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Feed: PROFESSIONAL BULL RIDERS, INC. NEWS
The Latest Bull Riding News, Updated Daily
Relief for Jenkins, reward for Sellers
28-Jul-10
History and location make the Cheyenne Touring Pro event one of the anticipated lower-level PBR events of the year.
This year's event, held during the 114th annual Cheyenne Frontier Days celebration, featured a pen and a list of riders similar to that the Built Ford Tough Series.
When the dust had settled, L.J. Jenkins and Travis Sellers split first and second place. Each posted a two-bull score of 179 points, and their respective wins have all but assured them a spot at the PBR World Finals in Las Vegas.
"All the best bulls are there, and the guys [who] are going to be at Built Ford Tough events come to events like Cheyenne," Sellers said.
"I just go in, whether it's a Built Ford Tough or a Touring Pro event, and I look at them all the same: I have bulls to ride and that's my job. The money and the TV is bigger at the Built Ford Tough's, but you can't look at that when you're riding bulls. It's bull riding."
Jenkins' performance Tuesday night proved to the Oklahoma-based rider that he's recovered from a sore riding hand. The tendons didn't require surgery, but left him sitting out for two months.
The 23-year-old, who won the BFTS event in Glendale, Ariz., had already won enough money to qualify for the Finals, but was unsure of his hand until this past week. He injured it in the short round at Albuquerque, N.M., on Voodoo Child.
In the past week he's placed at a number of Touring Pro events.
"I'm confident and I know I'm riding good," said Jenkins, who added that his hand is still sore, but not bothering him as badly as it was. "It's why I took time off. I could feel it the first jump out every time I got on and I pretty much wanted to jump off, so that told me there was no need to keep going.
"Now it's sore when I get off, but it doesn't bother me while I'm riding."
Sellers, who has been in and out of the Top 40 the past three years, has now won nearly $52,000 this season, which is likely enough to put him in the Top 25 of the qualifier standings with three months left on the schedule.
Sellers will compete this weekend at a Touring Pro event in Weatherford, Texas, and is looking forward to making the BFTS draw in Nashville, Tenn., as an alternate.
"It was big," said Sellers of the win. "It secured my spot for the Finals, and just that event alone is so prestigious and an honor to win. [Cheyenne] is one of the biggest Touring Pro events of the year and one of the more historic events through the history of rodeo and bull riding, so it means a lot.
"It's as much an honor to win it as the Built Ford Toughs, just because of the history there."
The pair earned two of the nine 90-plus-point rides recorded at the two-night event - Jenkins scored 91.5 on Bad Moon, and Sellers notched 90 points on Red Devil.
Four of those scores were earned Monday night, and the other five came Tuesday evening.
"I was here [Monday night] and I watched it," Jenkins said. "I mean, it's Cheyenne, it's always tough bull riding.
"Whenever a guy [like Sellers] is 89.5 and 90, your work is always pretty much cut out for you, no matter where you're at. But I knew all the bulls were going to be good here. I'm just excited to get on the road again."
-by Keith Ryan Cartwright
Meet Brazil's Iron Cowboy
26-Jul-10
He's been told by fellow Brazilians that his riding style is well-suited for American bulls.
With more than $80,000 earned already this year as the winner of the Brazilian version of Iron Cowboy, Wesley Lourenco has guaranteed himself the opportunity to make his U.S. debut in October at the PBR World Finals.
" Guilherme [Marchi] and the other guys said the way I ride here is going to be awesome in the United States," said Lourenco, with the help of an interpreter. "I think I ride more straight up, and I think it's going to fit better there."
His upright posture has been likened to Valdiron de Oliveira 's, and his small frame to Brian Canter 's.
The 19-year-old Lourenco is fearless at the prospect of traveling to the United States, and is not intimidated by the inquiring questions of foreigners.
He's in the process of working with PBR Brazil officials on securing his passport and visa, although he plans to stay in Brazil for the time being as he makes a run for the 2010 Brazilian national title.
