PBR Returns to the BOK Center
The Professional Bull Riders, Inc. () elite Built Ford Tough Series returns to action July 16-18 at the Center in Tulsa, Okla. with the Express Classic presented by Cooper Tires and brought to you locally by Troy-Bilt and Blue-Emu.
Tickets are available starting at $10 and can be purchased at the Arby’s Box Office at the Center, at Reasor’s locations in Broken Arrow, Catoosa, Claremore, Jenks, Langley, Owasso, Sapulpa, Tahlequah and Tulsa, online at www.bokcenter.com and by telephone at (866) 7–. Bull riding begins at 8 p.m. on Friday, July 16, 7:30 p.m. on Saturday, July 17 and 2 p.m. on Sunday, July 18.
The Tulsa event will feature three rounds of the Top 40 bull riders matched against the top bulls in the . The scores from the three rides will be combined, and the Top 15 riders will advance to the Built Ford Tough Championship Round following intermission on Sunday afternoon, where they will compete with one more bull. The rider with the highest total score after the championship round will be declared the winner.
The is having the deepest title race in history. In the first half of the season there were nine lead changes, with six different riders on top of the standings, including Renato Nunes (Buritama, Sao Paulo, Brazil), who is ranked first for the second time after posting his second victory of the year at Pueblo, Colo., in May.
The first 20 events have produced 15 different winners, including Austin Meier of Kinta, Okla., who has won a season-leading four events and enters Tulsa ranked second, only 660.75 points behind Nunes.
In addition to Meier, Oklahomans expected to compete in Tulsa include Ryan McConnel of Coalgate, who is ranked sixth in the world, and Jody Newberry of Ada, who won in St. Louis and is ranked 15th.
Guilherme Marchi (Leme, Sao Paulo, Brazil), who is ranked fourth, and Valdiron de Oliveira (Aparecida de Goiania, GO, Brazil) are also scheduled to compete along with Mike Lee (Decatur, Texas) and McKennon Wimberly (Cool, Texas). Despite missing five events after suffering a broken shoulder, de Oliveira had two victories in the first half of the season. He took home the largest one-day payout in the history of the when he won $260,000 at the Iron Cowboy in front of the 46,500 fans at Cowboys Stadium in Arlington, Texas – the largest one-day crowd in history.
Tulsa will see the return of J.B. Mauney (Mooresville, N.C.) and Travis Briscoe (Edgewood, N.M.), who were both injured at Wichita, Kan. Mauney suffered a partially collapsed lung that required surgery, while Briscoe tore the anterior cruciate ligament in his left knee. Mauney missed the final event of the first half at Pueblo, Colo., while Briscoe rode the first two days before being advised by Dr. Tandy Freeman not to compete.
Tulsa will be the fourth American Bucking Bull, Inc. Classic event of the season, as 40 bulls will compete in Round 1 and again in Round 3. The , which introduces young bucking bulls at select 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 is the third-largest cattle registry and is set up to record and preserve the pedigrees of the world’s premier bucking bulls.
The Fan Zone will be set up at Bass Pro Shop, 101 Bass Pro Drive, in Broken Arrow from 10 a.m.-3 p.m. on July 17. Family-friendly activities include stick-bull racing, bull roping, face painting and mechanical bulls. The second-round bull draft from 11 a.m.-12 p.m. and riders will sign autographs from 12-1 p.m. in-arena announcer and experienced angler Clint Adkins will host a fishing seminar at 1:30 p.m., while Brandon Bates, an announcer for the and host of “The Elk Chronicles” on the Outdoor Channel, will host a hunting seminar at 2 p.m.
Ariat and the will be at Drysdales, 3220 S. Memorial, from 12-5 p.m. on Friday with the mobile merchandise truck and the mechanical bulls while four riders will sign autographs from 2-3:30 p.m. Ariat and mobile merchandise truck will visit Cavender’s, 8035 E. 31st Street, from 3:30-5:30 p.m. on Saturday with four riders signing autographs from 3:30-5 p.m. Wrangler riders Jody Newberry, Mike Lee and L.J. Jenkins will be signing autographs at Drysdales, 3220 S. Memorial, from 12:30-2 p.m. on Saturday.
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. ()
More than 100 million viewers tune in each year to the on VERSUS, , and television networks around the world. With approximately 400 hours of prime-time programming annually, the ranks among the most prolific sports on air. The attracts nearly two million live event attendees each year with its marquee Built Ford Tough Series and the Touring Pro Division. More than 1,200 bull riders compete every year in approximately 300 sanctioned competitions in the United States, Australia, Brazil, Canada and Mexico. The 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.
For more on the , please visit www.pbr.com, www.teampbr.com, www.pbr.tv, www.myspace.com/teampbr, twitter.com/teampbr, or www.pbr.com/worldfinals/.
Updated 07-15-2010
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