
PUEBLO, CO - The Professional Bull Riders, Inc. (PBR) administration announced the fifth official cut of the 2008 season.
The riders who were dropped from the Built Ford Tough Series following the Built Ford Tough Invitational presented by Cooper Tires in Glendale, Ariz. are: Helton Barbosa (Douradina, PR, Brazil), Tony Mendes (Pueblo, Colo.), Bryan Richardson (Dallas, TX), Kolt Donaldson (Idabel, Okla.), and Brian Herman (Victoria, TX).
However, due to their standings in the Copenhagen Bull Riding Challenger Tour, Richardson, Donaldson, and Herman will remain on the BFTS tour. In addition to those three riders, fan favorite Matt Bohon (Cole Camp, Mo.) and Colorado bull rider Ryan McConnel (Cortez, Colo.) will also advance to the BFTS by virtue of their achievements at the Copenhagen Bull Riding Challenger Tour level.
The purpose of the cut is to determine which 45 bull riders will be competing on the elite Built Ford Tough Series presented by Wrangler (BFTS). Upon the conclusion of every fifth BFTS tour stop, the lowest ranked riders in the BFTS point standings are dropped from the tour and replaced by the top five riders in the Copenhagen Bull Riding Challenger tour standings. Money earned at all lower level PBR tours – Copenhagen Bull Riding Tour, Enterprise Rent-A-Car Tour, Discovery Tour, and international tours – counts toward earning a spot among the 45 best bull riding athletes in the PBR. All 2007 PBR Built Ford Tough World Finals presented by Wrangler qualifiers received five BFTS events before they were subject to the cut.
The next cut will be after the U.S. Air Force Invitational presented by Cooper Tires in Cincinnati, Ohio on October 3-4, 2008.
Learn more at www.pbrnow.com