Professional Bull Riders
The Professional Bull Riders, Inc. is an international professional bull riding organization headquartered in Fort Worth, Texas, United States. It is the largest bull riding league in the world, sanctioning hundreds of events every year in the United States, Canada, Brazil, and Australia. Over 800 bull riders from said countries, as well as others hold PBR memberships.
History
The organization was founded on April 12, 1992, through the efforts of businessman Sam Applebaum and 20 professional bull riders; David Bailey Jr., Clint Branger, Mark Cain, Adam Carrillo, Gilbert Carrillo, Cody Custer, Jerome Davis, Bobby DelVecchio, Mike Erickson, David Fournier, Michael Gaffney, Tuff Hedeman, Cody Lambert, Scott Mendes, Daryl Mills, Ty Murray, Ted Nuce, Aaron Semas, Jim Sharp, and Brent Thurman; most of whom gathered in a hotel room in Scottsdale, Arizona. The bull riders all rode in the Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association, the top rodeo organization in the world which had been around for many years, as well as Bull Riders Only, an all-bull riding organization that had been in existence for just one year. Each founder contributed $1,000 to forming the Professional Bull Riders, Inc. This group was seeking to break away from the rules set by the PRCA and BRO, and form their own bull riding competitions, which included them as well as other top bull riders. "We wanted to create a better product for the fans, so that when they tuned in they were seeing the best of the best every time," said PBR co-founder and nine-time world champion rodeo cowboy Ty Murray, who later served as the president.The PBR put on a small series of events in 1993 with Bud Light as the primary sponsor, and had its first championship season in 1994 with the Bud Light Cup Series. The organization has since grown to include five tours in the United States which stage over 100 events every year. Prize money for contestants had exploded from over $330,000 in 1994 to over $11 million in 2008.
The original CEO of the PBR was Sam Applebaum. Randy Bernard became CEO of the PBR in 1995, a position he held until he resigned in 2010 to become the CEO of INDYCAR. When Bernard took over the position of CEO in 1995, it was just after the conclusion of the first World Finals at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada. At that time, the PBR's bank account held $8,000 and the organization was $140,000 in debt. Bernard, a bold and wise businessman, quickly went to work. At the end of his first year, he turned things around; the World Finals paid out $1 million in 1996, and increased to $1.5 million in 1999.
In 1996, the PBR made bull riding protective vests, which were introduced three years earlier, mandatory for all contestants at their events. The same was done for bull riders in all other organizations.
After a few years of rivalry between BRO and PBR, the former organization officially went out of business in the spring of 1998.
In 2001, one month after that year's World Finals, the PBR held the Bud Light World Challenge in Austin, Texas, which featured the top riders from the 2001 year-end world standings, as well as some international invitees.
2002 was the last year in which PBR bullfighters wore traditional make-up and baggy outfits. Since the 2003 season, they wear sport jerseys and shorts that feature corporate sponsor logos.
Also in 2003, Ford Trucks, an official PBR sponsor since 2001, replaced Bud Light as the new Premier Series title sponsor; thus the Bud Light Cup Series became the Built Ford Tough Series. Bud Light would remain a PBR sponsor through 2007. PBR world champions had always received a year-end money bonus, but starting in 2003, they received a $1 million bonus. Chris Shivers was the first world champion to claim that bonus.
Also in 2003, the PBR purchased Buckers, Inc.; an organization that documented bucking bulls' lineages and put on futurity events for stock contractors to showcase their young bulls for potential use in professional rodeo or bull riding events. They renamed it as American Bucking Bull, Inc. and continued with its practices. The ABBI holds several futurity events in the United States every year and the ABBI Finals have been held every autumn since 2004 in Las Vegas, Nevada.
In 2005, the PBR opened offices in Canada, Mexico, Brazil, and Australia to produce tours in said countries starting the next year.
In 2006, just shortly after that year's World Finals, the PBR held two events in Hawaii. The first was a regular lower-level event, the Myron Duarte Maui Challenge in Wailuku, followed by an event in Honolulu, the Cheeseburger Island Style Hawaii All-Star Challenge, which featured the top 15 riders from the 2006 year-end world standings, as well as five riders that were voted online by fans to compete at the event.
In April 2007, investment firm Spire Capital Partners acquired a majority stake in PBR.
