L. J. Jenkins and Austin Meier claim the first PBR Team Shootout title

By Keith Ryan Cartwright, PBR
Posted Monday, September 22, 2008

Cousins win first-ever team title, guest on September 30th PBR Prime Time

PUEBLO, Colo. (September 22, 2008) - As the old saying goes: There is no "I" in team.

And a pair of cousins – L.J. Jenkins and Austin Meier – teamed up to win the first ever PBR Team Shootout.

Bull riding has long been an individual sport pitting man against beast. But the PBR, which has taken the sport of bull riding to a whole new level in its 16-year existence, developed a new team concept.

The Top 20 bull riders in world were entered in a random draw where they – serving as team captains – drafted a teammate of their choice. Some selected the best available rider, and others chose friends, brothers and cousins.

Each event, which was broadcast on ESPN2, paid out $50,000 in a winner-take-all competition.

All five events featured ten teams with each team competing at two of the first four events – Del Mar, Calif., Paso Robles, Calif., Molalla, Ore. and Guthrie, Okla. – and the top 10 teams competed at the final event in Pueblo, Colo.

“We were so close the other times that it’s nice to be able to get a win in the Finals,” said Jenkins, shortly after he and Meier claimed the title. The pair took second in two previous events, but in Pueblo they finally able to hold off the competition.

The team format called for each teammate to ride two bulls. After receiving the draw, it was up to the captain to determine in which round each teammate would compete.

An added twist was that after the third round, the teams were seeded by total points. Beginning with the highest scoring team, they were given an opportunity to trade in their drawn bull for one of five bulls known as the Fearsome Five.

If they elected to ride one of the Fearsome Five and earned a qualified score, that score was then doubled.

“I like the format,” Matt Bohon said, “and I’m really glad that Ross (Coleman) picked me as his teammate.”

The PBR Team Shootout is a concept that both the riders and the PBR are excited about.

“Our job with the PBR is to continue to try and do things that are innovative for the sport,” Ty Murray said.

Event winners: Valdiron de Oliveira and Pim Rosa (Del Mar, Calif.); Kody Lostroh and Matt Austin (Paso Robles, Calif.); Dustin Elliott and Wesley Silcox (Molalla, Ore.); Mike Lee and Wiley Petersen (Guthrie, Okla.) and in the end L.J. Jenkins and his cousin Austin Meier (Pueblo, Colo.) won the first ever PBR Team Shootout title.

Jenkins and Meier set to guest on Sepember 30th PBR Prime Time. Listen to PBR Prime Time at www.pbrnow/radio every Tuesday night starting at 7 PM ET with Live show begining at 8 PM ET.