SiriusXM to Feature Special Look Inside the PBR on Sunday

PUEBLO, Colo. – Derek Kolbaba has been a busy man this summer as he works toward his goal of qualifying for both the 2016 PBR Built Ford Tough World Finals and the 2016 Wrangler National Finals Rodeo.

The 20-year-old PBR Rookie of the Year contender took a break from his summer rodeo run to hop on THE SOURCE on SiriusXM (CH. 109 Stars) earlier this week.

Fans can listen to Kolbaba, as well as other guests PBR CEO Sean Gleason, Bonner Bolton and Reese Cates Sunday at 1 p.m. ET.

Kolbaba is one of the featured guests toward the end of the broadcast, but the Walla Walla, Washington bull rider discusses how growing up in a family with a rich rodeo background influenced his career.

His father Kyle, is a former PRCA bull rider and his mother, Sandi Rowe, is a former barrel racer.

Sandi is the granddaughter of the late legendary stock contractor Harley Tucker.

“Ever since I could talk that was what I wanted to do – was be a bull rider,” Kolbaba said. “Seeing as old tapes of my dad riding bulls and growing up in the rodeo atmosphere and having my great granddad be a stock contractor in the real early ‘60s. Just having that upbringing of it just being in my blood, for sure. This is something I love doing and was really lucky to be kind of born into.”

Kolbaba is currently 10th in the world standings and is only 910.33 points behind world leader Kaique Pacheco.

The PBR is preparing to kick off its second half with the Frontier Communications Music City Knockout, presented by Cooper Tires, in Nashville on Aug. 19.

Cates, the 2008 Rookie of the Year, also comes from a family entrenched in the Western lifestyle. The El Dorado, Arkansas, cowboy’s father and grandfather both rode bulls professionally, while his mother, aunts and grandmother were competitive barrel racers.

“I can’t think of a better way to grow up,” Cates said. “Some of my first memories were of rodeo, watching my dad ride or watching my mom run barrels. From a very early age, bull riding has just kind of had my attention and is all I ever really wanted to do. It has been a blessing to have a family that supports me so much. They understand the sport so much. They understand the lifestyle it takes to live the life of a professional bull rider and I think that is pretty important because you spend so much time away from them. You spend a lot of time injured. Having the backing of a family that knows how to support you through those times has been very important.”

Continuing with the family theme of the program, Bolton also joins to discuss his dad’s influence, as well as his recovery from a broken neck sustained during a nasty wreck.

“My youth kind of sheltered me from the danger of it,” Bolton said. “I didn’t understand how dangerous it was because my dad was doing it. He did it really well and obviously didn’t get hurt a lot. I did watch him get hurt one time in Texas at a pro rodeo. It was pretty bad and that was one of his last few events he went too

“I just remember thinking gosh these dudes are the toughest guys out there. They are tougher than fighters, tougher than football players, tougher than everyone. They were gladiators on the dirt.”

PBR CEO Sean Gleason leads off the one-hour program Sunday and discusses the sport’s growth and global expansion along with the league’s recent moves into the mainstream with efforts like the upcoming Netflix Original documentary series “Fearless,” streaming Aug. 19, signing Steven Tyler as the Voice of PBR and launching the new PBR Monster Energy Canada Series.

“2016 has been a banner year for PBR We were acquired by WME IMG last year and what a year it has been. Ten out of 16 Built Ford Tough Series have set gross attendance records and we have been around for 23 years going to a lot of these markets, so that is a pretty big accomplishment. Television ratings are up 20 percent year over year. We have a new Netflix series coming out called “Fearless,” that we just put the trailer out and it was widely, widely viewed. A lot of exciting things going on.”

THE SOURCE is a 16-part exclusive series on SiriusXM that allows sports stars and celebrities to connect directly with their fans. Topics include sports, business, success and leadership, as well as previewing upcoming book releases, film and TV premieres. Stars will also discuss topics like culture and politics. Previous guests have included Ashley Judd, Ricky Williams, Donovan McNabb, Arianna Huffington, Niecy Nash, Jerry Springer, Ashley Graham, Jenna Elfman, Giuliana and Bill Rancic, and many more. This month-long pilot launched July 16th with previous and future episodes made available On Demand via the SiriusXM App and Webplayer.