Professional Bull Riding (PBR)

Toughest Sport on Dirt

What is Professional Bull Riding (The PBR)

In 1992, 20 bull riders came together to pursue a vision, which lead to the creation of the Professional Bull Riders (PBR), ultimately becoming the fastest-growing sport in America. The 20 riders invested $1,000, allowing them to separate from traditional rodeo formats and establish bull riding as a standalone sport, gaining attention across the country. Today, these founding riders enjoy the success of their groundbreaking initiative as the PBR continues to expand.

The PBR’s format takes the top bull riding athletes and some of the toughest bulls to compete in 8-second showdowns. Riders compete for the title of the PBR World Champion and a share of over $10 million in prize money, including a $1 million bonus for the season’s best performer. The excitement comes from the challenge of a determined cowboy facing a powerful bull.

The PBR, known as “The Toughest Sport on Dirt,” showcases events across major venues, featuring the top 35 bull riders competing weekly on the televised series, “Unleash The Beast“. Each event is designed like a concert, with music and fireworks, creating a new type of atmosphere in sports. With over 600 bull riders from multiple countries and more than 300 events annually, the PBR has gained popularity and continues to solidify its status as America’s original extreme sport.

The PBR Events

The scores earned during a riders qualified ride are crucial in determining their placement in each competition round, the event overall, and the standings for the Unleash The Beast World Championship. After each round, points are given based on the ride scores, contributing to both the rider’s performance in the event and their overall ranking in the championship standings.

While the Professional Bull Riders (PBR) hosts multiple series across five countries, only points that are earned at Unleash The Beast events count towards the UTB World Championship standings. Points obtained at other PBR events contribute to the Velocity Global or Challenger Global standings, allowing riders to compete in various series while still aiming for the UTB Championship.

In multi-round events, a rider’s scores from all rounds are combined to establish their ranking. This average score determines the rider’s final position in the event standings. At the end of each event, points are awarded to riders based on their placements, boosting their standings in both the event and the UTB World Championship.

To achieve a score, a rider must successfully stay on the bull for eight seconds, with one hand holding the bull rope and the other hand in the air. The ride begins when the bull’s shoulder or hip crosses the gate’s plane and ends when the rider touches himself, the bull, or the ground with his free arm, this results in no points / no score. If the rider completes the eight seconds, he earns a score.

Judges award scores for both riders and bulls at the end of each ride, with each judge scoring up to 50 points. Bulls are assessed on their athleticism and difficulty, considering factors such as spinning, jumping and kicking movements. Riders are judged based on their control and balance during the ride. The official ride score is the combined total of both the bull’s and rider’s scores. In cases where the bull performs poorly or fouls the rider, judges may grant a re-ride, allowing the rider another chance to compete.

The Teams

PBR Teams transforms the nearly 30-year tradition of individual bull riding into a team-based sport, featuring the world’s best riders competing in 5-on-5 games throughout a 12-event regular season. This seasons championship was hosted at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas from October 18-20, 2024. Each event day sees eight of the ten teams compete in head-to-head matchups, with two teams facing off in each round. The winning team is determined by the highest combined scores from their five riders, with a total of four rounds played per event day.

During competitions, teams have five starters and can have up to seven riders on their bench, which gives flexibility for substitutions for better performance. Additionally, five bulls are randomly assigned to teams from eight bull pens for each event.

The season concludes with the PBR Teams Championship, held in Las Vegas in October 2024. This championship follows an elimination tournament format, where all teams participate, with the top two teams from the regular season receiving first-round byes. Teams ranked seventh to tenth in the regular season will compete in a four-way game to secure their spot in the next round. The format also includes a Last Chance Game for losing teams, giving them an opportunity to win their way back into the championship race leading up to Championship Sunday.

The 10 teams of PBR

Arizona Ridge Riders

Austin Gamblers

Carolina Cowboys

Florida Freedom

Kansas City Outlaws

Missouri Thunder

Nashville Stampede

New York Mavericks

Oklahoma Wildcatters

Texas Rattlers

PBR Documentary

2024 Results

Champion team – Austin Gamblers

In the final round of the 2024 season, the No. 5 Austin Gamblers won 9 out of their 10 rides, where they beat the No.2 Carolina Cowboys by two ride scores and 105 points. The Gamblers finished with a 357.5 to 252.5 for the Cowboys, this lead the Gamblers to be crowned the 2024 PBR Teams Champions. During the possible Championship, the deciding moment was when two-time PBR World Champion and two-time PBR Teams MVP Jose Vitor Leme, paired with bull Tijuana Two-Step. Bursting from the chutes, Leme remained centered and balanced, matching the bull jump-for-jump all the way to the 8-second whistle. Leme scored 89 points, winning the 2024 PBR Teams Championship for the Austin Gamblers, the team’s first.

Most Valuable Rider – John Crimber

19 year old John Crimber won Most Valuable Rider at the 2024 World Championship with a total of 358.50 points. He is now ranked number 2 in the world of bull riders and quickly coming up on the top-ranked rider Cassio Dias. During the 2024 World Championship, Crimber needed a perfect ride and hope for a mistake from Dias in order to claim victory. Unfortunately, Crimber bucked off his last bull of the season,while Dias kept his lead. Crimber, the 2024 No. 1 overall draft pick for the Florida Freedom, he trailed Brady Fielder of the Texas Rattlers in the MVP race by 111.5 points.

Crimber knew he had to successfully ride at least two bulls while hoping that Fielder would make a mistake although he has the highest riding percentage and hadn’t bucked off two bulls in a row since July. On day 1, Crimber made the 8-second twice, riding Where’s the Whisky for 77.25 points and Umm for 91.25 points in the shootout round, which gave him the lead by 57 points. Day 2, Fielder bucked off during the Rattlers’ loss to the Carolina Cowboys, missing his chance in the shootout round. Crimber continued to succeed with 90.25 points on High Ball. Unfortunately the Freedom lost to the Kansas City Outlaws. By Championship Sunday, Crimber had Fielder by 147.25 points, and when Fielder bucked off his second bull in a row, Crimber ultimately won the MVP award.

Crimber concluded the season with an impressive record of 26-for-40 (65%), riding six more bulls than any other competitor, as both Fielder and Dias attempted 34 bulls each. This shows the 19-year-old’s commitment to striving for the MVP award. Throughout the season, Crimber and Fielder competed for the top spot, with Fielder finishing with 2,109.5 points (24-for-34, 70%) while Crimber finished with 2,256.75 points. Their performances in the Teams MVP race look good for their futures, as previous top riders like Jose Vitor Leme and Daylon Swearingen in 2022, and Leme and Dias in 2023, went on to become World Champions, presenting the potential for both riders to achieve similar success.

Bull of the Event – Ricky Vaughn

Ricky Vaughn, the bull, grandson of SweetPro’s Bruiser who was one of three bulls to win the world championships in PBR history. After surviving a life threatening disease, Ricky Vaughn is finishing in the top five of the PBR’s world rankings.