In 2008, the PBR launched the Million Dollar Bull Team Challenge; a series of events in which stock contractor bucked a certain number of bulls at select Built Ford Tough Series events to try to earn money and points for their respective teams. At the beginning of the year, 22 bull teams chipped in $50,000 a piece for their opportunity to win their share of the $1.1 million total competition purse. Out of the 33 Built Ford Tough Series stops held that year, 17 were Bull Team Challenge events, including the PBR World Finals. Each stop had between five and eight bull teams that included five bulls, plus two alternates per team. Each team could only compete in five events. At each Bull Team Challenge stop, the first place team won $20,000, while second place won $10,000. The top bull teams then competed at the PBR World Finals for a $500,000 purse, with $250,000 going to the champion team. The PBR discontinued the Million Dollar Bull Team Challenge after just one year. However, the concept was picked up by another bull riding organization, Championship Bull Riding the following year, and the CBR Bull Team Challenge hosted several bull teams competing at regular events, as well as the CBR World Finals. The bull teams racked up points and money and from 2010 to 2018, a year-end CBR Bull Team Challenge champion was crowned. After CBR went out of business in the summer of 2018, the Million Bull Team Challenge returned to its roots by rejoining the PBR and its events are now held at U.S. lower-level PBR events.
In the summer of 2008, the PBR Team Shootout was held. This was a series of five events in which the top 20 riders in the PBR world standings each selected a rider of their choice, and as a team competed against each other for the Team Shootout championship. Each team rode in two of the first four events, held respectively in Del Mar, California; Paso Robles, California; Molalla, Oregon; and Guthrie, Oklahoma. Then, the top 10 teams rode at the finals event in Pueblo, Colorado.
2009 was the first year in which most of the contestants on the PBR's televised Premier Series rode with helmets instead of cowboy hats.
In 2010, a week before the start of that year's World Finals, the PBR held an event in New York City's Times Square which featured the top 10 riders competing for the chance to receive additional points towards the world standings.
On February 23, 2011, the PBR announced that Jim Haworth had become its new CEO. Then on June 29, 2015, the PBR announced that Haworth was promoted to Chairman, while COO Sean Gleason had become the new CEO.
After several years of only holding events in the United States, the ABBI expanded to having futurity events as well as year-end finals in Canada, Australia, and Brazil by the 2010s. After a few years, ABBI Brazil was discontinued, but was revived in late 2024. The ABBI also planned to hold events in Mexico by 2021. However, said project never materialized.
Beginning with the 2013 season, the PBR made it mandatory that all contestants at their events who were born on or after October 15, 1994, ride with a full bull riding helmet. Those born before that date were grandfathered in and permitted to ride with a protective face mask underneath their cowboy hat or simply with their cowboy hat if so desired.
In 2014, shortly before that year's World Finals, the PBR held an event at a beach in Huntington Beach, California, aptly titled "Bulls on the Beach", which featured the top 15 riders attempting to gain additional points towards the world standings.
In April 2015, it was announced that events and talent management firm WME-IMG would acquire PBR from Spire Capital Partners, reportedly paying around $100 million.
In 2018, Monster Energy, a PBR sponsor since 2013, replaced Ford Trucks as the new Premier Series title sponsor; thus the Unleash the Beast Series tour name replaced the Built Ford Tough Series tour name. That same year, the PBR celebrated its 25th championship season and awarded another $11 million in prize money, which included the bonus to the World Champion Bull Rider of $1 million and the $20,000 gold belt buckle. Ford would remain a PBR sponsor through 2022.
In mid-March 2020, because of the COVID-19 pandemic, several events were either cancelled or rescheduled to later dates. In the spring, the PBR held three UTB events at the Lazy E Arena in Guthrie, Oklahoma, and all were closed to the public to avoid the spread of the virus. In the summer, the organization held the Monster Energy Team Challenge, a series of events in which several teams of four riders competed against each other, and each team was represented by a corporate sponsor. The regular events were held at the South Point Arena in Las Vegas, while the series finale was held at the Denny Sanford Premier Center in Sioux Falls, South Dakota. While the regular events were closed to the public, the championship event allowed fans to attend, but in limited numbers and they needed to socially distance themselves. For the rest of the year, PBR events, including the World Finals, consisted of limited and socially distanced crowds.
