PUEBLO, Colo. (September 15, 2010) - The Professional Bull Riders announced that the following riders have been promoted to the elite Built Ford Tough Series by being the Top 5 riders in the PBR Touring Pro Division, based on money earned: Brendon Clark of Morpeth, Australia; Kasey Hayes of Liberal, Kan.; Cord McCoy of Ada, Okla.; and Jason O’Hearn and Harve Stewart of Stephenville, Texas.
The BFTS will be at JQH Arena in Springfield, Mo., on Friday, Saturday and Sunday for the PFIwestern.com Invitational presented by Bass Pro Shops.
The TPD is the minor-league tour of the PBR, where both established veterans and newcomers to the professional ranks compete against some of the most famous bucking bulls. The TPD gives riders the opportunity to compete in PBR-sanctioned events while earning money to qualify for the BFTS, which is comprised of the Top 40 bull riders in the world. Every five events on the BFTS, the PBR promotes the Top 5 riders, based on money earned, from the TPD to the BFTS.
Ednei Caminhas of Presidente Alves, Brazil has been cut from the BFTS; however, he will be able to continue to compete with his World Champion exemption.
Riders with BFTS injury exemptions are Brian Canter of Archdale, N.C., with four; Rocky McDonald of Colonia Juarez, Mexico with three; Reese Cates of El Dorado, Ark., with two and Michael Manes of Conway, Ark., with one.
The 2010 PBR season has been the sport’s most competitive season ever. The first 26 events of the 2010 Built Ford Tough Series have produced 19 different winners; the standings lead has changed 11 times; and six different riders have been ranked first. In addition, there are seven riders in the Top 10 with an event win and 13 in the Top 20.
Austin Meier of Kinta, Okla., has the most wins with five, while Renato Nunes of Buritama, Brazil, has three, and Valdiron de Oliveira of Aparecida de Goiania, Brazil, and rookie Silvano Alves of Pilar, Brazil, each have two wins. Meier and J.B. Mauney have each been ranked first three different times while Nunes has been on top twice.
About the Professional Bull Riders, Inc. (PBR)
The PBR is the world’s premier bull riding organization. More than 100 million viewers annually watch over 400 hours of primetime PBR programming on VERSUS, NBC, CBS and networks around the world. The PBR has awarded over $100 million in prize money and 20 riders have earned over $1 million including Justin McBride with $5.5 million, the most of any western-sports athlete in history. The PBR was nominated as 2010 Sports League of the Year at the Sports Business Journal Sports Business Awards alongside the National Football League, National Basketball Association and Major League Baseball. Nearly two million fans attend elite Built Ford Tough Series and Touring Pro Division events each year. For more information on the PBR, go to www.pbr.com, or follow on Facebook at www.facebook.com/TeamPBR and http://twitter.com/TEAMPBR.
