LAS VEGAS, Nev. (November 6, 2008) - The Professional Bull Riders, Inc. (PBR) conducted steroids tests on the five bulls for the 2008 Bull of the Year award. Those bulls are Copperhead Slinger, owned by Chad Berger/Clay Struve; Troubadour, owned by Julio Moreno Bucking Bulls; Bones, owned by Teague Bucking Bulls, LLC; Spitfire, owned by C&G Rodeo Livestock, LLC; and All In, owned by Naccarato Bucking Bulls. The results will be sent back in three to five weeks.
PBR is pleased to report that all of the bulls tested throughout the year were found negative for steroids. Those bulls included Big Bucks, owned by Frontier/Teague Bucking Bulls (VERSUS Invitational, New York, NY); Grey Dog, owned by D&H Cattle Co./Junk Bull Co. (Dickies American Worker of the Year Invitational, Dallas, Texas); Troubadour, owned by Julio Moreno Bucking Bulls (Express Classic presented by Creek Nation Casino, Tulsa, Okla.); and Say I Won’t Gunner, owned by Chad Berger/Clay Struve (Montana Tractors Invitational, Edmonton, AB, Canada).
The PBR has deemed the issue of steroid use in bulls of such importance that a PBR Bull Testing Committee was developed and introduced a Steroid Testing Policy for the 2008 Built Ford Tough season. Under the new policy, PBR will test the top performing bull or bulls at various events throughout the season. The first testing was conducted following the conclusion of the PBR’s VERSUS Invitational event held this weekend at Madison Square Garden in New York City. A stock contractor whose bull is found to have yielded a positive test result will be subject to discipline by the Committee.
While it is unclear to what extent, if any, bulls competing in sanctioned PBR events are being subjected to anabolic steroid treatments, concerns had been raised PBR stock contractors themselves, with respect to that very possibility. Those concerns could be residual in nature. Proponents contend that steroid use was far more prevalent in the past. Stock contractors have since realized that the serious and detrimental side-effects that steroids had upon their bulls simply out weighed any benefit gained.
In an effort to ensure and maintain the integrity of competition and the health of its bull athletes, PBR and its Bull Testing Committee have partnered with the leading veterinarian in the bucking bull industry, Dr. Gary Warner, DVM. and world renowned veterinary scientist Dr. Walter Hyde, M.S., Ph.D. to create the first ever anabolic steroid bull testing protocol and policy in the history of the sport. Testing methods will include taking samples of a bull’s blood and urine.
The Bull Testing Committee is composed of PBR Board Advisors Ty Murray and Cody Lambert; Richard Patterson, co-founder and partner of Spire Capital Partners LLC and Chairman of PBR's Corporate Board; and Matthew A. Rivela, PBR's General Counsel. In keeping with the belief that PBR's founding cowboys should still drive those decisions which tend to affect the sport of bull riding, the PBR Board of Directors have seen fit to create three advisory committees to that end. In addition to the Bull Testing Committee, there currently also exists a Competition/Rules and Regulations Committee and a Conduct Committee.
About the PBR:
More than 100 million viewers tune in each year to the PBR on FOX, NBC, ESPN, VERSUS, and on a host of foreign networks across the globe. With approximately 400 hours of prime time programming annually, PBR ranks among the most prolific sports on air, in addition to attracting over 1.5 million live event attendees each year with its multi-tiered event structure which includes the marquee Built Ford Tough Series presented by Wrangler, the Copenhagen Bull Riding Challenger Tour, the Enterprise Rent-A-Car Tour, and the Discovery Tour, designed specifically for entry level contestants. The PBR is headquartered in Pueblo, Colo., with additional offices in Australia, Brazil, Canada, and Mexico. The PBR prides itself in its 1,000 plus stock contractor relationships and over 1,200 PBR bull riders competing in more than 300 PBR sanctioned competitions in five countries.
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