PBR Turned Bull Riding Into A Team Sport And It's Bigger, Crazier, And More Strategic Than Ever Before
Forget everything that you think you know about bull riding. What once was only an individual event is no longer. Although the sport in itself has not changed, Professional Bull Rider's Team Series shakes things up. It's fast, it's flashy and it's bringing a whole new side to the sport. In the past, riders were competing against themselves, an 8-second clock, and a bull. In the present, riders compete against those same three factors and
They will play a 10-weekend regular season that will culminate in a team playoff in November. Each team is made up of seven riders on the main roster, five other riders on the practice squad, and a head coach (or two). Each team will host a three-day regular-season event in their home city, but all eight teams travel to every event.
The Concept Of PBR's Team Series Is Pretty Simple And It's Awesome
Five riders from every team are selected by their coach(es) to compete against five riders of the team they are facing that week. And then it's game time. The goal, first and foremost, is to reach the 8-second mark just like in a regular PBR event. The team part of the competition adds an extra element.
The Transition In Format Brings A New Backend Outlook On The Sport
Not only does the format change the scoring, it also changes the approach. There is a strategical element to bull riding that did not exist in the past. A lot of that responsibility falls on the coaches. Each week, around noon on Tuesdays, the teams draw the bulls they will be riding that week. From there, the coaches are tasked with assigning each bull to a rider on their team before midnight. In turn, those 12 hours are stressful and extremely busy. Not only does the Team Series require coaches to know the bulls, and how they best fit their riders, it requires the coaches to know their riders and how they best fit the draw of bulls. "Tuesdays are a lot of research and thinking," Arizona Ridge Riders co-head coach and five-time PBR World Finals qualifier Colby Yates said. "It's not easy to figure out who best fits on what bull. We know a lot of the bulls, but there are a lot of bulls that we don't know. That requires us to go back and watch tape, see how the bull performs, and try to pair him with the rider we think will find the most success on that bull."
(Photo courtesy: Bull Stock Media)
the guy and his coaches rely on him as such.
Being The Guy Comes With A Price
Each week, Vastbinder knows he is going to be the guy assigned to the gnarliest, rankest, baddest bull.
(Photo courtesy: Bull Stock Media)