Bad Boy Mowdown Rolls into Little Rock

PUEBLO, Colo. (April 5, 2016) – After more than a decade, the PBR (Professional Bull Riders) will return to North Little Rock, Arkansas, for the Bad Boy Mowdown, the 13^th stop on the 2016 Built Ford Tough Series (BFTS).  The BFTS last visited North Little Rock in 2003.

For two nights only, April 9-10, the Top 35 bull riders in the world will take on the top bovine athletes –with some bulls tipping the scales at more than 2,000 pounds – in an attempt to ride for the requisite 8 seconds. More than $30,000 of the $140,000 total event purse awaits the Bad Boy Mowdown event winner, as well as valuable PBR world standings points, which count toward the season’s overall $1 million PBR World Championship title.

Leading the roster of the “toughest men on dirt” is two-time and reigning PBR World Champion J.B. Mauney. Mauney arrives in North Little Rock after winning the 15/15 Bucking Battle in Sioux Falls, South Dakota, last weekend, his third 15/15 Bucking Battle victory in a row.  As he showcases his skills in Verizon Arena, he’ll also be seeking his first BFTS event win of the 2016 season.

Two Arkansas PBR stars are also competing this weekend at Verizon Arena, 2008 PBR Rookie of the Year Reese Cates (El Dorado) and Tyler Harr (Stuttgart). Harr won a spot in the Bad Boy Mowdown by winning the PBR BlueDEF Tour event at Fresno’s Save Mart Center last weekend. The BlueDEF Tour is the PBR’s qualifying tour which fuels the BFTS with star power.

2004 PBR World Champion, and 12^th ranked bull rider in the world, Mike Lee is headed to North Little Rock, not only seeking his first BFTS event win of 2016, but also to make history. Throughout his 15-year PBR career, Lee has made 497 qualified (8-seconds) rides.  With two preliminary rounds and the Built Ford Tough Championship Round making up the Bad Boy Mowdown, Lee could hit the 500 qualified rides mark this weekend.  Lee will be only the second man to reach this milestone, joining 2008 World Champion Guilherme Marchi.  Lee already holds the record for the most bulls attempted in Built Ford Tough Series history at 1,004.

Riding alongside these athletes will be several fan favorites including three-time PBR World Champion Silvano Alves, Fabiano Vieira, Ryan Dirteater, Stormy Wing, Kasey Hayes, and rookie sensation Derek Kolbaba, among others.

The bull riding action starts at 7 p.m. on Saturday and 2 p.m. on Sunday. Tickets for the two-day event range in price from $12.50 to $102.50 and can be purchased at the Verizon Arena Box Office online at ticketmaster.com, or via phone at 800 745-3000.

For added value and entertainment, fans can now purchase PBR Elite Seats.  This exclusive seating option gives avid bull riding fans a behind-the-scenes look at the world’s premier bull riding circuit. These tickets offer premium seats and the VIP experience of a lifetime, including early entry; a catered reception; 60-minute backstage tour by a PBR Host, featuring a PBR 101 presentation and visit with the sport’s fiercest bulls; and the opportunity for photos and autographs from top PBR stars.

After the event, PBR Elite Seat holders also will be given premium dirt access where they can get their complimentary 8 Seconds PBR program, Elite Seat lanyard and other memorabilia autographed by the Top 35 bull riders in the world.

A limited number of PBR Elite Seats are available for $302.50 and can be purchased by contacting the PBR Customer Service Department at 800-732-1727.

The event format is simple; all 35 cowboys will ride in Rounds 1 and 2 on Saturday and Sunday. After Round 2 on Sunday, the two-day scores will be added together and the 15 men with the highest cumulative scores will immediately return for the Built Ford Tough Championship Round. The event winner will be the rider who has performed the best and earned the most world standings points throughout the weekend.

Previous events winners in Little Rock include: Wiley Petersen of Ford Hall, Idaho, in 2003 and Dusty LaBeth of Archie, Missouri, in 2002.

The bulls these men will face are the rankest in the sport. 2015 PBR World Champion Bull contender Jeremiah (Rob Smets) will buck in the Built Ford Tough Championship Round, along with I’m A Gangster Too (Jeff Robinson), Who Dey (K-C Bucking Bulls), Stanley Fat Max (Jeff Robinson), which currently leads all active bulls in career buck-offs with 69, and Pearl Harbor (Bar D Cattle Company), the bull upon whom Mauney scored 94.25 points last weekend to win the 15/15 Bucking Battle.  It was the second highest score of his career.

Round 2 and the championship round of the Bad Boy Mowdown will air on CBS Sports Network on Sunday, April 10 at 5:00 p.m. ET.  Fans can also watch all of the action in real time on PBR LIVE online at www.pbr.com/live, or via the PBR LIVE app, which is available for download now on Google Play and iTunes. The stream starts at 7:30 p.m. ET on Saturday and 2:30 p.m. ET on Sunday.

The BFTS is televised every week on CBS, CBS Sports Network – the home of the PBR – and networks around the world. Television ratings for PBR on CBS are up more than 20 percent this season compared to last year at this time, according to Nielsen. BFTS telecasts are produced for the PBR under a multi-year agreement with David Neal Productions, a Los Angeles-based production company led by 34-time Emmy® Award winner and Peabody Award winner David Neal, who serves as executive producer.

The Bad Boy Mowdown is the 13^th stop on the 2016 Built Ford Tough Series schedule. The season kicked off Jan. 9-10 in Rosemont, Illinois, and will conclude at the PBR Built Ford Tough World Finals in Las Vegas on Nov. 2-6, taking place at the new T-Mobile Arena. After five days of competition, the 2016 PBR World Champion, the bull rider who has earned the most PBR world standings points during the 2016 season, will be crowned and receive the coveted $10,000 World Championship belt buckle and a $1 million bonus.