PUEBLO, Colo. (July 9, 2010) - Highlighted by Brendon Clark (Morpeth, New South Wales, Australia) trying for his fourth straight win, the Professional Bull Riders Touring Pro Division will make stops this weekend in Arkansas, Texas and Utah.
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 elite Built Ford Tough Series, which is comprised of the Top 40 bull riders in the world. Every five events on the BFTS, the bottom five riders (based on points) are dropped from the BFTS and the Top 5 riders (based on money earned) from the TPD are allowed to move into the BFTS.
Clark became the first rider in recent history to win three PBR-sanctioned events in a row with a first-place finish at the TPD event at the Antelope Valley Fair in Lancaster, Calif., on Sunday. He also posted TPD wins at Greeley, Colo., on June 26 and at St. Paul, Ore., on June 30. Clark is scheduled to return to the elite Built Ford Tough Series beginning in Tulsa, Okla., on July 16-18.
He will be trying for his fourth TPD victory in a row on Saturday at the Cal-Ranch presents the Dickies Northwest Touring Pro Division event in West Jordan, Utah. Bull riding begins at 7:30 p.m. at the West Jordan Arena, and tickets start at $15. Tickets are on sale now at Smith’s Food Stores, online at www.smithstix.com or by telephone at (800) 888-8499.
In addition to Clark, BFTS riders scheduled to compete include Zack Brown (Santa Fe, Texas), Ned Cross (Midland, Ore.), Wiley Petersen (Fort Hall, Idaho), Chance Roberts (Jewett, Ill.) and Harve Stewart (Stephenville, Texas). The field also includes seven riders from Utah - Brayden Buchanan of Venice, Shawn Proctor of Tooele, Casey Sullivan of Erda, Josh Boone of West Jordan, Tim Bingham of Honeville, Bo Edwards of Price and Jinichiro Shibahara of Magna.
The event will double as an ABBI Classic event, highlighting some of the best 3- and 4-year-old bulls in the sport. The ABBI, which introduces young bucking bulls at select BFTS and Touring Pro events, is dedicated to unifying, developing and promoting the bucking bull industry through pedigree preservation; enhancement and promotion of bucking bull ownership, breeding, and welfare; and development of programs and events showcasing the world's finest bucking bull stock. The ABBI is the third-largest cattle registry and is set up to record and preserve the pedigrees of the world's premier bucking bull livestock.
TPD action returns to Arkansas on Saturday with the Buckin' In The Ozarks PBR Enterprise Rent-A-Car event at Parsons Stadium in Springdale. Bull riding begins at 7:30 p.m. and tickets are $14-20. Tickets can be purchased online at www.rodeooftheozarks.org or by telephone at (479) 756-0464. The field includes Reese Cates of El Dorado, Ark. as well as several riders from the BFTS including 2002 PBR World Champion Ednei Caminhas (Presidente Alves, Sao Paulo, Brazil) and 2004 PBR World Champion Mike Lee (Decatur, Texas).
The season finals for the series of TPD events at Cowboys Dancehall in San Antonio will be held on Friday beginning at 8:30 p.m. Riders scheduled to compete include Caminhas as well as BFTS riders Cross, Rocky McDonald (Chihuahua, Mexico), and Cody Campbell (Summerville, Ore.). The elite BFTS is having the deepest title race in history and there have been 15 different winners through the first 20 events. The BFTS is currently on its summer break and will return on July 16-18 for the Express Classic in Tulsa, Okla., presented by Cooper Tires and brought to you locally by Troy-Bilt and Blue-Emu.
There are 12 riders in the Top 20 of the BFTS standings who have won an event. The multiple-event winners for 2010 are Austin Meier with four wins, and Renato Nunes and Valdiron de Oliveira with two wins apiece.
The BFTS standings lead has changed nine times and there have been six different riders at the top in the first half of the season. J.B. Mauney has been ranked first three different times, while Meier and Nunes have each held the top spot twice.
For more information on the Professional Bull Riders, please visit www.pbr.com or contact Jack Carnefix at (719) 242-2800 or jcarnefix@pbrnow.com or Sara Broun at (719) 242-2800 or sbroun@pbrnow.com.
About the Professional Bull Riders, Inc. (PBR)
More than 100 million viewers tune in each year to the PBR on VERSUS, NBC, CBS and television networks around the world. With approximately 400 hours of prime-time programming annually, the PBR ranks among the most prolific sports on air. The PBR attracts nearly two million live event attendees each year with its marquee Built Ford Tough Series and the PBR Touring Pro Division. More than 1,200 PBR bull riders compete every year in approximately 300 PBR sanctioned competitions in the United States, Australia, Brazil, Canada, and Mexico. 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.
