Inaugural Bull Rider Team Competition Comes to Nashville  

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photo: pbr.com

Professional Bull Riders (PBR) Stampede Days will be coming to Nashville from August 19 through August 22, 2022 at Bridgestone Arena. This is the first-ever professional bull riding team event to take place in Nashville, and the inaugural year of the Nashville Stampede team.

Two-time PBR World Champion Justin McBride is the head coach of Nashville Stampede, which includes first round draft pick and 2018 PBR World Champion Kaique Pacheco; twelve-time PBR World Finals qualifier Ryan Dirteater who unretired to compete in PBR Teams; Brazilians Manoelito de Souza, Jr. and Joao Henrique Lucas; Dener Barbosa; Fernando Novais; Jaxton Mortensen; Lucas Fedeles Souza; Mason Moody; Silvano Alves; and Thiago Slagado. Earning a practice squad position on the roster, the Stampede also includes Dustin Ortiz, a former MMA fighter turned bull rider, who hails from Franklin.

“These are the best bull riders in the sport as well as up and comers,” said Tina Battock, Team General Manager.

Eight teams will be competing in this inaugural year of PBR Team competition. Each team will have five riders. There will be a total of ten competitions, one at each of the team’s hometowns and two at locations independent of the competing teams. Stampede Days will be the fourth of these ten competitions.

Cheyenne, Wyoming hosted the initial event in late July, followed by events in Kansas City, Missouri, and Anaheim, California. The Stampede are currently fifth in the regular-season standings.

Carolina Cowboys will be the first team the Nashville Stampede will face in the head-to-head competition on Friday evening, followed by Ariat Texas Rattlers and Kansas City Outlaws.

Each member of the team will have one ride, with a total of five rides for each team. After hitting the eight-second qualification, the ride is rated on the performance of both the rider and the bull. The bull is graded on kicks, thrusts, speed, movement and good bucking. The rider is graded on how well he controls the ride.

In addition to bringing in 750 tons of dirt, the set will feature nearly 300 individual lighting elements, 400 feet of LED signage, 512,000 watts of sound amplification, pens, chutes and much more. There will also be special raised VIP seating areas on the floor with food and bar service and located over the chute.

There is also lots of other entertainment, including opening act Chancey Williams. The Stampede Days fan festival will begin at 1:00 p.m. on Friday, August 19, culminating with an in-arena performance at 6:30 p.m. by Williams. The festivities will then resume on Saturday, August 20 at 11:00 a.m. All performances on the Plaza are free-to-attend, while Williams’ concert inside Bridgestone Arena will require a Stampede Days ticket to attend.

The daily music will also be accompanied by local vendors, and the chance for festival-goers to interact with other local sports teams and venues including the Nashville Sounds, Nashville SC and Nashville Superspeedway.

“PBR has a long history in Nashville,” said Battock, “and it is the home of our coach…Our team owner looked at engaging fans. They are visitors and not just residents… [Bull riding] covers a large range of people…fun for date nights, for families…It is good clean fun!”

In the mid-1990s, 20 professional bull riders broke away from the Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association to form the PBR to make bull riding a singular event. “We began having our own competitions and world championships,” explained Battock. “Bull riding as a separate sport has gone around the world.”

Bull riding’s history originated in the 1600s on the haciendas of Old Mexico as ranch and horsemanship contests. It was originally a variation on bull fighting where riders actually rode a bull to its death. It grew and changed in Texas and California in the 1800s. Today, it is an athletic contest dependent on the skills of both rider and bull.

The bull riding action for the 2022 PBR Stampede Days begins at 7:45 p.m. on Friday, August 19, 6:45 p.m. on Saturday, August 20, and 12:15 p.m. on Sunday, August 21. All of the action will take place at Bridgestone Arena at 501 Broadway in Nashville beginning at 1:00 p.m on Friday.

More information is available at https://pbr.com/teams/.

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