins to the left but he took one jump that way, and then spun to the right — with all the kick, speed and intensity he always has. I think it is going to come down to the last ride on the last day and Troubadour, Voodoo Child and White Magic will be in the hunt for World Champion Bull.
After saying all that, Voodoo Child had the worst day I’ve ever seen him have in Cincinnati. He still bucked off Josh Koschel, and he’s still a top bull, but I don’t know if the bull riders will vote him into the Top 5 now.
Owner
Rafter 7r
Buckoff %
81.25
Age
7
Avg. Mark
44.92
Weight
1,450 lbs.
Avg. Score
92.88
Sire
133 Stitch
Dam
Fenhaus 162
2008
Andy Watson (Rider: Pistol Robinson, Bull: Gnash) (Rider: Dustin Elliott , Bull:Voodoo Child)
gnash
Avg. Buckoff Time 3.73 seconds
I
think Gnash is probably going to make the top five. He’s only been ridden a few times this year. Brendon Clark won the short go in Dallas on him. Justin McBride won the second round in Tulsa on him. Both were around 92, 93 points. He’s just gotten better as the year has gone on. He’ll spin either direction, he’ll go right as often as he goes left. He might have a big jump with a roll before he turns back. He ha a lot of speed and will change his timing if you ride him far enough. He’s been around for three years now and he came up through the Classic ranks as well. Pistol Robinson, a Daisy Rookie of the Year contender, lasted 4.8 seconds on Gnash in, of all places, Nashville.
stats as of October 12
Cody’s All Stars
103
I’m A Gangster
I’m
A Gangster is a bull that Tom Teague bought out of Canada late last year. No one has ridden him yet. He’s big and strong and turns back. He’s also fast with a lot of kick. He’s been at 9 Built Ford Tough Series events this season, and he’s been in the short go at the last 8 of them. He’s bucked off Adriano (Moraes), Jason Bennett, Sean Willingham, J.B. Mauney — just to name a few. Adriano rode him 5 seconds, and no one else has even come close to that. I think he’ll be one that the guys will vote for the Top 5. If I was a Top 45 guy, he’d be one I’d be voting for. Teague Bucking Bulls, LLC
Age
4
Weight
1,425 lbs.
Sire
High 007 Yippy High Yea
Dam
High X 23 Boo Hoo
2008
Owner
Buckoff %
100
Avg. Mark
44.5
Avg. Score
Unridden
Avg. Buckoff Time 3.26 seconds
Kasey Hayes was launched from I’m a Gangster in 2.6 seconds. Very few riders have lasted more than 3 seconds.
bones Teague Bucking Bulls, LLC
Buckoff %
100
Age
4
Avg. Mark
45.03
Weight
1,525 lbs.
Avg. Score
Unridden
Sire
Bone Collector
Dam
Whitewater Skoal daughter
2008
Owner
Avg. Buckoff Time 3.85 seconds
Former World Champion Ednei Caminhas has the longest recorded trip on Bones, at 5.8 seconds. Other riders average just 2.6 seconds.
104
Cody’s All Stars
stats as of October 12
Andy Watson (Bull: Bones) (Rider: Kasey Hayes, Bull: I’m A Gangster)
B
ones is another Tom Teague bull, but it is one that he raised. It is probably the first champion that he’s raised. His father was Bone Collector, who Tom bought off of Robbie Herrington. Bones is unridden. He’s only been to five Built Ford Tough Series events, but he’s been the highest scored bull at three of them. He’s bucked off Ednei Caminhas twice, Brian Canter and Guilherme Marchi. Bones looks like an up-and-coming champion.
“These are the other bulls that I think have a chance of being World Champion Bull, in no particular order.”
White Magic, ferocious in the arena, is quite different at home. “He’ll follow you around like a puppy dog,” says owner Steve Gilbert.
Owner
Diamond G Rodeos, Inc.
Age
6
Weight
1,600 lbs.
Sire
R605 Crush Boss
Dam
V84 (Red)
2008
White magic Buckoff % Avg. Mark Avg. Score
88.24 46.01 88.04
Avg. Buckoff Time 2.77 seconds
W
copperhead slinger Chad Berger / Clay Struve
Buckoff %
62.5
Age
4
Avg. Mark
45.76
Weight
1,750 lbs.
