World’s best bull riders are set for trip to Sydney
SOME of the world’s toughest cowboys have touched down on local soil as the Professional Bull Riders (PBR) officially announced Sydney as one of five host cities for the inaugural PBR Global Cup.
Tickets to the PBR Global Cup are now on-sale, with the event set to take place at Sydney’s Qudos Bank Arena on June 9-10 next year.
Sydney will play host to the second leg of the much-anticipated Global Cup, a five-nation team battle between bull-riding powerhouses Australia, Brazil, Canada, Mexico and USA.
Some of the top bull-riders from around the globe will put their grit, athleticism and patriotism to the test as they battle to spend eight electrifying seconds atop 900kg of raging fury – the best and biggest bulls in the business.
To celebrate the announcement, top riders from each participating nation took in some of Sydney’s most iconic sights and attractions including Thor Hoefer (USA), Brock Radford (CAN), Gustavo Pedrero (MEX), Lucas Divino (BRA) and home-grown hero Cliff Richardson (AUS).
The PBR Global Cup will showcase awe-inspiring courage and athleticism as riders compete to crown their country Toughest Nation on Dirt, and to win an Australian record $750,000 prize-purse.
Each team will fight to retain their nation’s piece of the PBR Global Cup trophy – the crown jewel of bull-riding that will hold their sacred hometown soil.
Valued at $250,000, the prestigious trophy weighs 54kg and consists of five separate horns – the entire trophy is encrusted in 360 Swarovski stones.
Each horn is decorated in national colours and symbols, and will be filled with soil from each participating country.
The only way to take home the whole trophy is to win every leg of the PBR Global Cup.
Each team will fight hardest for a hometown win to hold on to their nation’s soil and piece of the Cup.
Providing a home-field advantage in defending home-turf, each PBR Global Cup host team will field 14 riders – double the size of visiting nations’ teams.
“The PBR Global Cup trophy symbolises the battle for glory on hometown turf,” PBR Australia general manager Glen Young said.
“Each host country will fight with national pride to retain their horn and sacred soil.
“Just as the cricketers fight to win the symbolic Ashes trophy, our riders will battle for supremacy for their country.
“This is the ultimate PBR battle – man versus beast, and nation versus nation, to take home the crown jewel of bull riding.”