Oklahoma City, OK (February 13, 2009) - The Professional Bull Riders, Inc. (PBR) invaded The Sooner State for stop #9 on the PBR’s prestigious Built Ford Tough Series (BFTS) tour. The top 40 bull riders in the world took on the toughest bulls in the industry during round one of the 2009 Express Classic, held at Oklahoma City’s Ford Center. In the end, 2008 PBR World Champion Guilherme Marchi (Leme, SP, Brazil) took the first round victory after riding the bull, Big Iron, owned by Diamond S Bucking Bulls, for 91.5 points.
Two riders found themselves splitting second and third place after scoring 89.25 points with Oklahoma’s own Ryan Dirteater (Hulbert, Okla.) taking on D&H Cattle Company’s bull, Scrappy, and 2004 PBR World Champion Mike Lee (Decatur, Texas) riding the bull Pearl Snap, owned by Boyd/Floyd Bull Company. Two more riders split fourth and fifth place with Renato Nunes (Buritama, SP, Brazil) taming D&H Cattle Company’s Super Duty while Mike White (De Kalb, Texas) rode top bull, Cat Man Do, owned by #10 Bucking Bulls.
Due to his round two win at last weekend’s Troy-Bilt Invitational in Tallahassee, Fla., Cody Campbell (Summerville, Ore.) was eligible to compete for the $5,000 Enterprise Rent-A-Car “Ride with the Best” bonus during round one of the Express Classic. Campbell did not make the whistle on the bull, Hot Pistol; therefore, the stock contractor, Boyd/Floyd Bull Company, took home the $5,000 bonus.
Tomorrow the top 40 bull riders will draft their round two bull at Oklahoma City’s Cox Convention Center. Round winner Marchi will pick first while the other 39 bull riders pick follow in succession based on their round one scores. After all of the riders who received scores have selected their bulls, the riders will select their bulls based on their buck-off times with the quickest buck-off time picking last.
The Express Classic continues on Saturday, February 14 as the world’s best bull riders compete to see who will take home the coveted Oklahoma City event title. Catch all of the action when round two airs LIVE on VERSUS at 8 p.m. EST and don’t miss the exciting conclusion when VERSUS airs round three and the Built Ford Tough Championship Round on Sunday, February 15 at 8 p.m. EST.
INJURY REPORT:
LJ Jenkins (Texico, N.M.) suffered a lacerate lip. He received stitches and will ride in round two of the Express Classic.
Josh Koschel (Longmont, Colo.) received a concussion after bucking off his round one bull. He is probable for tomorrow’s round two.
Jared Farley (Kempsey, AUS) separated his shoulder during round one of the Express Classic. He is probable for tomorrow.
Chris Shivers (Jonesville, La.) suffered a sprained thumb. He is probable for round two in Oklahoma City.
Kasey Hayes (Liberal, Kan.) received a laceration on his chin. It was stitched up and he will ride in tomorrow’s round two.
Cord McCoy (Tupelo, Okla.) has a possible rib fracture. He is questionable for round two at the Express Classic.
Express Classic RESULTS
ROUND ONE: 1) Guilherme Marchi (Leme, SP, Brazil) 91.5 points on Big Iron (Diamond S Bucking Bulls), $7,000; 2/3) Ryan Dirteater (Hulbert, Okla.) 89.25 points on Scrappy (D&H Cattle Company), $4,000; 2/3) Mike Lee (Decatur, Texas) 89.25 points on Pearl Snap (Boyd/Floyd Bull Company), $4,000; 4/5) Renato Nunes (Buritama, SP, Brazil) 88.75 points on Super Duty (D&H Cattle Company), $1,600; 4/5) Mike White (De Kalb, Texas) 88.75 points on Cat Man Do (#10 Bucking Bulls), $1,600; 6) Cord Ford (Stanfield, Texas) 87.5 points on Monkey Blood (Boyd/Floyd Bull Company).
Don’t miss out on any of the action at the 2009 Built Ford Tough World Finals in Las Vegas, Nev. The world-class event will take place on Oct. 30-Nov 1 and Nov. 5-8 at the Thomas & Mack Center---get your tickets NOW at 866.PBR.SHOW or unlvtickets.com.
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 500 hours of prime time programming annually, PBR ranks among the most prolific sports on air, in addition to attracting over 1.7 million live event attendees each year with it multi-tiered event structure which includes the prestigious Built Ford Tough Series, 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.
