Professional Bull Riders: Heroes and Legends


The Professional Bull Riders Heroes and Legends celebration honors five divisions in the Professional Bull Riders and Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association, including the best bucking bulls.

History

From 1996 through 2007, the PBR awarded the Ring of Honor in the arena during the World Finals in Las Vegas, Nevada. There was no Ring of Honor ceremony in 2008.
In 2009 and 2010, the Ring of Honor ceremony was held at the Pueblo Convention Center in conjunction with Pueblo, Colorado's Wild, Wild West Fest in May, which included a regular-season PBR Built Ford Tough Series event in said city. The Sharon Shoulders Award was first awarded in 2010, then came the Jim Shoulders Lifetime Achievement Award and Brand of Honor in 2011, and the Ty Murray Top Hand Award in 2018.
The PBR Heroes and Legends celebration debuted in 2011 and was held at the South Point Hotel in Las Vegas the day before the first round of every annual PBR World Finals. There was no Heroes and Legends celebration in 2020 because of COVID-19 restrictions, but the ceremony returned in 2021.
The PBR World Finals moved to the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex in 2022 and now take place in the spring after previously taking place in the autumn.
There was not a Heroes and Legends ceremony in 2022. However, it was announced in September of that year that the new PBR Hall of Fame would be unveiled at the National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, within the museum's American Rodeo Gallery. In 2023, the PBR Hall of Fame was opened to the public. That same year, the Heroes and Legends celebration was moved to the National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum.
Since 2024, the Heroes and Legends celebration is held every July.

Ring of Honor

The PBR Ring of Honor is the equivalent of a Hall of Fame for bull riders. The PBR created this award in 1996 to recognize those who have had a "significant and lasting contribution to the sport of professional bull riding". Honorees may be PBR bull riders, but some PRCA bull riders have also been honored, for example, icon Lane Frost. "It is both a physical ring and a fellowship of men." This honor is bestowed upon "select bull riders whose contributions to the sport of bull riding last beyond their success in the competitive arena". The award is "symbolized by a custom-made, gold-and-diamond ring engraved with the honoree's name and the PBR logo". Recipients are honored with this award during a ceremony at the PBR World Finals near the end of the year.
It was created in 1996 with the inaugural induction of ProRodeo Hall of Fame members Jim Shoulders and Ted Nuce.
The PRCA, which sanctions traditional rodeo, has the ProRodeo Hall of Fame. The Bull Riding Hall of Fame located in Fort Worth, Texas, is not associated with the PBR.

Recipients

1996
1997
1998
1999
2000
  • Clint Branger
2001
  • Wacey Cathey
2002
2003
2004
2005
2006
2007
2009
2010
2011
2012
2013
2014
2015
2016
  • Owen Washburn
2017
  • Ricky Bolin
  • Lyle Sankey
2018
  • Gary Leffew
2019
2021
  • Robson Palermo
2023
2024
  • Paulo Crimber
2025

Sharon Shoulders Award

This award recognizes women who have supported professional bull riding; "those whose work, partnership and faith have been as integral to the sport as the athletes themselves." These are bull rider wives who have shared the burdens of a bull rider in his life and in the sport and helped enable him to contribute to the sport. It is named for the wife of Jim Shoulders. The PBR created this award in 2010 and honored inaugural inductee Tiffany Davis.

Recipients

  • 2010 - Tiffany Davis
  • 2011 - Leanne Lambert
  • 2012 - Jackie Dunn
  • 2013 - Flavia Morães
  • 2014 - Stacey Custer
  • 2015 - Robyn Gaffney
  • 2016 - LeAnn Hart
  • 2017 - Julie Carrillo
  • 2018 - Jill McBride
  • 2019 - Kylie Shivers
  • 2021 - Terri Gay
  • 2023 - María Crimber
  • 2024 - Tiffany Owens
  • 2025 - Priscila Palermo

Jim Shoulders Lifetime Achievement Award

This award is named after Jim Shoulders, who won 16 world titles and is recognized in his field as possibly the greatest western-sports athlete of all time. This award recognizes some of the many non-bull riders who have made a tangible contribution to the sport and whose efforts have built the PBR, including stock contractors, contract personnel, PBR employees, and more. It was first awarded in 2011. The inaugural recipient was ProRodeo Hall of Fame inductee bullfighter Rob Smets.

Recipients

2011
2012
  • Tom Teague
2013
  • Cotton Rosser
2014
  • David Allen
2015
  • Brett Hoffman
2016
  • Dr. Tandy Freeman
2017
2018
  • Joe Baumgartner
  • Dr. J. Pat Evans
  • Barry Frank
2019
  • Mack Altizer
  • Neal Gay
2021
2023
  • Bob Funk, Sr.
2024
  • Frank Newsom
2025

Brand of Honor

First awarded in 2011 to Little Yellow Jacket, the Brand of Honor is awarded to a bull for superlative performance in the PBR. The PBR recognizes that "there are two great athletes in every ride". Brand of Honor bulls are elite athletes who have gone above and beyond in the sport. In 2016, Bushwacker was awarded the Brand of Honor. This three-time World Champion bucking bull is universally considered to be the best in bull riding history.

Recipients

Ty Murray Top Hand Award

First awarded in 2018 to Trevor Brazile, Lewis Feild, and Tom Ferguson, the Ty Murray Top Hand Award, is awarded to a rodeo athlete who is not eligible for the Ring of Honor Award. The award connects the PBR with its traditional past. Athletes are chosen who represent strong values and character who have made a significant mark on the sport. The award is named after 9-time Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association World Champion and Ring of Honor inductee Ty Murray, a co-founder of the PBR.

Recipients

2018
2019
2021
2023
2024
2025

Professional Bull Riders Champions

Heroes and Legends lists the Ring of Honor, Sharon Shoulders Award, Jim Shoulders Lifetime Achievement Award, Brand of Honor, and Ty Murray Top Hand Award. The List of Professional Bull Riders Champions article presents a list of major champions and honors won by Professional Bull Riders.