Lourenco, who said he's been waiting for this opportunity since early childhood, smiled at the mere mention of Las Vegas.
"My future is there," he said proudly. "I'm very excited, and I'm looking forward to going, but next year I want to go to the Built Ford Tough Series.
"This year I hope I'm going to be the national champion, and next year I'm going to be there. I'm excited to go."
-by Keith Ryan Cartwright
Big events, bigger dreams
26-Jul-10
Among the bull riders at the annual Rio Preto Rodeo Country Bulls event last weekend, Helton Barbosa was one of a handful recognizable in the United States.
The 30-year-old, who first debuted on the Built Ford Tough Series in 2005, was not among the competitors. Like countryman Guilherme Marchi , Barbosa was behind the chutes encouraging his friends and fellow riders. But he said he hopes to return to compete in the U.S. later this year or next year, depending on how the rest of his 2010 season plays out in Brazil.
"In Brazil there are a lot of good riders, as you see here," Barbosa said.
Barbosa, who has ridden in 39 BFTS events and carries a career riding average of 44 percent in the U.S., talked Saturday about the aspirations of those riders.
"You see the guys riding tonight, and all the guys have a dream of riding in America and riding in the Finals," Barbosa said. "For all the riders it's a dream."
Having spent substantial time in the U.S., Barbosa speaks English fairly well. But he recognizes the challenges many young Brazilians face because of the language barrier and cultural differences.
"When some of these guys go to the United States, can you imagine how hard it is for them?" asked PBR Brazil Ambassador Camila Bellintani Pereira. "Some don't know Portuguese, even. They live on farms and don't know proper Portuguese.
"I have to get their passports for them, the visas for them, and I can see that the dream is much bigger than how afraid they are. The dream here is much bigger, so they're going."
Barbosa agreed.
"And when they go the United States and come back, they are celebrities here," he added. "They recognize it's much better than if they wouldn't go."
If the up-and-coming Brazilians have one advantage over young guns from Canada, Mexico, Australia and the United States, it's that by the time they qualify for the BFTS or the World Finals, they've already become accustomed to riding in front large crowds.
Last weekend in Sao Jose do Rio Preto, the riders rode in a four-day event for tens of thousands of fans.
"This is a big event, but it's normal for Brazil," explained Barbosa. "The PBR in Brazil is very good right now-good events, good cowboys, good bulls and the PBR, in Brazil, the people love it because it's a little bit different."
In fact, the organization has grown to the point that a few American riders - Reese Cates and Matt Werries among them - recently traveled to Brazil "because we have good events, good money," Barbosa said.
-by Keith Ryan Cartwright
Home again
25-Jul-10
Back in his home country of Brazil to receive physical therapy, Guilherme Marchi got a hero's welcome from the capacity crowd at the 2010 Rio Preto Rodeo Country Bulls on Friday.
Marchi, who is rehabbing from surgery he underwent earlier this summer, made the trip to Sao Jose do Rio Preto from his home outside of Sao Paulo, and talked about the dreams young Brazilian riders have of a better life in America.
"A lot of young guys have a lot of potential and ride very good," said Marchi, who started seven-hour therapy sessions on his injured wrist last Tuesday. He has been bothered by his right wrist and hand since a chute mishap earlier this year at a Built Ford Tough Series event in Anaheim, Calif.
"A lot of guys here have dreams of going to the United States and making the Finals."
After watching the third round of the event, Marchi talked about the difference between Brazilian and American riders.
The 2008 World Champion noted that in the U.S., riders start competing at a young age and have bull riding schools available to them, where they receive proper instruction. In Brazil, most of them "start on a ranch by themselves."
But since its founding four years ago, PBR Brazil has "helped grow the bull riding here," Marchi said. "The events are going very good ... there's more money now."
In the years since Marchi won the national Brazilian title, the sport has grown from awarding a single automobile to a point where, a month ago, Wesley Lourenco won more than $75,000 in U.S. currency at one event. That prize money secures him a spot at the upcoming PBR World Finals in Las Vegas.
