News

2009 Challenger Tour Championships presented by Dickies® is now a BFTS tour stop

PBR’s 2nd largest payout—$500,000—is now an official part of the elite Built Ford Tough Series.

NEW YORK, N.Y. (October 27, 2009) - The Professional Bull Riders, Inc. (PBR) is thrilled to announce that the 2009 Challenger Tour Championships presented by Dickies, one of the most desired event titles in the PBR, will now kick off the elite 2010 Built Ford Tough Series (BFTS) season.  On November 20-22, 2009, the BFTS tour will make its first stop of the season at the Gwinnet Center in Atlanta, Ga., combining two premier events into one marquis stop.  Fans will have the opportunity to see the world’s best riders competing for $500,000 in prize money—PBR’s 2nd largest payout—and will be witness to one of the most intense, action-packed bull riding that the PBR will put on all year with more cowboys, more bulls, and more rides and wrecks than a true fan could ever ask for! 

Bull riding action will get underway on Friday, November 20 at 8 p.m., Saturday, November 21 at 7:50 p.m., and on Sunday, November 22 at 2 p.m.  $500,000 will be up for grabs as top PBR superstars from around the world will compete against the toughest bovine athletes that the PBR has to offer. 

Tickets are available for as little as $10 and increase to $15, $25, $50, and $100 (standard ticket fees apply).  They can be purchased online at www.ticketmaster.com, by phone at 404.249.6400, or in person at the Gwinnett Center Box Office.  Fans will enjoy more than two hours of heart-pounding action, rock & roll music, pyrotechnics, and an up close and personal view of The Toughest Sport on Earth!

The top 40 bull riders in the world from the Built Ford Tough Series standings will be joined by the best 15 riders from the Challenger Tour standings who have not yet qualified for the prestigious event.  55 riders, as opposed to the normal 40 at a regular BFTS event, will ride in the first two rounds of competition which will take place on Friday and Saturday night.  The top 40 riders on two bulls will move onto Sunday’s third round of competition and then the top 15 riders on three bulls will immediately come back to compete in the Built Ford Tough Championship Round.  In the end, the rider with the highest total score on four bulls will be declared the winner and take home the $200,000 average check.

The PBR is the premiere bull riding organization in the world, boasting contestants from the United States, Mexico, Australia, Brazil, and Canada. Its events air weekly on VERSUS with additional broadcasts on NBC and CBS and in recent years it has been tagged the ‘fastest growing sport in the country.’ For more information on the 2009 Challenger Tour Championships presented by Dickies, part of the Built Ford Tough Series, please visit www.pbrnow.com or contact Katharine Sherrer at 719 242 2800 ext. 3372 or Katharine@pbrnow.com.

All roads are leading to Las Vegas and you don’t want to 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!

Log on to www.pbr.tv, the official online network of the Professional Bull Riders. Get a total re-cap of the weekend’s event with the newly launched 20 minute highlight show “pbr.tv Extra” , browse video clips of the best rides and wrecks from each event, listen to behind the scenes interviews, watch the latest PBR news on the “pbr.tv Show”, plus much more. Pbr.tv is your one source for PBR video online!