This past weekend, Madison Square Garden played host to the superstars of the bull riding world as the PBR (Professional Bull Riders) officially kicked off their season right in Manhattan. The three day event was the opening of the 2011 Built Ford Tough Series, which makes 28 stops in 23 states throughout the year and concludes in late October in Las Vegas with the crowning of the 2011 PBR World Champion and a $1 million bonus payout. Fans familiar with the PBR (an estimated 100 million viewers tune in each year to the events on Fox, NBC, and Versus to name a few) were engrossed in the riders. While relative newcomers to the sport were blown away by the spectacle. Either way, seeing a PBR event live is an experience like no other.

As fans were still shuffling down aisles to get to their seats, the lights went down in the Garden. A massively drawn out display of PBR spelled out in the dirt was set ablaze, with rock music pumping out of the historic speakers, and introductions were made for 2010′s top 5 Bull Riders, complete with their own pyrotechnics display. Just before the show was to go live, entertainer Flint Rasmussen was introduced to the crowd. Donning facepaint and a cowboy hat, his job is to keep the crowd engaged during any delays or commercial breaks.

As fans were still shuffling down aisles to get to their seats, the lights went down in the Garden. A massively drawn out display of PBR spelled out in the dirt was set ablaze, with rock music pumping out of the historic speakers, and introductions were made for 2010′s top 5 Bull Riders, complete with their own pyrotechnics display. Just before the show was to go live, entertainer Flint Rasmussen was introduced to the crowd. Donning facepaint and a cowboy hat, his job is to keep the crowd engaged during any delays or commercial breaks.

With so much going on prior to the show’s beginning, it seemed more like a circus than a sporting event. That was, of course, until the first bull ride took place. The 2000 pound creatures seemed beyond control, bucking wildly with or without a rider attached, and stubbornly refusing to return to their corral. The utter size of these animals compared to the 150 pound riders brave enough to battle them has to be seen in person to be believed. Anything else fails to do these incredible fetes of athleticism justice.

For New Yorkers who are perhaps unfamiliar with how the scoring works, each bull ride is worth up to 100 points- 50 points for the bull and 50 points for the rider, as long as he successfully rides the bull for eight seconds. Then, four judges award up to a total of 25 points each for the rider and the bull. All four of the judges scores are combined and then divided by two for the official score. Scoring is based on the skill of the rider to adapting to the bull and how difficult the bull is to ride. It’s also important to note that the rider must only use one hand and gets disqualified if the rider touches either the bull or himself with the other hand. Clearly, it’s not as easy as riding some mechanical bull at some late night dive bar.

In a three day event, like the one in Manhattan, the Top 10 highest scores over the weekend will advance to the Built Ford Tough Championship Round where they will compete with one more ride, and the winner of the overall event will be the rider with the highest combined score on five bulls. This year’s winner was 31 year old Brazillian, Valdiron de Oliveira, who took home a total purse of $41,860 for the weekend. He was a perfect 5 for 5 in rides, with scores of 82.00, 89.75, 92.25, 89.50, and 91.50 and Oliveira finished a full 7.75 points ahead of runner-up, Aussie Ben Jones who took home $16,350 in purse money.

All in all- an incredible sports weekend in Manhattan, capped off by an event that couples showmanship and spectacle with incredible athleticism and ability. And with tickets starting at just $25, the PBR has events suitable for families on any budget. But beforewarned- if Saturday night at Madison Square Garden was any indication, the beer in the cheap seats does run out, meaning that some of the language in the 400′s section might even make a bucking bronco cover his ears!

For more information on the PBR with dates, results, and up to the minute coverage of the BFTS tour, check out: The PBR

- Jane Van Arsdale