WASHINGTON (July 12, 2007) -- Many of the Professional Bull Riders top young riders and bulls will be featured in the Columbia Bank PBR Sonny Williams Classic at the J Bar W Ranch in Johnsville, Md., on Saturday, July
14.
The event, sponsored by The Columbia Bank (
http://www.thecolumbiabank.com/) includes all-you-can-eat hog roast and soft drinks, pony rides, moon bounce and live music. Tickets are $25 pre-sale (
http://www.ppfinc.org/PBR.htm) and $30.00 at the gate. Children under 10 get in for $10.00 and under 5 are free.
Call 301-898-9841 for ticket information or order online at
http://www.ppfinc.org/PBR.htm. The J Bar W Ranch is located at 10530 Green Valley Road. Go to
http://www.ppfinc.org/JBW_Directions.htm for directions.
Gates open at 4:30 p.m. and the event starts at 7.
Proceeds from the fourth-year event benefit the Patty Pollatos Fund, Inc., which supports cancer victims, hospice care and other charities in Frederick County, Md.
Sevi Torturo, 24, of Oklahoma City, a two-time Built Ford Tough Series World Finals qualifier, headlines the cast of riders. He earned $134,825 in 2003 and $48,772 last season. Other top cowboys include BJ Carter of St.Cloud, Fla., Melmo Quintero of Moore Haven, Fla., and local favorite Nathan Catlett of Martinsville, W.Va. Catlett won the 2004 International Bull Riders championship and placed third at a PBR event in Verona, N.Y., last August.
Sonny Williams� top bulls, Superman and Countersink � which he co-owns with Mike Rothe and Mike Lang � will anchor the championship round. The bulls were sired by Williams� great bull, Cosmo, and both placed in the top 12 of the PBR�s 2006 American Bucking Bull, Inc. (ABBI) World Bucking Bull Classic Finals in Las Vegas.
Superman was selected to compete at the 2006 World Finals, where he bucked off Travis Briscoe in round six. The bull also dropped current PBR points leader Justin McBride at New York�s Madison Square Garden in January. He and Cord McCoy combined for 90.5 points at a Built Ford Tough Series contest in Tulsa, Okla., last August. Superman has a career PBR buck-off percentage of 79.3 percent.
Countersink also competed in the sixth round of last season�s PBR Finals and helped Marcelo Cruz score 86.75 points. He bucked off Dan Henricks in Tulsa in 2006 and felled Robey Condra in New York this season.
Countersink's career PBR buck-off percentage is 75 percent. Victims include 2002 PBR World Champion Ednei Caminhas and multiple PBR Finals qualifier Cory McFadden. J.B. Mauney, who stands second in the race for the 2007 PBR world title, notched the highest-marked ride on Countersink for 92.5 points last year in Richmond, Va.
Jerome Davis, the PRCA's 1995 world champion, is hauling Redneck and 03 Lakota from his ranch in Archdale, N.C. Redneck, which appeared in last year's World Finals and has been covered just once in six outs on the 2007 Built Ford Tough Series, will compete in the 10-man short round.
The contest is also an ABBI Classic event, with 15-20 bulls competing for $5,000. ABBI Classic series events feature 3- and 4-year-old bulls vying for a spot in the World Bucking Bull Classic Finals during the PBR World Finals.
Williams� top two Classic entries are American Idol and High Test. Davis is bringing Radical and Cisco Kid, which he co-owns with Cindy Ellis and Emily Hyatt. Radical tied for fourth at last year�s Classic Finals in the Futurity (2-year-old division). The entry fee is $700.
The Columbia Bank PBR Sonny Williams Classic is part of the PBR's entry-level Discovery Tour. Money won in Johnsville counts toward qualification for the 2007 World Finals. The top five earners in the PBR's developmental leagues advance to the Built Ford Tough Series after every
five premier-league events.
Judges determine a rider�s score primarily by how well he remains centered on the bull and by how hard the bull bucks, jumps and spins. A maximum of 50 points is available for both the rider and the bull. Scores in the 80s are good, while scores in the 90s are excellent. The highest marked ride in PBR history is 96.5.
For more on the PBR, go to
www.pbrnow.com.
