BILLINGS, Mont. (April 17, 2009) - Stop #18 on the Professional Bull Riders’ (PBR) prestigious Built Ford Tough Series (BFTS) sent the top 40 bull riders to Billings, Mont., for The NIILE Invitational presented by Cooper Tires. Rimrock Auto Arena at MetraPark played host to the world’s best riders as they took on the toughest bulls in the industry on Friday, April 17 for the first of three performances. In the end, current world no. 1 bull rider Kody Lostroh (Longmont, Colo.) took the round one victory after riding the bull, Tire Rama, owned by Chad Berger/Clay Struve, for 88.75 points. He added $7,000 to his 2009 BFTS World Standings.
Australian sensation Brendon Clark (Morpeth, AUS) took second place after scoring 87.75 points on Prescott & Braithwaite’s bull, Already Platinum. Third place went to 2008 PBR World Champion Guilherme Marchi (Leme, SP, Brazil) who rode the bull, Cleo’s Pet (Mark Ward) for 87.5 points. Splitting fourth and fifth place was Ryan McConnel (Colgate, Okla.) and Michael Manes (Conway, Ark.) who each scored 87 points. McConnel took on Julio Moreno Bucking Bulls’ Water Moccasin while Manes rode Grampa Joe, owned by Berger Bucking Bulls.
Due to his round three win at the Nampa Invitational in Nampa, Idaho, 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 NILE Invitational. Campbell made the eight-second whistle on the Mankind, owned by Get A Grip Bucking Bulls and took home the $5,000 bonus. Due to his round one win, Team Enterprise rider Kody Lostroh (Longmont, Colo.) will compete for the bonus in round two of The NILE Invitational.
Tomorrow the top 40 bull riders will draft their round two bull at Bones Brewery in Billings, Mont. Round winner Lostroh will pick first while the other 39 bull riders 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.
Be sure to visit www.pbr.tv for full event coverage of (untelevised) round one from Billings next week.
The NILE Invitational presented by Cooper Tires continues on Saturday, April 18 as the world’s best bull riders compete to see who will take home the coveted Billings event title. Catch all of the action when round two airs on VERSUS at 10:30 p.m. EST and don’t miss the exciting conclusion when VERSUS airs round three and the Built Ford Tough Championship Round on Monday, April 19 at 12:30 a.m. EST.
INJURY REPORT:
No injuries to report.
The NILE Invitational presented by Cooper Tires RESULTS
ROUND ONE:
1) Kody Lostroh (Longmont, Colo.) 88.75 points on Tire Rama (Chad Berger/Clay Struve), $7,000;
2) Brendon Clark (Morpeth, AUS) 87.75 points on Already Platinum (Prescott & Brathwaite), $5,000;
3) Guilherme Marchi (Leme, SP, Brazil) 87.5 points on Cleo’s Pet (Mark Ward), $3,000;
4/5) Ryan McConnel (Colgate, Okla.) 87 points on Water Moccasin (Julio Moreno Bucking Bulls), $1,600;
4/5) Michael Manes (Conway, Ark.) 87 points on Grampa Joe (Berger Bucking Bulls), $1,600.
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.
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