Avg. Score
92.75
Sire
Mossy Oak Mudslinger
Dam
Copperhead daughter (Mother to Western Wishes)
2008
Owner
Avg. Buckoff Time 3.86 seconds
C
opperhead Slinger is another one the bull riders really like, and he’s a very, very good bull. The first few times I saw him, I didn’t think he was. H.D. Page owned that bull and I told him he wasn’t good enough to use anymore, so he sold him. Chad Berger bought him and then Chad brought me a video from an amateur event. I looked at it and said, “OK, I’ll give him another try.” And he turned out to be a way better bull than I thought. I told H.D. that I hope he got a lot of money for him because that was my fault. But at the same time, I don’t think he’s in the same league as Troubadour, Voodoo Child and White Magic. Copperhead Slinger and Guilherme Marchi have met three times this season, for scores of 92,25, 92.25, and 91.
106
Cody’s All Stars
stats as of October 12
Andy Watson (Rider: Guilherme Marchi, Bull: Copperhead Slinger) (Rider: Harve Stewart, Bull: White Magic)
hite Magic is as athletic as any bull I’ve ever seen. The trips he had in Portland and Tacoma this year were just two days apart and were as rank as any bull I’ve seen. He kicks so high it looks like he is going to tip over. He kind of lands on one leg when he’s coming down; he doesn’t land on both front feet, and that makes him very difficult to ride. He had one off-day this year when Mike Lee rode him in Billings for 88.75. 88.75 is an off-day for White Magic. I’m not saying Mike Lee couldn’t have rode him on any day, because if anyone can — Mike Lee can. If anyone had ridden him on the trips White Magic had before, they would have been in the mid to upper-90s. After Billings, he went back on the rodeo tour and bucked everyone off and the judges scored him 46 or 47 every time. But at the Oakland PBR, Wiley (Petersen) had him in the short go and it was a little tougher competition then what White Magic had been up against in the rodeos. Wiley rode him for 90.25 points. I don’t know if that will take him out of the Top 5, or if he’ll be the fifth bull the riders vote in. But I know they won’t be considering him quite as tough as Troubadour, Bones, Voodoo Child and I’m A Gangster.
SoulJa Boy Priest Creek Ranch
Buckoff %
50
4
Avg. Mark
45.2
Weight
1,300 lbs.
Avg. Score
90.45
Sire
Unknown
Dam
Unknown
2008
Owner Age
Avg. Buckoff Time 6.90 seconds
I
(Rider: Jody Turner, Bull: Soulja Boy)
don’t think SouljA Boy actually has a chance to win it, but he’s such a good bull that he deserves to be mentioned. He’s been ridden a few times, but they are always right at 90 to 92 points on him. If his buckoff ratio was just a little better, he’d probably be a real contender. He’s exciting to watch because he gets so high in the air and for being so fast. But he’s obviously not as tough to ride as those bulls that get rode once or never.
Soulja Boy helped Zack Brown win the BFTS event in Billings this season with an 89.25-point score.
stats as of October 12
108
Cody’s All Stars
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Honorable Mentions chicken on a chain 2007 World Champion Bull
C
hicken On A Chain is the reigning World Champion Bull, and it looked like he had a chance to repeat, until late July. In Tulsa he had an off-day when Dustin Elliott rode him for 85.5 points. When Chicken got home he had a high fever and some medical problems. They thought they had everything straightened out, and he came back at Nashville and looked like less than 100 percent, but still looked like a really good bull. In Jacksonville, McKennon Wimberly had him and it didn’t even look like he belonged in the short go. Whether he has a physical problem or has given it up, he’s taken himself out of contention for World Champion Bull. I still think he’s a great one, and I think it probably is that there is a physical problem, and if so, Jeff Robinson will figure out what it is or he won’t keep bucking him. He has the heart to come back, but if he’s not physically able he’ll be a great breeding bull.
Weight
Robinson /Tedesco /Larry the Cable Guy 7 1,850 lbs.
Sire
Scar
Dam
Mark Hart cow
Owner Age
Owner
D&H/Teague/Runyan
Buckoff %
96.65
Age
4
Avg. Mark
44.96
Weight
1,650 lbs.
