Professional Bull Riders, Inc - Rodeo Associations
~Professional Bull Riders, Inc. is an international professional bull riding organization based in Colorado Springs, Colorado. PBR events are televised on VS, FOX and NBC. More than 800 cowboys, from the U.S., Canada, Brazil, Australia, and Mexico hold PBR memberships.
The organization began in 1992 through the efforts of 20 professional bull riders, who each contributed $1000. Since that time, the organization has grown to include four tours which collectively stage over 100 events a year. Prize money has exploded from $250,000 in 1994 to over $10 million in 2006.
The PBR’s premier tour, the Built Ford Tough Series, includes 31 events across the country every year. Pyrotechnics, pulsating music and special effects open each event, and each features the top 45 riders in the world at the time. Riders attempt to stay on a bucking bull for eight seconds, and rides are judged based on both the rider’s and the bull’s performance. At the end of each event, the top 15 riders compete in the short round, or “short go”; the rider with the highest point total from the entire event becomes the winner.
Total viewership, including event attendees and the television audience, grew 51.93 percent between 2002 and 2004. In 2004, 16.4 million fans watched or attended a PBR event.
Rodeo legend Ty Murray runs the PBR as President, along with CEO Randy Bernard.
The PBR publishes its own magazine, Pro Bull Rider, six times a year.
On November 5, 2006, Brazilian Adriano Moraes became the first 3-time PBR World Champion at the finals in Las Vegas.
PBR World Champions
The PBR World Finals have been held in Las Vegas since 1994.
2006 - Adriano Moraes
2005 - Justin McBride
2004 - Mike Lee
2003 - Chris Shivers
2002 - Ednei Caminhas
2001 - Adriano Moraes
2000 - Chris Shivers
1999 - Cody Hart
1998 - Troy Dunn
1997 - Michael Gaffney
1996 - Owen Washburn
1995 - Tuff Hedeman
1994 - Adriano Moraes
PBR Milestones
2006 - Adriano Moraes becomes the first man in PBR history to win three World Championships.
2006 - Legendary bullfighter Rob Smets retires at age 46.
2005 - Seven-time ProRodeo Clown of the Year Flint Rasmussen signs a 5-year, $1 million deal to perform exclusively at PBR events.
2005 - Little Yellow Jacket, three-time PBR World Champion Bull, retires.
2004 - Mike Lee becomes the first man to win both the World Championship and the event title at the World Finals in Las Vegas.
2004 - Tuff Hedeman resigns as President; Ty Murray succeeds him.
2004 - “Mighty” Mike White wins the Ty Murray Invitational at Albuquerque, N.M., for the third consecutive year.
2003 - The PBR puts up half the money to purchase Bob Tallman’s Rough Stock Registry and form American Bucking Bull, Inc., a breeding registry.
2001 - Ross Coleman wins $100,000 for an eight-second ride aboard Tuff-E-Nuff at Columbus, Ohio. It is considered the richest ride in history.
1999 - Bubba Dunn sets a PBR-record mark of 96.5 on Promiseland at Tampa, Fla. The score would later be matched by Chris Shivers (2000) and Michael Gaffney (2004).
1995 - 28-year-old Randy Bernard takes over as CEO.
1992 - The PBR is founded