Tonight, 2019 PBR World Finals XXVI continues in round 2. Bull riding is perhaps the fiercest and most grueling of sports, especially when we consider that the test of a competitor’s skill requires no more than to hold on and ‘stay put’ for a mere eight seconds! But these are indeed eight seconds like no other when the staying put is on a bull bucking like mad to get the unwanted rider off its back! Depending on the rider’s prior experience and level of training as well as skill, those eight seconds are bound to feel very different from any other. They might well feel like eighty seconds not eight!
Bulls
After all, this is the ultimate contest between the sheer brute force of the beast (weighing on average over 600 kgs with some bulls weighing a colossal 995 kgs) and the human brain of the rider! No amount of physical strength, prowess or agility serves the rider in such contests as much as his wits. To ensure success, he needs above all to forestall the movements of the beast and out-maneuver it. The difficulty is compounded by the fact that the rider, holding the fiercely bucking bull by the rope in one hand, must not at any time touch himself or the bull by the other free hand.
Bull Breeding
Bull breeding is a lucrative business in its own right but is more so now than ever before, with developments in the science of genetics playing a significant role! Some are already grumbling about the unfair advantage it gives the bulls over the riders! In the past after contests, winning bulls were simply retired to stud farms. Now over and above natural breeding, their sperm is on offer for sale while some have even been cloned! A sperm specimen from a world-wide famous bull like Bushwacker, for instance, sells for up to $3,000; the arithmetics become all the more staggering when one learns that as many as 300 samples can be collected in one session! A promising bull can sell for anything between $50,000 to $250,000! According to the Professional Bucking Bull Association, the industry has grown by 500 percent. “Entry fees are up, and prices are ten times higher than they were ten years ago”. Prize money has likewise shot up to the skies; the top winners this year will scoop two millions!.
Here are some highlights of this round:
Round 2 results:
- Cody Jesus
- Eduardo Aparecido
- Cody Teel
For more information please see the following link:
https://www.pbr.com/results?eventId=168701&season=2019