All-star bull-riding event coming to Cowboys Stadium

Posted Friday, Sep. 25, 2009 Comments   (0) Print Share Share Reprints
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By PAUL WESSELS

Special to the Star-Telegram

ARLINGTON — While football players are currently roaming the new Cowboys Stadium, on Feb. 20bulls will have free rein.

Dallas Cowboys owner and general manager Jerry Jones and the Professional Bull Riders announced Friday that the facility will be the host site to 24 of the top bull riders and five champion bulls in the Dickies 2010 Iron Cowboy Invitational.

"I get to be around football players and I know how tough they are," Jones said. "But these athletes that ride these bulls are the toughest there are in sports."

The tournament format will have two riders take on the same bull, and whoever has the better score advances to face another rider and ride a tougher bull. Eight riders will qualify and receive first-round byes based off the 2009 World Finals standings. The Built Ford Tough Series standings will be used to pick 14 riders and the PBR Competition Board will hand out the final two spots.

Ty Murray, PBR founder and nine-time world champion bull rider, said the event will appeal to avid fans as well as those who don’t know much about the sport.

"I think it’s going to be a great event for the riders and the fans," Murray said. "We’re going to have four bucking chutes and the two guys that come out of a corner are going head-to-head on the same bull, so it’s going to be easy for anyone to come and see who did better."

Randy Bernard, CEO of the PBR, said the winner of this event will take home the largest payout ever for a one-day event, at least $260,000.

"When I first met Mr. Jones he said, 'I don’t want the world finals that are in Las Vegas, but I want an event that is the very best one-day event in the history of the sport,’ " Bernard said. "We’ve had a couple years now to think of it and we wanted to create an event that is so over the top it is an event that a PBR fan must see."

TeamPBR Fan Club members can begin buying tickets (800-732-1727) at 10 a.m. Monday. The general public, starting Friday, can buy online at Ticketmaster, by phone at 800-745-3000 or at Cowboys Stadium.

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