"Those riders are very strong and used to working on the farm, riding a lot of horses," Marchi said, "and those people have a dream of being champion one day.
"I love everybody here. Everybody is my friend. I try to help everybody too, and I'd like to see everybody make their dream."
Marchi added that he's proud of what the sport in Brazil has become in recent years and hopes that young Brazilian riders still to come are able to "make their life good."
-by Keith Ryan Cartwright
"Kind of wild'
23-Jul-10
Matt Werries described his two recent trips to Brazil as "kind of wild," and added that both were "great experiences."
On his first trip, the Illinois native traveled with four other American riders, including 2008 PBR Rookie of the Year Reese Cates . But his most recent trip was on his own.
He described the Brazilian bull riding events he attended as "like large U.S. events." Werries said the atmosphere is loud and that fans spend as long as six hours at the event, much of which includes additional rodeo competitions and a concert.
"They make the events really good for the fans," said Werries, who returned to the United States so that he could compete at Touring Pro events this weekend in Thief River Falls, Minn. , and Cheyenne, Wyo .
"There were so many fans," Werries said, "and it's so loud at those events. The grandstands are huge and they have the speakers turned up loud, just so everybody can hear the announcers."
Last weekend, Werries finished fifth at an event in Rio Verde.
Acknowledging the talent of the Brazilian riders, Werries noted that he was leading the average after going 5-for-5, but when he bucked off his short-round bull, he wound up finishing fifth. He said two of the Brazilians went 6-for-6.
"The bulls are top-notch," said Werries, who added they're bigger and stronger than American bulls, "and the competition is tough."
Werries said that the riders and fans "treated [him] great" while he was there, and that he and Cates have talked about returning.
PBR Brazil covered travel expenses and hotel accommodations for both trips, and there is no entry fee associated with Brahma Super Bull events. Werries also pointed out that although he doesn't speak Portuguese, riders like Alan Moraes and Helton Barbosa helped him out, and he spent much of his time with Fabiano Vieira .
Since returning to the U.S., he hasn't spoken with many American riders, but said he'll see a lot of them this weekend and added "the guys will ask" about his last trip.
"I'll tell them how good the event was," said Werries, who has competed at five Built Ford Tough Series event this year. "If I was told that, I know I would go down there, so I'm sure other American riders will want to go."
Live on location
Beginning this weekend, PBR.com will post a series on PBR Brazil. Check back often for stories about the popularity and growth of the PBR, as well as profiles and stories related to professional bull riding in Brazil. And catch the blogging of PBR Senior Writer Keith Ryan Cartwright, who is on assignment in Brazil this weekend.
-by Keith Ryan Cartwright
Briscoe probable, McConnel uncertain
23-Jul-10
Two Top 10 contenders for this year's world title - Travis Briscoe (3), and Ryan McConnel (7) - had neck injuries examined this week.
Briscoe, who landed awkwardly in the opening round last weekend in Tulsa, Okla., underwent an examination Monday and sent the results to Dr. Tandy Freeman, who said in a text message, "Briscoe's work-up consistent with aggravation of an old injury. Not a surgical problem. [He] may resume riding when he has regained adequate motion. [He is] probable for [San Antonio]."
When contacted by phone on Thursday morning, Briscoe hadn't yet heard from Freeman, but said he felt "quite a bit better" and had "limited movement."
Freeman said after not hearing from McConnel on Monday, he spoke with him on Tuesday, and was informed that he would be seeing a doctor in Pueblo, Colo., on Wednesday.
McConnel, who may have injured his neck in a practice pen last month, followed up with a text message to Freeman on Thursday that said, "I got looked at and getting an MRI tomorrow early in the morning. I am going to have [them] send it to you."
With no Built Ford Tough Series event this weekend, neither rider has made a decision regarding next week's event in San Antonio .
-by Keith Ryan Cartwright
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