Avg. Score
79.75
Sire
Hot Shot
Dam
Cow 53
2008
80
Avg. Mark
45.9
Avg. Score
89.33
Avg. Buckoff Time 3.77 seconds
Avg. Buckoff Time 4.17 seconds
stats as of October 12
Allen Glanville (Jacob’s Pet); Andy Watson (Rider: Renato Nunes, Bull: Chicken on a Chain)
J
acob’s Pet is another bull that has taken himself out of the running. He’s the highest -winning ABBI Classic bull going right now, and it looked like he could be the World Champion Bull as well. But in Grand Rapids in the short go with Rocky McDonald he made one round and then took off down the arena like he didn’t even want to buck. When a bull that great does that, there is usually something wrong—whether he has a sore body, was in a fight with another bull or he’s sick. The Pages will get to the bottom of it, and there’s no doubt that, like Chicken, if he’s able to, Jacob’s Pet has the heart to come back. If not, he’ll go on to be a great bull for D&H’s breeding program.
Cody’s All Stars
Buckoff %
Jacob’s Pet in the Stephenville Classic
Jacob’s pet
110
2008
Renato Nunes’ 95.75 points aboard Chicken on a Chain in St. Louis was the high score of the season, then Mike White tied it in Tulsa.
Compete for a million dollars at a bucking bull futurity, and watch that bull grow up and hopefully be a PBR superstar bull! No Truck, No Trailer, No Ranch Necessary! We can provide full care and training! This is an annual event. You can get in one time or every year! The first ever PBR FAN BULL DRAFT for the 2011 Million Dollar Bull Futurity will take place on the enterprise stage at the PBR Fan Zone at Mandlay Bay (Level 1 Friday Nov. 7, 3PM-5PM pacific; Level 2 Saturday Nov. 8, 3-5PM). You can no longer buy a pick for the 2011 Million Dollar Bull Futurity but picks for the 2012 Million Dollar Bull Futurity are now for sale at www.exclusivegenetics.com. We will also be at the PBR FAN ZONE & MARKETPLACE (just look for the booth that looks like a PBR arena). Stop by and learn how you can compete for one million dollars at our annual MILLION Dollar Bull Futurity. Picks are limited and the deadline is 12-31-08. Don’t wait until it is too late to get in on this fun & exciting event. It's your chance to be involved in the PBR and the bucking bull industry.
Guaranteed!! 1 Million Dollar Payment 1st Place $500,000.00
7th Place $22,000.00
2nd Place $100,000.00
8th Place $20,000.00
3rd Place $75,000.00
9th Place $18,000.00
4th Place $50,000.00
10th Place $25,000.00
5th Place $25,000.00
11th-20th Place $12,500.00
6th Place $24,000.00
21st-25th Place $7,500.00
Your bull will compete at a futurity like this bull with an electronic bullrider on his back.
For more info. www.exclusivegenetics.com or call 979-478-BULL(2855)
Retirin
bulls g Boyd & Floyd’s
I
Camo
don’t think Camo is a contender for Bull of the Year, but he’s been in the short go at every event he’s been to. Justin (McBride) rode him at the Finals in 2007 and only Kasey Hayes has rode him this season, and he won the Winston-Salem event on him. He’s been as good as ever, but at 9 years old, it is time for him to breed to some cows and pass that on.
Frontier Rodeo’s
2005
big BUcks
World Champion Big Bucks will be retiring after the Finals. He’s had days where he looked like the same Big Bucks of 2005, and then he’s had days where it looks like he’s losing a step, but he’s still a competitor. Even on those days where it looks like he lost a step, they’ll be 90 points or better. On days where he looks like the Big Bucks from 2005, they won’t ride him.
Flying U’s
reindeer
P
112
Cody’s All Stars
Andy Watson (Camo) (Reindeer) (Big Bucks)
ossibly the most well-known loved and hated bull that we have is Reindeer. He’s probably retiring a year later than he should have, but in his prime there was no bull more athletic, faster or wilder than Reindeer. The only problem with Reindeer is that he never really liked anything. He never really liked being a bucking bull that much. He was a loner that didn’t like being with the other bulls, or even the cows. He really just wanted to be left alone. If he had loved his job like the other bulls retiring this year, he probably would have broken every record a bull could break. I doubt there will ever be another one like him physically, and I hope there’s never another one like him mentally. Because all along — knowing what Reindeer was capable of — I kept putting him back in the draw, even though the bull riders hated him.
The Ring of Honor
T
he Ring of Honor recognizes those who have had the most profound impact on bull riding — the true ambassadors of the sport. It was created in 1996, and the PBR has bestowed the laurel on its legends every year since. The Ring of Honor is more than just physical ring, though each inductee receives a ring, handcrafted of diamonds and gold, bearing the PBR logo, the recipient’ name, and the year he was honored. It is a fellowship. It is the chrysalis of what will one day become a worldrenowned Hall of Fame.
