PBR in NYC
By Ron Bishow
Special to amNewYork
If New Yorkers think the Rangers are tough, they’ve never seen a cowboy get thrown off and then stepped on by an angry animal. But that can all change this weekend when the Professional Bull Riders bring the Built Ford Tough Series Invitational to Madison Square Garden.
How it works
The competition is the elite series of the PBR, featuring 45 of the best bull riders in the world trying to stay on the back of a 2,000-pound bull for eight seconds.
Eight seconds may not sound like a lot, but it’s an eternity on top of a bull — and, if a rider can’t stay on that long, the score doesn’t count.
Each ride on the bull is worth up to 100 points, 50 for the bull and 50 for the rider. Three judges, whose scores are combined and divided by two for the official tally, hand out points for the rider’s ability to match moves with the bull beneath him. The bull is scored on its speed, power and ability to move up and down.
The contestants each ride one bull the first night of competition and one bull the second night of competition for the preliminary rounds. The 15 riders with the highest total score on two bulls qualify for a third round of competition, called the Built Ford Tough Championship Round, and the winner is the bull rider with the highest three-ride total.
With three-day events like this one, a draft is held where the rider gets to pick the bull they want to ride for the second and championship rounds.
Stars of the ring
Guilherme Marchi
Marchi is the reigning PBR World Champion after finishing second in the standings the three previous seasons. He hails from Brazil, which is a hotbed for bull riders, and is nicknamed “Hollywood” because of his movie-star looks. He won five events in 2008.
Valdiron de Oliveira
The winner of last year’s event at Madison Square Garden, Oliveira is another member of the Brazilian contingent. The Garden win was the 28-year-old’s first of the season, and one of his 17 Top Ten finishes in 2008.
Reese Cates
The 2008 Daisy Rookie of the Year on the circuit, Cates came on the scene right out of high school and finished in the Top five four times last season.
Get tickets
The PBR is at Madison Square Garden Friday and Saturday at 8 p.m., Sunday at 1 p.m. Tickets are $10-$195, are available at TicketMaster.com or 212-307-7171.
