Bull riding is traditionally an individual sport, but not quite like any other.
Each rider not only competes against other riders for the highest score, but also against a 1,500 pound animal. In the words of two-time Professional Bull Riders World Champion Justin McBride, it’s a “combat sport” — a fight with a bull to avoid being thrown off the field for eight seconds.
Fans will see new dynamics added to an already complex sport as the PBR Team Series makes its home at the Bridgestone Arena for three straight days beginning Friday. The league features eight teams made up of the best drivers in the PBR who compete in a five-on-five format over a three-month season.
McBride coaches the Nashville Stampede, which won the league’s inaugural championship in 2022.
“It was a new way of showing fans a 100+ year old sport that’s a little more familiar with what they’re watching,” said McBride. “It is very easy to follow. … It’s a great way to digest our sport.”
In the PBR Team Series competition, each team takes turns entering five riders. The riders’ scores are added together and the team with the highest total score after all five rides is the winner. Coaches must carefully order their riders and may even challenge the legality of a ride.
This year’s Team Series began in July and consists of 10 regular season events. Each team – Stampede, Arizona Ridge Riders, Austin Gamblers, Carolina Cowboys, Kansas City Outlaws, Missouri Thunder, Oklahoma Freedom and Texas Rattlers – hosts an event, and two “neutral” events were held in Cheyenne, Wyoming and Anaheim, California. The championship will take place in Las Vegas from October 20th to 22nd.
Though not all Stampede drivers live in Nashville during the season, McBride is proud to represent the region — “it’s the best market there is,” he said — and the team often trains together. McBride anticipates training once a week as the Stampede season moves deeper into the season, as the demanding, often unpredictable nature of bull riding requires more recovery time. There is no easy warm-up or continuity training when dealing with Bulls, and the sport’s calendar doesn’t offer much of a true off-season.
“It’s very tough for guys, both mentally and physically,” McBride said. “It’s a very demanding sport in which you can be successful.”
Silvano Alves, a three-time PBR World Champion who signed with the Stampede last season, believes the Team Series has enhanced camaraderie and created deeper bonds between riders. It has also helped drivers with the technical aspects of the sport as it has become easier for them to learn from each other and correct their mistakes.
“Everybody used to ride alone and work hard, but now you can work with your team and you can ride with your team,” said Alves. “Every (driver) can help each other.”
The Stampede struggled to start the 2023 season. They’re 0-7, largely due to a series of injuries – No. 1 driver Kaique Pacheco fractured his right tibia and fibula while competing in the PBR Unleash the Beast Series in April. However, McBride knows that’s exactly how bull riding works.
He doesn’t have to worry about his team’s record either. Last season, the Stampede finished bottom with a record of 7-20-1. But in Las Vegas, they upset the No. 3-seeded Freedom, No. 1-seeded Gamblers, and No. 2-seeded Rattlers and clinched the title as underdogs.
“It was a learning curve for me,” McBride said. “…I feel like we did a good job of having a belief system, something that we trusted. Once the guys fully embraced it, they understood that these things work. … Last year will always be something special.
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After the end of the Team series, the Unleash the Beast series – the “regular season” – starts in November and lasts until May, with a two-month break before it all starts again. The winner of the Unleash the Beast series will be crowned the PBR World Champion. Those lucky enough to stay healthy can make big bucks: the winner of the final series gets a $1 million bonus.
But McBride is confident — not next year, but maybe in a few years — that the Team Series could grow bigger than the individual season. He expects more teams to enter the league, viewership and fan numbers to increase, prize money to increase, and the early success of team-style bull riding to persuade more riders to put the Team Series first .
“Ultimately everyone will do what is best for the sport,” McBride said. “If you do that, all other things will come.”
Jacob Shames can be reached via email at [email protected] and on Twitter at @Jacob_Shames.
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