In what has to be one of the greatest breaks from tradition in its long and storied history, the University of New Mexico’s “The Pit” in Albuquerque will host the world’s best bull riders and bulls for three days of non-stop competition March 27-29, 2009.
The Professional Bull Riders, Inc. (PBR) Built Ford Tough Series Tour returns to Albuquerque for its 13th consecutive year and its 16th stop on the current tour, the Sandia Resort & Casino Ty Murray Invitational.
“I’ve got a feeling this is going to be one of those events that must be seen to be believed,” said Michael Cerletti, Secretary of the New Mexico Tourism Department,” and a family experience sure to be treasured.” The New Mexico Sports Authority, a program of the Tourism Department, is a co-sponsor of the event.
The action begins on Friday (March 27) at 8 p.m., Saturday (March 28) at 6 p.m., and Sunday (March 29) at 2 p.m.
Fans will enjoy more than two hours of heart-pounding action, rock & roll music, pyrotechnics, and an up close and personal view of The Toughest Sport on Earth! The Ty Murray Invitational will feature the superstars of professional bull riding including New Mexico native Travis Briscoe of Edgewood. Other bull riding elites who will be competing in Albuquerque include 2008 PBR World Champion Guilherme Marchi of Brazil; PBR superstars J.B. Mauney (Mooresville, N.C.), Kody Lostroh (Longmont, Colo.), and Austin Meier (Kinta, Okla.); past World Champions Chris Shivers (Jonesville, La.) and Mike Lee (Decatur, Texas) and PBR fan favorites Matt Bohon (Cole Camp, Mo.), Wiley Petersen (Fort Hall, Idaho), Ross Coleman (Molalla, Ore.), and Luke Snyder (Raymore, Mo.) who will compete in his 250th consecutive BFTS event. Joining them will be five top Native American bull riders – Spud Jones, Greg Louis, Ryan Bitsui, JR Billy, and Cody Four Colors, each who are looking to claim the coveted event title.
The elite event will consist of four rounds of competition with the first three rounds featuring the top 40 bull riders randomly matched against the PBR’s toughest bulls. The scores from the three rides will be combined and the riders with the top 15 scores will advance to the Built Ford Tough Championship Round after intermission on Sunday (March 29). In the end, the cowboy with the highest total score on four bulls will be declared the winner of the Ty Murray Invitational.
Tickets can be purchased in person at University of New Mexico Box Offices and select Albertson’s stores, online at www.unmtickets.com, or by calling 877-664-8661. For more information and the official rules on the PBR’s 2009 Bull Team Competition, visit http://www.pbrnow.com/competition/BullTeams.
More than 100 million viewers tune in each year to the PBR on FOX, NBC, ESPN, VERSUS, and on a host of foreign networks across the globe. With approximately 500 hours of prime time programming annually, PBR ranks among the most prolific sports on air, in addition to attracting over 1.7 million live event attendees each year. The PBR prides itself in its 1,000 plus stock contractor relationships and over 1,200 PBR bull riders competing in more than 300 PBR sanctioned competitions in five countries.