DES MOINES, Iowa ― The Professional Bull Riders return to Des Moines for the seventh consecutive year this weekend, April 26-27, with its elite Built Ford Tough Series event at Wells Fargo Arena.
Tickets start at $22 and are available at the Wells Fargo Arena box office, all Dahl’s locations, at www.DahlsTickets.com, and by telephone at 866-55-DAHLS.
Iowa PBR fans will witness exhilarating 8-second rides and heart-stopping wrecks during this two-day event as the Top 35 riders in the world, weighing in at roughly 150 pounds, face off against their 2,000-pound opponents.
Last year, 2013 Rookie of the Year Joao Ricardo Vieira went 3-for-3 on his bulls for the weekend, including an 89.25-point ride atop Who Dat in the Built Ford Tough Championship Round, for his third BFTS win of the season.
Riders scheduled to compete this weekend include Vieira and six former PBR World Champions: J.B. Mauney (2013), Silvano Alves (2012, 2011),Renato Nunes (2010), Kody Lostroh (2009), Guilherme Marchi (2008) andMike Lee (2004). Fan favorites L.J. Jenkins and Ryan Dirteater are also expected to ride.
Four-time PRCA World Champion J.W. Harris and International Indian Finals Rodeo Champion Guytin Tsosie will also be riding. Both Harris and Tsosie made their way into the Top 35 of the PBR World Standings after their last exemption while in Billings, Mont.
Previous Des Moines event champions include:
2013 Joao Ricardo Vieira
2012 Robson Palermo
2011 Chris Shivers
2010 Mike Lee
2009 Travis Briscoe
2008 Guilherme Marchi
Texas Red (New Frontier Rodeo) will match-up against current No. 1 rider Marchi in Round 1, a bull that has been ridden two of the three times he has bucked on the BFTS.
In his first weekend back, Mauney prepares to face Tyler’s Pet (5G Farms Bucking Bulls), who will make his BFTS debut on Saturday.
Tsosie will take on Spin City (New Frontier Rodeo) who bucked off reigning event winner Vieira in 6.8 seconds while in St. Louis in February, and Vieira meets Deer Me (Show Sports/Mark Lindsey Bucking Bulls) for the second time this season; he earned 90 points on him in Anaheim, Calif. earlier this year.
Bull riding action will begin at 8 p.m. on Saturday, April 26, and 2:50 p.m. on Sunday, April 27.
All Top 35 bull riders will get on one bull each in Rounds 1 and 2 on Saturday and Sunday. After Round 2 on Sunday afternoon, the riders’ individual two-round scores will be totaled and the Top 15 riders on two bulls will advance to the Built Ford Tough Championship Round for one more ride and a chance at the $30,000 event title.
Round 2 and the Built Ford Tough Championship Round will be broadcast on CBS Sports Network Sunday, April 27 at 4 p.m. ET
Des Moines is the 16th stop of 27 on the 2014 PBR Built Ford Tough Series schedule. The season kicked off Jan. 3-5 at Madison Square Garden in New York and will conclude at the PBR Built Ford Tough World Finals in Las Vegas on Oct. 22-26. The 2014 PBR World Champion, the bull rider who earns the most points during the 2014 season, will receive the coveted World Championship belt buckle and a $1 million bonus while in Vegas.
The BFTS is televised every week on CBS, CBS Sports Network and networks around the world. 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.
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