John Pitts Wins 2017 Battle on the Horizon
2018 CBR Horizon Season kicks off in Arkansas
Weatherford, Texas – (August 4, 2017) – We are less than 24 hours away from the start of the 2018 Championship Bull Riding Season and deep in the trenches are the next generation of Road to Cheyenne bull riders and bucking bulls. The Horizon Series begins in the Deep South this season where pro bull riding veterans and hopefuls are making their way to Dierks, Arkansas for the inaugural CBR Dierks Pine Tree Festival at 8 pm in the Dierks City Park. CBR television broadcaster and the 2002 CBR World Champ, Mike White is lining up the buckers for what will be the first test of the bull riding class of 2018.
With the $20,000 year-end bonus, valuable points, and custom Hy O Silver buckles up for grabs at each event, what the freshman class of CBR riders are really pursuing is a call from Cicily Cross, CBR Bull Rider Administrator, informing them that their success on the Horizon tour nominated them for the next televised Road to Cheyenne tour event which comes with the opportunity to win a $30,000 event purse.
With bull riding fame and stardom on the skyline, each year we witness a Battle on the Horizon for the top tier placings which come with a possible “move up” to the CBR’s premier tour.
The 201617 nineteen city tour saw 15 different event champions on the Horizon tour with Denton Fugate taking an early lead winning two events (Sidney, MT and Morrison IL). John Pitts of Panama City, Florida won Baytown in April to take the lead in the standings after an extremely consistent year with six top five finishes that included two seconds (Sidney, MT and Kalispell, MT) and a third in Jacksonville.
John Pitts and Denton Fugate faced off month to month for bragging rights of the leaderboard. But in the end it was John Pitts who was the highest earning cowboy on the Horizon as he outnumbered Fugate by 522 points to win the Hyo Silver custom engraved trophy buckle and a $20,000 bonus check presented by Tuff Hedeman at the CBR World Finals in July.
The Last Horizon
John Pitts, a Florida cowboy spent the 2016-2017 season dedicated to the CBR’s nation-wide Horizon bull riding tour.
“I drive 4,000 miles to and from (Florida) to compete in CBR it’s a lot of miles but it makes you try a lot harder,” said Pitts.
In the end he earned the number one ranking and picked up the 2017 CBR Horizon Series Championship.
Pitts who says he keeps the pressure off by learning to take each event just one bull at a time, was also thankful of the advice of perennial CBR bullfighter Brandon Loden when it comes to the draw.
“Brandon knows almost all the bulls, and always helps me,” continued Pitts.
“I don’t think about them (bulls) too much, just do the best I can – bull by bull,” said the above average height bull rider.
Pitts worked his way up to the Road to Cheyenne tour eight times this season and his highest score on the top tour was 89 points on 27 Barstool in Las Vegas last March. He was three for eight and advanced twice to the Semifinal Round and finished in the top 40 for the year end CBR World Standings.
On the Horizon
The Horizon tour currently has 19 scheduled stops before the end of the year.
Championship Bull Riding’s Horizon Series tour, which serves as the point of entry for bull riders wanting to progress to the premier Road to Cheyenne tour, provided former IFYR Champion Koby Radley and two time Texas High School Rodeo Champion Boudreaux Campbell the path they needed to launch their pro bull riding careers during the 2016 and 2017 seasons, respectively.
The eighteen year old Lovelady High graduate finished as the highest ranking CBR Rookie for the 2017 season. Campbell was third on the season and rode three of 5 in Cheyenne at his first World Finals as a professional rider. Radley finished in the top ten as well.
Created in 2010 by CBR founder and 2017 World Champion Bull Team owner, Terry Williams of Carthage, Texas, CBR sought a secondary tour. The Horizon Series allows local promoters to conduct a sanctioned CBR event. The top riders on the Horizon Series Tour, at the time entries are taken for a Road to Cheyenne Tour competition, are allowed to enter the CBR televised tour.
At the end of the twelve month season, the Horizon Series Tour Champion is awarded to the rider with the most points from the twelve month tour.
The Clear Horizon
CBR in an effort to continue to streamline and focus on the progressiveness of its two nationwide tours, announces the changes for the 2017 competitive season for the CBR Horizon Series.
CBR requires bull riders to purchase a CBR Permits to ride on tours and the fee is $125 for the annual membership which covers January thru December. For more information see: http://www.cbrbull.com/riders_region.html
A complete list of events sanctioned for the 2017-18 CBR Horizon Series Event Schedule can be found on the CBR website at the following URL: http://www.cbrbull.com/horizon.html
The CBR Horizon Series points are accumulated by doubling qualified ride scores at CBR sanctioned Horizon series events.
A $20,000 bonus check will be awarded to the 2017 CBR Horizon Series Champion at the CBR World Finals Gala and Awards Banquet in Cheyenne, Wyoming.
For more information on riding or producing a Horizon Series event contact Chelsee@cbrbull.com.
Courtesy of CBR