Columbus' Rocky Boots Invitational - Last chance for riders to qualify for PBR World Finals
McBride VS. Scene of the Crash for $200K
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MEDIA CONTACT:
Briana Stensrud PR / Marketing Manager 719.242.2800, ext. 3366 office
719.439.7657 cell
bstensrud@pbrnow.com
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PUEBLO, Colo. (October 8, 2007) - The Professional Bull Riders, Inc. (PBR) brings the top 45 bull riders in the world matched up against the finest bull athletes in the business to the city of Columbus, Ohio, Oct. 12th and 13th at Nationwide Arena. The Rocky Boots Invitational concludes the regular season of the Built Ford Tough Series presented by Wrangler (BFTS) and provides the final opportunity for bull riders to qualify for the $3.2 million PBR Built Ford Tough World Finals presented by Wrangler in Las Vegas, Nev., on October 26-28 and November 1-4.
Not only will the Rocky Boots Invitational feature the most electrifying man versus beast competition, but also it will include what could be the richest ride in PBR history. This weekend in Salt Lake City, Utah, Justin McBride (Elk City, Okla.) was announced as the 2007 AlphaTrade National Champion since he is the rider who will end the BFTS regular season with the tour's highest point total. Justin has led the race in BFTS points all season and despite being out of competition for a few events due to injury, he continues to dominate. After this weekend's event in Salt Lake City, Utah, he now leads the next man in the BFTS standings, J.B. Mauney (Mooresville, N.C.) by 2,212.50 points.
As the 2007 AlphaTrade National Champion, Justin automatically earns a bonus of $50,000 with an opportunity for an additional $150,000 as part of the AlphaTrade National Champion Bounty Bull program. This additional bonus will make the total purse available an astonishing $200,000 if Justin covers the Bounty Bull chosen by the fans, which is Scene of the Crash owned by Frontier, Teague and comedian Ron White.
Riding Scene of the Crash will not be an easy feat, even for a rider as consistent and skilled as McBride. To date, Scene of the Crash has only been ridden twice in his career and continues to maintain a 100% buck-off percentage this season. This will be the first time Justin has faced his animal counterpart Scene of the Crash and the excitement will be featured on FOX Sunday, October 14th. Fans should check their local listings for the broadcast times in their area.
Also, this event is critical to all riders as it is the last opportunity for them to earn the money needed to qualify for the 2007 PBR World Finals. #2 man, 2006 PBR Daisy Rookie of the Year J.B. Mauney has trailed McBride all season long. Mauney has been sharply focused on his chance to earn his first world champion title at the 2007 PBR World Finals. Meanwhile, 2005 and 2006 Reserve PBR World Champion, Guilherme Marchi (Leme, Brazil) has been working on closing the gap between him and Justin McBride by recently adding two consecutive event titles (Chihuahua Challenge and the Reno Classic) to his resume; however, he still remains 2,835.50 points behind McBride. Then there are those on the brink of qualifying for the PBR World Finals, including fan favorite "Ironman" J.W. Hart. This is Hart's final opportunity to earn enough money to qualify for his 14th consecutive PBR World Finals. Additionally, Columbus fans will have the treat of watching bull riding legends like current and three-time PBR World Champion Adriano Moraes (Sao Paulo, Brazil) and 2004 PBR World Champion Mike Lee (Decatur, Texas) compete during these two days.
Tickets for the Rocky Boots Invitational start at $10 and guarantee fans more than two hours of bull riding action that includes rock & roll music, pyrotechnics and an up close and personal view of the toughest sport on dirt! Tickets are available at the Nationwide Arena Box Office, ticketmaster.com or by phone at 614-431-3600.
The format of the event consists of three rounds of competition. The first two rounds feature the same 45 qualified riders randomly matched against the sport's rankest bulls. The top 15 riders based upon their total cumulative score after the two rounds qualify for a final decisive round of action, which takes place at the conclusion of the second performance on Saturday, Oct. 13th. The rider with the highest score on three bulls will earn the coveted Rocky Boots Invitational event title. Then, at the conclusion of the championship round Saturday night Oct. 13th, Justin McBride will vie for the $200,000 by attempting to cover Scene of the Crash for the AlphaTrade National Championship's Bounty Bull Program.
This event also marks the last of three PBR competitions airing on FOX this fall. The final and championship rounds of the Rocky Boots Invitational air on FOX Sunday, October 14. The Friday performance of the Rocky Boots Invitational will air on VERSUS Saturday, Oct. 13 at 10:30 p.m. (ET). Viewers should check their local listings for times and additional details.
For additional information on the Rocky Boots Invitational, the AlphaTrade National Champion Award or the Professional Bull Riders, Inc., please visit http://www.pbrnow.com/ or call Jodie Edmonds at 719-242-2800 ext. 3366.
About PBR:
More than 100 million viewers tune in each year to the PBR on FOX, NBC, 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 one and one half million live event attendees each year with its multi-tiered event structure which includes the marquee Built Ford Tough Series presented by Wrangler, the U.S. Smokeless Tobacco Company 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., and has over 1,200 PBR bull riders competing in more than 300 PBR sanctioned competitions in the United States, Australia, Brazil, Canada, and Mexico.
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