Cody Lambert 1996
Ted Nuce 1996
PBR co-founder Lambert was not only an exceptional bull rider, but a top-tier saddle-bronc rider as well. He qualified for the NFR seven times in bull riding and three in bronc riding, and appeared in the PBR World Finals every year through 1996, when he retired.
Nuce qualified for the NFR 14 years in a row — an unmatched record. He was the 1985 PRCA World Champion bull rider, finished second in the world four times and won the 1994 PBR World Finals.
Jim Shoulders 1996
Harry Tompkins 1996
Shoulders had 16 World Champion buckles to his credit — more than any other cowboy, ever. His 15th World Championship title was earned in 1959, at the first NFR.
Over the course of a dozen years, Tompkins managed to win five bull riding titles, two bareback titles and two all-around world titles. His first win came in 1948 and his last in 1960, cementing his place in history.
Donnie Gay 1997
Larry Mahan 1998
Gay holds eight World Champion bull riding titles, a record yet to be broken. His dynamic personality and enthusiasm for the sport endeared him to fans and fellow competitors.
Mahan won six all-around World Championships with the PRCA and took home the PRCA World Champion bull riding title in 1965 and 1967.
Jerome Davis 1998
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Deciding on each inductee is no easy task. There have been many great competitors in the sport, but talent alone doesn’t earn the Ring. Some recipients hold multiple world titles — others have never enjoyed a championship. But in and out of the arena, all have devoted themselves tirelessly to the sport they love. They are men of character and distinction — the rock upon which bull riding is built. The bestowing of the Ring of Honor has traditionally been a World Finals event…until now. The next inductees will be announced at World Finals, and officially inducted on May 16, 2009, at the Built Ford Tough Series event in Pueblo, Colo. – the home of the PBR.
Tuff Hedeman 1999
Davis was the 1995 PRCA World Champion bull rider and a top PBR athlete. He is now a top bucking bull breeder, and mentor to a new generation of PBR stars.
Hedeman, the 1995 PBR World Champion, won three PRCA World Champion bull riding crowns, and was the NFR average winner in 1987 and 1989.
Lane Frost 1999
Jerome Robinson 1999
Frost was the 1987 PRCA bull riding World Champion and made history in 1988 when he was matched up against legendary bull Red Rock. His untimely death at the 1989 Cheyenne Frontier Days Rodeo changed the face of bull riding.
After qualifying for the NFR an impressive 11 times, Robinson eventually became involved the business side of the sport. He realized that traditional rodeo was using archaic ideas and systems, and helped to modernize the sport.
Clint Branger 2000
Wacey Cathey 2001
Branger was the National Intercollegiate Rodeo Association bull riding titlist in 1985, and then turned pro. Despite that auspicious beginning, he retired in 2000 without a world title. His peers agree that he may be the greatest bull rider never to wear the crown.
Cathey qualified for his first NFR in 1976 and his last in 1991. He qualified for the NFR 14 times, a record he shares with Ted Nuce.
Ring of Honor
Daryl Mills 2002
Ty Murray 2002
Mills’ bull riding career was relatively brief but undeniably brilliant. The 1994 PRCA World Champion bull rider was also the Canadian Professional Rodeo Association bull riding champion in 1990 and 1992.
Murray is the greatest all-around cowboy who has ever lived. His seven PRCA all-around titles, his two PRCA bull riding titles and his remarkable career in the PBR earned the PBR co-founder the appropriate moniker “King of the Cowboys.”
Denny Flynn 2002
Cody Custer 2003
Flynn qualified for nine straight NFRs, from 1974-1982, and he shares the record for most NFR bull riding average victories with three. Flynn earned a score of 98 points on Red Lightning in 1979, the second-highest score ever awarded.
As a World Champion, family man and spiritual leader, Custer is a true role model. In 1992, he won the PRCA World Champion bull rider title, and after a long and successful career, retired from the PBR in 2003.
Myrtis Dightman 2003
Aaron Semas 2003
It’s hard to imagine that there was a time when skin color determined if a cowboy could enter an event. But Dightman persevered, and in 1957 got his PRCA card. He qualified for the NFR in 1964, and finished third at the event in 1968. He won both Cheyenne Frontier Days and the Calgary Stampede.
Semas is one of the founding fathers of the PBR and served on its board for over 10 years. When he retired in 2003, it was as one of the most consistent and toughest bull riders the sport has ever seen.
