PROFESSIONAL BULL RIDERS (PBR) PRESENTS 6th ANNUAL MADISON SQUARE GARDEN INVITATIONAL FROM JANUARY 6-8, 2012 Review by Cara Potapshyn Meyers

Friday night, my family had a terrific experience at Madison Square Garden in New York City to see the “PBR” – the Professional Bull Riders championship! This is the second time we’ve gone to this event. We went last year and had a blast. This year was even better!

The event was a nationally televised, Built Ford Tough Series, to kick off the 2012 PBR season with world’s best bull riders at world’s most famous arena! Once we were there, the children were pointing out the cowboys, the rodeo clowns, and the bull fighters. At a Bull Riding event, there are the “Bull Riders” who are the competitors, a “Rodeo Clown,” who helps to entertain the audience between bull-rides and who also works with the “Bull Fighters.” The “Bull Fighters” are the men who are “on-the-ground” in the arena. Once the “Bull Rider” either jumps off the bull, or falls off, the “Bull Fighters” job is to help distract and corral the bull back into its pen area, so that it doesn’t injure the “Bull Rider.”

As the event opened, there was an introduction of the newer riders. They then introduced the veteran riders. Reigning Sylvano Alves, the 2011 Champion came out and worked the crowd. He made over 1.6 million in prize money last year. My son’s all-time favorite Bull Rider was one of the last to come out. His name is Austin Meier (his name is spelled differently from ours, but is pronounced the same). Last year, in hearing Austin’s name, our son, then 7, was thrilled with this Bull Rider’s name! He insisted that Austin was one of our cousins! This year, he realized that we are not related, but Austin is still our son’s favorite.

The first rider was Douglas Duncan. He rode a bull named “Jack in Black." Duncan’s ride wasn’t that successful. He only lasted for 3.79 seconds. By the time they got to the 4^th or 5^th rider, we saw our first Bull Rider injury. The rider had been thrown from the bull, but the medical staff swooped in, treated him, and within a minute, he got up and walked away with a standing ovation and cheers emanating from the crowd!

As the event progressed, we saw other riders staying on their bulls for over eight seconds! It was remarkable! One of the standouts was a rider named Mike Miller, who rode a bull named “Blackout.” Mike stayed on the bull, not only for 8 seconds, but held on for almost 11 seconds! It was amazing!

By the end of the evening, they announced the Champion Bull Rider: Luke Snyder. As Luke was awarded the title of Champion of the New York “Round 1,” the crowd roared and everyone cheered!

The Professional Bull Riders (PBR) is bringing the 6th Annual Madison Square Garden Invitational, presented by Full Metal Jousting on History, from January 6-8, 2012. The event will kick off the nationally televised, elite 2012 Built Ford Tough Series season, featuring the world's toughest cowboys and rankest bulls. The PBR’s Built Ford Tough Series will rock New York with three bone-crushing, adrenaline-soaked performances, as the Top 40 bull riders in the world – including the 2011 Madison Square Garden Invitational champion Valdiron de Oliveira – risk it all against athletic animals weighing as much as 2,000 pounds. Fans will be thrilled as they watch intense 8-second rides and jaw-dropping wrecks when riders try to stay on and survive animals 10 times their size!

The nationally televised PBR 2012 Built Ford Tough Series will visit 23 different states with 28 events in 2012. The 2012 schedule will feature the best bull riders from across the globe competing against the rankest bulls on the planet in front of millions of fans across the country to win a share of over $10 million for the season.

Tickets for this event are: $205, $105, $50, $35, $25 and $15 (prices do not include taxes and facility fees) and are available at the MSG box office, www.ticketmaster.com, and by telephone at (800) 745-3000.

MADISON SQUARE GARDEN EVENT SCHEDULE:

Friday, January 6 -- 8:00 p.m.

Saturday, January 7 -- 8:00 p.m. 

Sunday, January 8 -- 1:00 p.m.

About the PBR 2012 Madison Square Garden Invitational presented by Full Metal Jousting on HISTORY: 

Each of the Top 40 bull riders in the world will be participating. Following Round 2 on Saturday, the riders with the 10 highest cumulative scores will each compete with one more bull. Following Round 4 on Sunday, the riders with the 10 highest cumulative scores will advance to the Built Ford Tough Championship Round, where they will each compete with one more bull. The overall event winner will be the rider with the highest combined score from all five rounds.

The season culminates during October 24-28, 2012 in Las Vegas with the PBR Built Ford Tough World Finals. The World Finals is where the PBR World Champion will be crowned and awarded a $1 million bonus. The richest bull riding event in the world, the World Finals has a total purse of more than $2 million.

About PBR's 2012 Built Ford Tough Series: 

The PBR's 2012 Built Ford Tough Series will kick off at the “World's Most Famous Arena,” New York's Madison Square Garden, from January 6-8. Highlights of this year's schedule include the “All-new four-week stadium tour,” in which the Built Ford Tough Series will visit Detroit's Ford Field and Houston's Reliant Stadium for the first time ever. The tour will also visit Atlanta's Georgia Dome and Cowboys Stadium in Arlington, Texas.

About the Professional Bull Riders, Inc. (PBR):

The PBR is the world’s premier bull riding organization. More than 100 million viewers annually watch over 400 hours of primetime PBR programming on VERSUS, NBC, CBS and networks around the world. The PBR has awarded over $100 million in prize money and 21 riders have earned over $1 million, including Justin McBride with $5.5 million -- the most of any western sports athlete in history. Nearly two million fans attend Built Ford Tough Series and Touring Pro Division events each year. 

Follow PBR on Facebook: www.facebook.com/TeamPBR and Twitter: 

http://twitter.com/TEAMPBR.

For more information on the PBR, please visit: www.pbr.com