The length of the PBR World Finals has changed throughout its history. The inaugural 1994 World Finals was a two-day event; the 1995 World Finals was a five-day event; from 1996 through 2003, it lasted four days; from 2004 through 2009 it lasted seven days, but was split into two weekends, with the first three days taking place the first weekend, followed by the next four days taking the following weekend; from 2010 through 2019, it was again a five-day event; in 2020 and 2021, it was again a four-day event; in 2022 and 2023, it went back to being a seven-day event with the first three days taking place one weekend, then the next four days taking place the following weekend. Since 2024, the World Finals is an eight-day event; the first four days of the event are followed by two days off, then the next two days are followed by another day off, then the final two days conclude the event.
From 2007 through 2010, the PBR hosted a team competition format called the PBR World Cup, where 25 bull riders competed to win the title of best bull riding country in the world. The 2007 PBR World Cup was held at the Gold Coast Convention and Exhibition Centre in Gold Coast, Queensland, Australia; the 2008 World Cup at the Manuel Bernardo Aguirre Gymnasium in Chihuahua, Chihuahua, Mexico; the 2009 World Cup at the Parque do Peão in Barretos, São Paulo, Brazil; and the 2010 World Cup at the Thomas & Mack Center in Las Vegas, Nevada, United States. The PBR World Cup was never held in Canada.
From 2017 through 2020, and again in 2022, another event, the PBR Global Cup, offered bull riders a chance to compete in a five country competition. This event was a different format from the PBR World Cup; it was not a continuation of the old event. Like the World Cup, the Global Cup was staged annually across the countries where PBR events are sanctioned. National team riders were matched against the best of each. The home country was granted a competitive advantage. It was a series that visited each nation each year and continued until one nation held all five pieces of the Global Cup—including the native soil of each territory. Thus, only one country could be claimed the Toughest Nation on Dirt. The 2017 PBR Global Cup was held at Rogers Place in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada; the 2018 Global Cup at the Qudos Bank Arena in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia; and the 2019 & 2020 Global Cups at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas, United States. Because the five PBR countries had different protocols during the COVID-19 pandemic, the Global Cup was ultimately not held in 2021. However, it returned to AT&T Stadium in 2022. The PBR Global Cup was never held in Mexico or Brazil.
The PBR's Mexico circuit took a hard financial hit in 2020 as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic; all scheduled events for the year were canceled due to pandemic restrictions and there were no events in 2021 due to continued restrictions. By 2022, things had returned to normal for the most part in the country, but there were still no PBR events. In the spring of 2023, a PBR event was held on Mexican soil for the first time since 2019. However, this would soon turn out to be PBR Mexico's final event and the circuit folded shortly thereafter.
From 2020 through 2022, the PBR held Cowboys for a Cause; an event that featured sponsored teams of three bull riders competing against each other in a winner-take-all format while donating money to charitable causes. During its first two years, the event took place on the launch deck of the USS Lexington in Corpus Christi, Texas, and was held in conjunction with the Air Force Reserve to support military causes in Texas. The 2020 event took place in the autumn, after the conclusion of that year's PBR World Finals, while the one in 2021 took place on Labor Day Weekend. The 2022 edition took place at King Ranch in Kingsville, Texas, also during Labor Day Weekend and donations from that event went towards conservation and sustainability efforts across Texas. A donation to the Texas and Southwestern Cattle Raisers Association was also included and the money was to be distributed to multiple local and rural fire departments that helped landowners fight wildfires across Texas earlier in the year.
On November 5, 2021, a new tour was announced; the PBR Team Series. It debuted in 2022 and runs from the summer to autumn of every year. The first eight teams and their respective owners were announced on January 6, 2022. The teams representing different regions of the United States go head-to-head against each other in events in each of the teams' respective hometowns, as well as two "neutral site" events. The season culminates with the Team Series Championship, which is held at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. The year-end champion team wins a trophy shaped like a giant belt buckle, as well as a large money bonus. Each individual member of the champion team also wins a regular-sized championship belt buckle and money bonus. The team's ownership group also wins a money bonus. During the Team Series' inaugural 2022 season, the PBR awarded the MVP with a $50,000 bonus. Beginning in 2023, in addition to the award, the year-end MVP receives a 100,000 bonus. Since 2023, the PBR has also awarded an MVP of the Team Series Championship event with a $10,000 bonus. The other teams that finish in the top four of the Championship event, including each individual team member and ownership group, also receive a year-end money bonus. On February 23, 2024, the PBR announced the addition of two new teams to the series.
