A HISTORY OF RODEO’S PREMIER BULL RIDING ORGANIZATION

It’s hard to believe more than 30 years have passed since a small-time outfit known as the Professional Bull Riders first kicked off its very first event. Now, as an organization with more than 500 members representing the United States, Brazil, Canada, Mexico, and Australia, the international organization is the premiere institution for the best and brightest stars of the bull riding world. And every year, each of these bull riders works relentlessly to try to earn that coveted PBR World Champion title, which includes a $1 million bonus, a trophy, and a shiny new gold championship belt buckle.

Bull riding itself dates back to the 1600s when it emerged in Mexico as a bullfighting variant. In the 1850s, bull riding contests grew popular in the Southwest, becoming a popular exhibition event throughout the 20th century. But it wasn’t until 1992 that the PBR formed out of discussions that took place in a Scottsdale, Arizona, hotel, as 20 bull riding professionals and a lone businessman sought to improve the sport of bull riding in general by doing things their own way. Since then, what started as a grassroots effort has become an international organization enticing bull riders from all over the world participating in more than 200 PBRsanctioned events each year.

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The bull riders organization’s original headquarters were in Irvine, California, but the group moved to Colorado Springs, Colorado, in 1995. In 2007, it moved again to its current home base in Pueblo, Colorado.

Those 20 founding riders were all involved in either the Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association (PRCA) or Bull Riders Only (BRO), an organization that had been around for only a year. However, the cowboys dreamed of something bigger and better, with the vision that they

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could turn their bull riding dreams into an international pastime. They pooled together to develop an organization specifically dedicated to celebrating the art and craft of bull riding, founded and established by some of the most legendary riders in the sport’s history. True to the cowboy spirit, they wanted to establish their own rules, their own way of doing things, and a better experience for all involved. And, putting their money where their mouths were, the riders each contributed $1,000 of their savings to the effort.

“We wanted to create a better product for the fans so that when they tuned in, they were seeing the best of the best every time,” Ty Murray, nine-time World Champion and cofounder who eventually served as president, once said.

They were on to something, though it took a few years before the organization could grow in a sustainable way. In 1993, the PBR put on a small series of events, with its first championship season taking place in 1994 with its Bud Light Cup Series.

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Cowboy Sam Applebaum was the organization’s first CEO, but Randy Bernard took over in 1995. Bernard started his tenure with $8,000 in the bank account and $140,000 in debt, but within a year, things turned around. BRO went out of business in 1996, leaving the PBR as the winner in the rivalry and granting PBR riders more opportunities. Within a year of his takeover, Bernard assured payout for the World Finals had reached $1 million. That number increased to $1.5 million in 1999. Bernard remained CEO for 15 years, departing the organization in 2010.

During his time with the PBR, Bernard oversaw some of its most monumental changes. In 2003, the PBR started granting its World Champions a year-end $1 million bonus. That same year, the company purchased American Bucking Bull, Inc., to better document bucking bull lineages.

In 2007, Spire Capital Partners acquired the organization. This major acquisition and added financial support helped it develop from a healthy business into an international showcase of the world’s best riders.

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Jim Haworth became PBR’s CEO in 2011 before becoming Chairman in 2015, when Sean Gleason took over the CEO role. That same year, Endeavor, a major multimedia organization that owns some of the most prominent entertainment properties in the world, acquired the business, further spurring its growth.

In 2020, rodeo sports across America took a hit due to COVID-19. The PBR wasn’t immune to virus-related protocols, but cowboys always pull through in a pinch. After some cancellations, the cowboys geared up and hit the arena at events closed to fans, helping prevent the spread of the virus. The cowboys initially rode to empty arenas but later invited audiences back on a socially-distanced basis. That year, the PBR also launched Cowboys for a Cause, which features sponsored teams of three bull riders competing for money that they donate to a charitable cause.