Charlie Sampson 2004
David Fournier 2004
Sampson was the first African-American ever to win the PRCA World Champion bull rider title. He qualified for the NFR in 1981 and won the gold buckle in 1982, 18 years after his mentor Dightman competed at the NFR for the first time.
During his stellar career, Fournier qualified for the NFR seven times. In 1996, he was the PRCA Reserve World Champion, and competed in the PBR World Finals four times. Fournier has been a cornerstone of the PBR since its inception.
Troy Dunn 2005
Michael Gaffney 2005
Dunn is the only Australian to ever win the PBR World Champion title and the only man to ever win the PBR World Finals event twice. Dunn served on the PBR’s board and was instrumental in the eventual formation of PBR Australia.
During his career, Gaffney amassed thirteen 90-points rides and successfully rode the legendary Little Yellow Jacket twice in 2004, for 93.75 and 96.5. Gaffney was the 1997 PBR World Champion and retired in 2005 to bring his expert analysis to the PBR’s television broadcasts.
Bobby Steiner 2005
Cody Snyder 2006
Steiner is respected for the way he played the game. In 1973 he won the PRCA World Champion bull rider title — and then retired. He was passionate about bull riding, but he recognized that it was just a game and retired when he reached his goal.
In 1983 Snyder made history by becoming the first Canadian to be crowned the PRCA’s World Champion bull rider. He qualified for the NFR three additional times, and was the Canadian Professional Rodeo Association’s champion in 1986.
Bobby DelVecchio 2006
Phil Lyne 2007
DelVecchio is proof that being a cowboy starts in your heart, not your zip code. DelVecchio grew up in the Bronx, but developed a passion for riding bulls. He qualified for the NFR six times, and in 1981 and 1982, was runner-up to the PRCA World Champion bull rider.
Two-time World Champion All-Around Cowboy Phil Lyne of Cotulla, Texas, was more than just a great bull rider. Lyne has the distinction of being the only cowboy to win the NFR average titles in three events: Bull Riding, Calf Roping and Steer Roping.
Carl Nafzger 2007 Nafzger is one of only 18 horse trainers to have won the Kentucky Derby twice. What people may not know is that Nafzger was a world-class bull rider — qualifying for the NFR three times in a 12-year career.
Ring of Honor
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Andy Watson
Bullfighters
Offer Bodies for Science...Sort of
C
omparing a professional bullfighter to a Neanderthal — or “cavemen” as they’re sometimes pejoratively called — might seem like a suicide mission. But Russian-born naturalist Dr. Valerius Geist insists that his analogy is not meant as an insult — rather a compliment to high athleticism. Want to figure out how a Neanderthal might have caught a woolly mammoth 250,000 years ago? For some of academia’s elite, it turns out the answer can be found somewhere in the arena dirt at a Professional Bull Riders event. Geist, from the University of Calgary, explained how bullfighting affected his work in his 2006 article “Neanderthal: Adaptive Syndrome.” “I visited the Calgary Stampede, and at that moment bull riding was in progress. The cowboy was hanging on for dear life … The bull went through spectacular jumps and contortions, and the cowboy eventually flew off, crash-landing, sprawled helplessly on the ground. “At this point the [bullfighters] went through extraordinary performances distracting the bull away from the prostrate cowboy, leading it off, teasing it. One even jumped over the attacking bull’s head! The bull [was] a very much down-sized version of its wild Pleistocene ancestor Bos primigenius … And suddenly it all fell into place: I saw how both — Neanderthal and Cro-Magnon — hunted.” Neanderthals, Geist surmised, hunted in pairs, with one attempting to distract the prey so his partner could leap through the air to grab onto the animal’s back before danger struck. What Geist needed was proof. And he found it in some old bones. “When I sat down with someone to examine the bone breakage pattern of Neanderthals and compare it with that of rodeo athletes,” Geist said, “the breakage patterns matched exactly.” Dr. Tandy Freeman, head of the PBR sports medicine team, sees some merit in Geist’s idea. “Even though the Neanderthals were hunting mammoths to kill for food, unlike bullfighters,” Freeman said, “it’s the same sort of motion, and the same highenergy injuries. “They would be suffering what we call ‘motorped accidents,’ which are harder on the body and less likely an occurrence than in football or other traditional sports. A motorped accident is what happens when a foot is planted and the outside part of the knee is damaged. You’ll find bullfighters with multiple ligaments torn, fractures – it’s a high-energy accident because all the weight is shifted on that single foot and therefore the trauma is a lot different than what you see in a traditional sport like football. “I’d say this is the exact same sort of injury that the Neanderthals were going through several hundred thousand years ago, too.” -KH Injuries suffered by Neanderthal hunters are almost identical to those suffered by bullfighters.
