TULSA, Okla. (Aug. 13, 2015) – This weekend, the Professional Bull Riders (PBR) rides the “Road to Greatness” through Tulsa, Oklahoma’s, BOK Center with the Express Employment Professionals Classic brought to you locally by Sonic on Friday and Saturday, Aug. 14 -15. For two and half hours each night, the Top 35 men on the PBR’s Built Ford Tough Series will wow fans with high-flying, nail-biting, non-stop action when the world’s toughest athletes go head-to-head in the most harrowing 8 seconds in sports.
Before hitting the BOK Center with the “toughest sport on dirt,” the PBR is hosting several fan-friendly activities to rev up the excitement for the weekend.
Thursday, Aug.13 – Ryan Dirteater’s Ropin’ for Wishes at 6 p.m.
On Thursday at 6 p.m. PBR stars, including Oklahoma’s own Ryan Dirteater and recently retired L.J. Jenkins, 2013 PBR World ChampionJ.B. Mauney, three-time and reigning PBR World Champion Silvano Alves, the PBR’s No. 3 man Matt Triplett, Kasey Hayes, bullfighter Frank Newsom, 1999 PBR Rookie of the Year Mike White, rodeo champion and legend Larry Mahan and others will participate in Ryan Dirteater’s Ropin’ for Wishes roping contest at the Tulsa RV Ranch located at 2542 Highway 75, Beggs, Oklahoma. The bull riders will be available for autographs and photos from 6-6:30 p.m. and then the contest begins. All proceeds raised by Ropin’ for Wishes will go to the Make-A-Wish Oklahoma Foundation. Everyone in Tulsa and surrounding areas is invited.
Saturday, Aug. 15 – PBR Turns Tulsa Pink at BOK Center
For the third consecutive year, the PBR will Buck off Cancer by partnering with local charity Turn Tulsa Pink. To bring awareness to the fight against breast cancer and all other cancers affecting our communities, on Saturday night, Aug. 15, the PBR will brighten the BOK Center with pink lights, PBR bull riders and staff will wear pink competition shirts, bandanas, ties and ribbons, PBR’s exclusive entertainer Flint Rasmussen and bullfighters Frank Newsom, Jesse Byrne and Shorty Gorham will wear pink jerseys, and we’re encouraging our fans to wear their favorite pink outfit, too. PBR sponsor Montana Silversmith has created a one-of-a-kind Buck off Cancer Belt Buckle which will be auctioned off at the Turn Tulsa Pink booth on the BOK Center concourse on Friday and Saturday night to raise funds for the charity. We invite everyone to join us in celebrating the great work Turn Tulsa Pink is doing for the cancer patients and survivors in the Oklahoma region.
Tickets for the Express Employment Professionals Classic start at only $15 and can be purchased at the Arby’s Box Office at BOK Center, bokcenter.com or via phone at (800) 745-3000.
New to the ticket options this year are the PBR Elite Seats. Located in an exclusive section of the arena immediately next to the chutes and all of the action, the PBR Elite Seats are priced at $250 and will give fans the VIP experience of a lifetime; a pre-event reception with refreshments, backstage tours featuring a PBR 101 presentation, and meet and greets with the PBR’s exclusive entertainer Flint Rasmussen and top PBR stars. These seats are also on sale now.
In 2013, fans saw Mauney conquer the indomitable Bushwacker on the way to his first PBR World Championship; in 2014 fans said good-bye to Bushwacker, the greatest bull in the PBR’s history. In 2015, a new bovine champion will emerge and could use Tulsa, the 20th of 27 events on the 2015 BFTS, as his stage to gain recognition and appreciation. A $50,000 prize is up for grabs for the bovine athlete who captures the 2015 PBR World Champion Bull title. Tulsa will likely be a showcase for this year’s contenders.
Friday night’s Round 1 of the Express Employment Professionals Classic is an American Bucking Bull Inc., (ABBI) Classic event, a competition for 3- and 4-year-old bucking bulls. Mauney, who won last weekend’s PBR event in Biloxi, Mississippi, and passed Triplett to claim the No. 2 spot in the PBR world standings, will face Buck Autism of D&H Cattle Company/Bay Farms in this round. Buck Autism will be making his debut on the BFTS.
Current PBR world standings leader Joao Ricardo Vieira has been matched with Clymer Rodeo Livestock’s Speckled Buck.
Cowbanger (Barrett Bucking Bulls/Prewitt/Brett Barrett) awaits 2015 PBR Rookie of the Year leader Kaique Pacheco. Cowbanger’s previous BFTS appearance resulted in him bucking off the current No. 5 bull rider Nathan Schaper in 3.91 seconds in Colorado Springs earlier this year during the Round 1 ABBI Classic competition.
Hometown favorite Dirteater will attempt Bruiser (D&H Cattle Co./Buck Cattle Co./ H.D. Page) in Round 1. While the two have never met, this is not Bruiser’s first time bucking in the BFTS. Some of the top riders, Pacheco (94 points), Mauney (93.25 point), 2004 PBR World Champion Mike Lee (91 points) and Vieira (90.5 and 88.75 points) have all made successful attempts, while 2014 PBR Rookie of the Year J.W. Harris, 2008 World Champion Guilherme Marchi, Sean Willingham and Reese Cates were stopped short of the 8-second buzzer in their tries.
Thirty-five riders will ride during Friday’s Round 1, returning on Saturday to ride again. After the preliminary round scores from Friday and Saturday are added together, the men with the Top 15 combined totals will ride one last time in the Built Ford Tough Championship Round on Saturday. After more than 85, 8-second brawls, the bull rider who has accumulated the most event points during the weekend will be declared the winner.
A total purse of $140,000 is up for grabs in Tulsa, as well as valuable PBR world standing points which count toward the $1 million 2015 PBR World Championship.
All of the action can be seen live each night on PBR LIVE via CarbonTV.com – Friday at 9 p.m. ET and Saturday at 8 p.m. ET.
CBS Television Network will air the Built Ford Tough Championship Round at 1 p.m. ET on Sunday, Aug. 16. CBS Sports Network will air Round 2 and the championship round later that evening at 5 p.m. ET.
For more information about the PBR’s 2015 Express Employment Professionals Classic stay tuned to www.pbr.com.
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