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However, this challenging time would also lay the foundation for the PBR Team Challenge, which put the best of the best up against one another in teams representing various sponsors. This event series became the precursor to the PBR Team Series format that the PBR launched in 2022, which now runs through the summer and fall of each year. In this event series, the teams represent various regions, giving locals a home team to root for whenever the Team Series passes through their hometown. The tour culminates with a finale event at T-Mobile Arena in Vegas. The champion team earns a $700,000 bonus and a trophy shaped like a giant belt buckle, and each team member of the winning team wins their own $150,000 bonus and championship gold buckle.

Today’s PBR tours include the Premier Series, Touring Pro Division, Velocity Tour, Team Series, Challenger Series, and a series of International Tours. The organization’s sponsors include Monster Energy, US Border Patrol, Pluto TV, Wrangler, Tractor Supply Co., and Cooper Tires. Since its inception, the PBR has awarded more than $300 million in prize money.

In 2018, the PBR launched RidePass, the league’s 24/7 digital network, to grow the organization and share the rodeo community’s love of bull riding in general. As of 2021, avid rodeo fans can tune into RidePass on PlutoTV for hours of PBR bull riding and behind-the-scene rodeo coverage. PBR television broadcasts are some of the most popular programs on television.

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Throughout the summer, the most avid rodeo fans can watch PBR bull riders make names for themselves by competing in events at the Cowtown Coliseum in Fort Worth. Cowtown Coliseum was the site of the first-ever PBR event back in April 1993 and nearby Dickies Arena will once again be the site of the PBR World Finals in 2023.

The PBR World Finals is a staple of rodeo and western culture, which only gets better each year as legends seek not only to claim the World Champion title but to defeat records set by the legendary bull

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riders who came before them. For more than 25 years, the PBR World Finals took place in Las Vegas, starting at the MGM Grand Garden Arena from 1994 to 1998 and then at the Thomas & Mack Center from 1999 until 2015. From 2016 to 2019, the events took place at the T-Mobile Arena, but due to Nevada’s COVID-19 restrictions, the organization moved the event out of Vegas in 2020 to AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas. After another year at the T-Mobile Arena in 2021, the finals then moved back to Texas once again before moving to its now-permanent home at Dickies Arena in Fort Worth in 2022.

And, with the PBR Hall of Fame opening this year within the National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum in Oklahoma, there’s more to be excited about than ever. The American Rodeo Gallery will celebrate the rodeo history, and the PBR Hall of Fame will include artifacts that pay homage to the organization’s early days and its modern-day heroes and legends. While the museum launches this spring, it will expand throughout 2023 and 2024 to a 1,200-square-foot space featuring the original PBR World Championship trophy, commemorative paintings, and much more.

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The PBR will soon celebrate its 30th anniversary with a PBR Dirty 30 celebration to remember on May 17 during the PBR World Finals. The soiree is a star-studded event emceed by Larry the Cable Guy and featuring headlining musical performances from Ryan Bingham and Chris Janson. Proceeds from the exclusive event will support the Special Operations Warrior Foundation (SOWF). The organization provides educational opportunities and support for children of fallen Special Operational Personnel and children of all Medal of Honor awardees and offers financial assistance to severely wounded, ill, and injured Special Operations Personnel.

While the sport of rodeo itself has grown and evolved, at its core, it remains fundamentally the same as the activity that today’s riders’ grandfathers and great-grandfathers practiced on the frontier decades ago. However, PBR has facilitated massive growth and international acclaim as bull riding reaches more and more people with both televised and live events.

Beyond rural America and the western world, audiences of all types flock to the PBR to witness what it takes to ride a 1,800-pound beast. These past 30 years have shown us that, just like the generations of cowboys they represent,

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the PBR will persevere no matter where the journey takes them. Through the ups and downs, the underdog wins, and the devastating upsets, there’s nothing like bull riding to bring people worldwide together to witness athleticism at its finest in the arena and beyond.

Today, the PBR can rightfully claim the crown of the world’s premier bull riding institution, with a history as rich as the sport itself. Its founding story serves as an excellent example of what a group of people with a shared vision can accomplish if they are willing to work hard to achieve it. •