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Who’s Who
The
Dickies durAbullfighters Frank Newsom Paul’s Valley, OK 5’ 9”, 210 Years Fighting Bulls: 16 Injuries: Broken left leg (twice), broken left arm (twice), broken ribs (all), broken scapula, several concussions and a separated sternum.
Joe Baumgartner Red Bluff, CA 6’, 190 Years Fighting Bulls: 20 Injuries: Torn up knees, broken legs several times, broken numerous fingers, broken jaw and nearly lost an eye.
Shorty Gorham
Jon Asp (Frank Newsom); John Martinotti (Joe Baumgartner); Matt Brenneman (Shorty Gorham, Darrell Diefenbach); Andy Watson (Frank Newsom tries to save Zack Brown)
Cotulla, TX 5’ 10”, 180 Years Fighting Bulls: 10 Injuries: Broken vertebra, shattered left shoulder, broken sternum, tore pectoral muscle off the sternum, broke both ankles, blew out left knee and other assorted minor injuries.
Darrell Diefenbach Kilkivan, Queensland, Australia 5’ 10”, 170 Years Fighting Bulls:15 Injuries: Broken back, broken neck, broken pelvis, broken lower back, face reconstruction, broken leg, broken ankle, broken fingers, broken ribs and multiple concussions.
Who’s Who
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Flint Rasmussen Entertainer
Flint on the PBR:
“I
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Who’s Who
Bruton-Stroube Studio (Flint standing)
n my rodeo career I went to some great places … I’d go to some big rodeos where they’d sell out every day, but at the end of the day I was “that” clown. It was a festival and nobody had ever heard of any of the cowboys. The thing about the PBR … it’s the recognition, the fan base. We’re not selling out every time, but we’re getting more and more people every year that know what the heck is going on. “People used to say that the PBR is going to struggle when Jim Sharp and Ty Murray retire because they don’t have any new stars. Now you go to an event and instead of the crowd cheering really loud for three or four or five of the guys, they cheer really loud for 25 of them.” Flint’s regular blog is available online at pbrnow.com
TV Announcers Versus Broadcaster
Craig Hummer on calling the action
“MY
whole job is to set my partners up to let them be as knowledgeable as they are…I’ve got to be able to figure out the guys I’m working with and how best to set them up. “That’s the whole point of our TV shows, right? It’s to keep people interested. The hard-core fans are going to watch no matter what, but that’s not what the show is about. It’s about drawing new fans. My partners do such a good job of this … explaining what the sport is about for people who might be tuning in for the first time. We can’t ever lose sight of that. “I can’t say enough about how great Justin McKee is, because his whole line is the bulls and how great they are as athletes, and how important it is to know them. I always rely on him for great information about that. Then obviously depending on whether I’m working with Ty (Murray) and Michael (Gaffney), Justin McBride or J.W. (Hart) … those guys are obviously going to talk about their sport and why the ride itself is good. Primarily my job is to ferret the stories out of them and draw information out of them.”
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Who’s Who
Andy Watson (Hummer on mic); Jon Asp (4 TV Announcers)
From left to right: Craig Hummer, Justin McKee, Ty Murray and Michael Gaffney
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Arena Announcers
Clint Adkins
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lint Adkins, a former pro bareback rider, has been calling inarena action from his early 20s. Like the PBR itself, Adkins has focused exclusively on bull riding events…he announced Challenger Tour shows for years before making the jump to the Built Ford Tough Series. He lives in Trinity, Texas with his wife Jodi, children Riley and Emily, and storm-tested dog Hannah.
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Who’s Who
Randy Schmutz
randon Bates, 26, first picked up the microphone when he was 17. The affable Oklahoman is now announcing his sixth Built Ford Tough World Finals. If there’s any wild action going on – either in the arena or afterward at Night Club PBR – Bates is probably there.
andy Schmutz rode bulls for 12 years, and has been a PBR announcer since 1994. Schmutz and his wife Amber run XS Ranch (Stephenville, Texas) where they raise championship-caliber bucking bulls, along with three kids: Cade, Conner and Calli.
B
R
Mark Scott (Brandon Bates); Andy Watson ( Bates doing Rasmussen impression,Clint Adkins, Randy Schmutz)
Brandon Bates does his best Flint Rasmussen impression.
Brandon Bates