The trophy cup that the PBR's annual individual world champion receives in addition to the gold belt buckle and money bonus was originally called the Bud Light Cup from 1994 through 2002. However, when Bud Light was no longer the Premier Series' title sponsor by 2003, it was referred to simply as the PBR Cup or PBR Championship Trophy. In 2022, the trophy cup was officially renamed the Jerome Robinson Cup; in honor of former bull rider and longtime PBR arena director Jerome Robinson, who died that year.
In September 2022, it was announced that the PBR Hall of Fame would be located at the National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, within the museum's American Rodeo Gallery. It opened the following year.
From June through August 2022, the PBR hosted lower-level tour events on Sundays at Cowtown Coliseum in Fort Worth, Texas. Since 2023, these events take place at the venue on most Thursdays of the calendar year. Cowtown Coliseum was the site of the very first PBR event in April 1993.
Previously, points won by riders at all levels of PBR competition, American and international, counted towards the world standings for the PBR world championship. However, since 2023, only points won on the U.S. Premier Series count towards the world championship race. Points won on the U.S. lower-level tours and international circuits leading up to and including the Velocity Tour Finals are jumbled together into what is known as the Velocity Global standings, which count towards the Velocity Tour championship race. The same is done during the Challenger Series season, with the points won on mentioned tours leading up to and including the Challenger Series Championship event being jumbled together into the Challenger Global standings.
The PBR World Finals was held in Las Vegas, Nevada, for over 25 years. The inaugural 1994 World Finals was held at the city's MGM Grand Garden Arena. The event remained at that venue through 1998. In 1999, the PBR moved the World Finals to the Thomas & Mack Center. The organization was stretching its current arena's limits and really needed a bigger arena. They wanted to stay in Las Vegas, so the Thomas & Mack Center was the place to go. From 2004 through 2007, the first weekend of the World Finals was held at the Mandalay Bay Events Center, followed by the next weekend taking place at the Thomas & Mack Center. In 2008 and 2009, both weekends of the World Finals took place at the Thomas & Mack Center. The World Finals remained at the Thomas & Mack Center through 2015. In 2016, the PBR moved the World Finals to the T-Mobile Arena on the Las Vegas Strip. In 2020, as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic and Nevada state restrictions on large events, the World Finals were moved to AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas, with a limited and socially distanced crowd for every day of competition. The event returned to T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas for the final time in 2021. The World Finals were relocated to Dickies Arena in Fort Worth, Texas, in 2022 and were held there in 2023, as well. In 2024 and 2025, the event was split split into two different venues in two different cities in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex; the first six days taking place at Cowtown Coliseum in Fort Worth, then the final two days taking place at AT&T Stadium in Arlington. In 2026, the World Finals will take place entirely in Fort Worth, again; the first four days will be held at Cowtown Coliseum, then the next four days will be held at Dickies Arena.
The PBR was originally headquartered in Irvine, California, before moving to downtown Colorado Springs, Colorado, in 1995. By 2007, the organization had enough of its cramped office in Colorado Springs, so they moved their world headquarters to a new four-story building on the Historic Arkansas Riverwalk in Pueblo, Colorado. In 2024, they once again relocated their world headquarters; this time to the Stockyards in Fort Worth, Texas.
In October 2024, it was announced that PBR would be sold to TKO Group Holdings—originally established as a merger between Endeavor-owned mixed martial arts promotion UFC and professional wrestling company WWE—as part of a larger, $3.25 billion agreement expected to close in 2025. The proposed sale is connected to Silver Lake Partners' plans to take Endeavor private, and also includes IMG and sports hospitality firm On Location Experiences. The deal was completed on February 28, 2025.
At the 2025 Cynopsis Sports Media Awards, PBR was honored as Sports League of the Year.
In 2024 and 2025, each rider 21 years of age or older who scored the highest-marked ride at each Premier Series event, who won each Premier Series event, and who was the MVP of each Team Series event won a money bonus courtesy of Michelob Ultra. As of 2026, the bonus is now sponsored by Busch Light.