ADA, Okla. – Elite bull rider Cord McCoy of Tupelo wants to blow the socks off fans in Pontotoc County at the end of this month when he brings the best bull riders in the world to town for the Cord McCoy Invitational.
He didn’t have to look too far either. In fact, McCoy has received confirmation that Ada native Jody Newberry and Asher’s Cody Whitney will be part of the field of 80 great bull riders who will compete May 29-30 at the Pontotoc County Agri-Plex starting at 7:30 p.m. each night.
“This is a homecoming for me, but it’s also homecoming for Jody and Cody, and I really wanted them to be here,” said McCoy, one of the most popular cowboys in the Professional Bull Riders organization.
Both Newberry and Whitney have been among the elite in the PBR’s premier tour, the Built Ford Tough Series, but both have been out of the PBR’s spotlight for some time. Still, both continue to ride bulls at a top-flight level.
Newberry was the PBR’s rookie of the year in 2003, the same season in which he won the average championship at the World Finals. He ended the year with more than $340,000 in earnings and a top 10 finish in the world standings. He placed ninth in 2004 and third in 2005.
In the years since, he’s battled through injuries and circumstances that have taken him out of the spotlight, but he’s still showing off that long-legged talent that people have talked about for years.
Whitney has put his focus toward the Championship Bull Riding and the Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association, and the two-time winner on the Built Ford Tough Series continues to make a significant mark on the bull-riding world. He’s ranked eighth in the CBR standings and won the association’s event in Biloxi, Miss., earlier this year.
He’s also ranked ninth in the PRCA bull-riding standings, having earned nearly $42,000 already this year.
“It’s good to be able to ride so close to home,” said Whitney, 27.
The Cord McCoy Invitational will be part of the Enterprise Rent-A-Car Tour, and money won in Ada will count toward qualification to the PBR’s World Finals, which take place each fall in Las Vegas. The top 45 cowboys on the money list at the end of the regular season qualify for the year-end championship, and McCoy has played on the PBR’s biggest stage each of the last three years.
In addition to the Cord McCoy Invitational featuring the best bull riders in the sport, the event will also feature the top athletes in the Professional Bullfighters Daisy Protection Bullfight Tour, a simultaneous competition that focuses on the excitement of aggressive protection bullfighting.
Tickets are on sale now and can be purchased at Steppin’ Out Western Outfitters in Ada and Wynnewood; Stillwater Milling in Davis; and the Kountry Store in Tupelo. Advanced tickets for grandstand seating is $15; advanced tickets for CordZone seating is $30.
The Pontotoc County Agri-Plex will seat about 3,500 fans, so it will be imperative for those interested in seeing some of the greatest cowboys battling the toughest bulls in the business to get their tickets in advance.
