Sporting events, in general, have a way of getting our blood pumping. Stretching back to Gladiator times people have found entertainment in gathering together in support of players or teams in one extracurricular activity or another. Whether it is for bragging rights, the adrenaline rush, or the plain thrill of overcoming adversity, competition is only gaining ground.
Excluding team sports, there are only a few sporting events where the outcome is not determined by the participant’s own actions. There are sports where it’s an equal combination of how strong your opponent is combined with how strong your performance is. One of these sports is Bull Riding. Bull Riding has gained popularity over the years since headlining associations like the PBR have brought the bull riding world to the 21st century: World-class bulls working against world class riders, the best of the best.
From a business standpoint, the bull riding industry has grown from humble beginnings to what is now a highly lucrative investment. The top three money earners of all time have reached well over the $5,000,000 mark. Two-time world champion JB Mauney is winning the earnings race with a staggering $6,959,342.17. Followed up by three-time world champion Silvano Alves who has earned $5,674,544.00. While Justin McBride who has two world championships of his own has earned $5,150,052.58.
Bull Riding anyone?
Stock contractors have their own lucrative incentives for providing the best bulls in competition. $50,000 and a new stock trailer went to the 2015 Bull of the Year, Sweet Pro’s Long John, owned by D&H Cattle Company. Affiliate associations like the American Bucking Bull Inc. (ABBI) awarded $200,000 to the top bull in the four-year-old division, 32Y Sweet Pro’s Bruiser, owned by the D&H Cattle Co/Buck Cattle Co-partnership.
With that amount of money to be won, you can guess how much time and pedigree analysis is put into the bucking bull side of this equation. Human athletes are recognized for their sporting achievements, their win streaks, their records, and their ability to be the best for the longest amount of time, but what about the bulls?
In no numerical order, several prolific bull riders and stock contractors weighed in on who they would use as the most influential bulls in bull riding history.
Who has been the best of the best?
And the survey says…
Photo credit goes to a4gpa from Flickr.com. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0/. This photo was adapted with text overlay.