PBR’s Top Bull Riders to Compete in Days of ’47 Cowboy Games & Rodeo

By: Andrew Giangola
February 20, 2018

Iconic $1M Rodeo Event to be Streamed on RidePass, New Western Sports Digital Network

SALT LAKE CITY (February 20, 2018) – The Komatsu Equipment Days of ’47 Cowboy Games and Rodeo presented by Zions Bank in Salt Lake City will bring a higher level of competition, international flair, and greater fan access to the Utah event in July with the bull riding sanctioned by the Professional Bull Riders (PBR) and covered live on RidePass, the new 24/7 western sports digital network.

A total of 256 competitors, including 32 bull riders, will have the opportunity, based on the Days of ’47 Cowboy Games and Rodeo qualifications, to compete for a share of the $1 million purse along with a gold medal. Sixteen of the bull riding competitors will be selected from the PBR 25th: Unleash the Beast and PBR Real Time Pain Relief Velocity tours.

“The PBR has set a standard in quality and success, and to partner with this premier brand will further extend the credibility, reach and success of the Days of ’47 Cowboy Games & Rodeo,” said Tommy Joe Lucia, Days of ’47 General Manager. “This relationship ensures that the best bull riders in the world will compete this July in Salt Lake and will build on our mission of being the gold standard in rodeo and a destination event for western sports fans.”

With the PBR sanctioning, a total of 16 bull riders will qualify to compete in Salt Lake City one of four ways: the PBR World Standings (top 8 as of July 6, 2018); the Real Time Pain Relief Velocity Tour standings (standings leader as of July 6, 2018); the PBR 25th: Unleash the Beast Tour; and Real Time Pain Relief Victory Tour. The winners from the four Unleash the Beast Tour events– Albuquerque (March 16-18), Sioux Falls, S.D. (April 6-8), Billings, Mont. (April 20-22) and Columbus, Ohio (April 28-29) – will automatically qualify as will the winners from the three Real Time Velocity Tour events at Casper, Wyo. (April 7), Des Moines, Iowa (April 21) and Wichita, Kan. (April 28). The additional 16 will qualify through the Days of ’47 Trial Event and Trial Series standings.

“PBR is proud to collaborate with Days of ’47 in celebrating our western heritage at this prestigious rodeo giving our athletes an additional opportunity to compete for significant prize money during the elite series summer break,” said Sean Gleason, CEO, PBR. “With the world’s top bull riders at this historic event, we will assist in securing broader media coverage, including offering all the action to fans on RidePass, our new western sports digital network.”

Fans are encouraged to visit www.ridepass.com for access to the Days of ’47 Cowboy Games and Rodeo as well as more than 100 other PBR and rodeo events.

The full field of 32 bull riders will be divided into four groups of eight each and will compete in one of the first four performances (July 19-21, 23). The top two from each performance, along with two via the Wild Card category will advance to the Gold Medal Round on July 24. The 10 bull riders in the Gold Medal Round will compete in a sudden-death format with the winner collecting a Gold Medal and $50,000 cash. All bull riders will be required to be a PBR member and they will accrue points from this event for their overall world standings.

The Komatsu Equipment Days of ’47 Cowboy Games & Rodeo presented by Zions Bank, July 19-21 and 23-24, will take place at the $17.5 million state-of-the-art Days of ’47 Arena at the Utah State Fair Park, custom designed and built for rodeo. The venue—an outdoor arena located in the heart of Salt Lake City—features over 10,000 stadium-style seats.

For only the fourth time in the history of rodeo and first for the PBR, riders will have an opportunity to compete for Gold, Silver or Bronze Medals. The first two times were in conjunction with the Olympic Winter Games in Calgary (1988) and Salt Lake City (2002), when rodeo was part of the Cultural Olympiad and the third being the Days of ’47 Cowboy Games and Rodeo in 2017. The medals that will be awarded at the Days of ’47 Cowboy Games & Rodeo will be produced by OC Tanner, the same company that made the Olympic medals for the champions of the 2002 Olympic Winter Games.

Tickets are currently on sale at smithstix.com. For more information on the event visit www.daysof47cowboygames.com.

About Days of ‘47
The Komatsu Equipment Days of ’47 Cowboy Games & Rodeo presented by Zions Bank, will take place at the all-new, $17.5 million, state-of-the-art Days of ’47 Arena at the Utah State Fairpark. The venue—an outdoor arena located in the heart of Salt Lake City—features over 10,000 stadium-style seats. The Days of ’47 Rodeo is one of Utah’s longest-standing traditions – celebrating Utah’s heritage since 1847. The rodeo, and other Days of ’47 events, commemorate the day – July 24, 1847 – when a determined company of Mormon pioneers realized their dreams upon entering the Great Salt Valley. The Days of ’47 Cowboy Games & Rodeo is a private, non-profit, volunteer, charitable organization. Our mission is to honor Utah’s pioneer heritage and educate Utah’s kids. Please visit daysof47cowboygames.com for more information.

About the PBR (Professional Bull Riders)
The world’s premier bull riding organization began as a dream of 20 bull riders 25 years ago and now operates in five countries. On its elite tour, the organization features the top 35 bull riders in the world and the top bulls in the business. The televised 25th PBR: Unleash The Beast, along with the PBR Real Time Pain Relief Velocity Tour (RVT), the PBR Touring Pro Division (TPD) and the PBR’s international circuits in Australia, Brazil, Canada and Mexico have paid nearly $184 million in earnings to its athletes. Thirty bull riders have earned more than $1 million, including two-time PBR World Champion J.B. Mauney who is the top-earning athlete in Western sports history with more than $7.2 million in career earnings. PBR is part of the Endeavor (formerly WME | IMG) network. For more information on the PBR, go to PBR.com, or follow on Facebook at Facebook.com/PBR, Instagram at Instagram.com/PBR, and YouTube at YouTube.com/PBR.