PRCA's Xtreme Bulls debuts in San Antonio

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo., Jan. 22, 2003 ­

PRCA Xtreme Bulls, the world championship bull riding tour created by the Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association (PRCA), makes its debut on Feb. 2 in San Antonio as part of the San Antonio Stock Show and Rodeo. Xtreme Bulls currently has a 10-stop event schedule that culminates with a two-day championship and features the top bull riders and bulls in the world. ESPN2 and ESPN are the exclusive networks for Xtreme Bulls, and all of the Tour stops and the championship will be televised. Xtreme Bulls offers $771,250 in prize money for the 10 Tour stops, which counts toward the Jack Daniel¹s World Standings and qualification for the Wrangler National Finals Rodeo (NFR). " Xtreme Bulls is destined to be one of ProRodeo¹s greatest successes," said Steven J. Hatchell, commissioner of the PRCA. "When you combine the best bull riders in the world -- including those who compete in the world¹s most prestigious rodeo, the Wrangler National Finals Rodeo -- with the rankest bulls in the country and an innovative format, the fans are guaranteed to experience the greatest drama and excitement in rodeo. With the ESPN networks televising the Tour, fans across the country can enjoy this new sensation."

The 10 stops for Xtreme Bulls are listed below, and the accompanying regularly scheduled PRCA-sanctioned rodeo is noted. The tour culminates in a two-day championship, and the competition dates, purse and location for the championship will be announced later.

• Xtreme Bulls event schedule
• Feb. 2 San Antonio Stock Show and Rodeo
• March 6 RodeoHouston, Houston
• March 24-25 Star of Texas Fair and Rodeo, Austin, Texas
• June 20 Reno (Nev.) Rodeo
• July 17 Days of '47 Rodeo, Salt Lake City
• Aug. 8 Caldwell (Idaho) Night Rodeo
• Aug. 30 Ellensburg (Wash.) Rodeo
• Sept. 24 Summer ProRodeo Tour Finale, Omaha, Neb.
• Oct. 3 Heart o' Texas Rodeo, Waco, Texas
• Oct. 11 Silver Spurs Semi-annual Rodeo, Kissimmee, Fla.
• TBA Xtreme Bulls Championship, TBA

Each Xtreme Bulls stop will feature 30 bull riders, who will compete in the semifinal round and then those with qualified rides advance to the final round. The final round will have a minimum of 15 contestants, but all bull riders with a qualified ride are eligible for the final round. Both the semifinal and final rounds are held during the same performance. Xtreme Bulls in Austin, Texas, is a special stop, featuring a two-day format. The first day of competition has 30 cowboys competing in qualifying rounds, with the top five advancing to the second day, which features the semifinal and final rounds with a field of 35.

"I can¹t tell you how excited all of us are about competing in Xtreme Bulls," said Blue Stone, 2001-02 world bull riding champion. "This is a wonderful opportunity for us to ride the best bulls in the country on a regular basis, and the coverage on TV will bring the PRCA's and the world's best in bull riding and rodeo to millions of fans across the United States."

The pool of bull riders for the 2003 Xtreme Bulls Tour includes the top cowboys in the PRCA's 2002 Jack Daniel¹s World Standings, the top cowboys from the 2003 Jack Daniel¹s World Standings, top contestants from the 2003 Xtreme Bulls Standings and contestants who qualify through the PRCA qualifying events for Xtreme Bulls. The field for San Antonio is based strictly on the 2002 Jack Daniel¹s World Standings. The first qualifying event is in Rapid City, S.D., on Jan. 31-Feb. 1, and the top five finishers in Rapid City qualify for the Tour stop in Houston on March 6. Basically, the top 15 finalists from each Tour stop are seeded into the following Tour stop, and the remaining 15 contestants in the field are selected from the top-ranked bull riders in the 2003 Jack Daniel¹s World Standings; the PRCA qualifying event standings, the 2002 year-end Jack Daniel¹s World Standings and any 2002 Wrangler National Finals Rodeo bull riding contestants who are not already in the field.

ESPN2 and ESPN are the exclusive networks for Xtreme Bulls. All 10 regular stops and the culminating championship will be televised, with all programs airing either during prime time or weekend afternoons.

"Bull riding is the original extreme sport and ESPN is excited to be the exclusive home of the new Xtreme Bulls series," said Julie Sobieski, ESPN, director, programming and acquisitions. "These events are a great addition to our already extensive coverage of the Wrangler National Finals Rodeo."

Each Tour stop offers a total of $75,000 in prize money, except for Austin that has a total purse of $96,250. The Tour stop winner receives $25,000, in addition to monies won in the semifinal round. Every contestant receives a cash incentive; however, only the earnings of cowboys who have a qualified ride count toward the world standings. Monies from Xtreme Bulls do not count toward the circuit or world all-around standings. The semifinal round monies are awarded on that round¹s placings, with the final placings determined on an aggregate of semifinal and final round scores. (For complete information on payouts, please check the Xtreme Bulls Fact Sheet below.)

Xtreme Bulls is a wholly owned, but independent subsidiary of the PRCA. The PRCA, headquartered in Colorado Springs, Colo., is the largest and oldest rodeo-sanctioning body in the world. The recognized leader in professional rodeo, the PRCA is committed to maintaining the highest standards in the industry. Through the ProRodeo Tour winter and summer series and their Finales and championship, the Xtreme Bulls world-championship bull riding tour and the world-renowned Wrangler National Finals Rodeo, the PRCA showcases the world¹s best cowboys in premier events. The PRCA sanctions nearly 700 rodeos annually and ensures that every PRCA-sanctioned event is managed with fairness and competence and that the livestock used is healthy and cared for to the highest standards. In 2002, PRCA-sanctioned rodeos raised more than $25 million for local and national charities. The PRCA membership includes contestants, stock contractors, judges, rodeo clowns, bullfighters, arena secretaries, timers, specialty-act performers, announcers, laborers, rodeo committees, barrel men and photographers. For more information, visit www.prorodeo.com.

Contact: Leslie King, 719-528-4770

Xtreme Bulls, the PRCA Bull Riding Tour Fact Sheet

What
The Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association (PRCA) has created Xtreme Bulls, the new PRCA Bull Riding Tour that features the top ProRodeo bull riders and bulls in the country. Xtreme Bulls has 10 Tour stops and concludes with a two-day championship.

Schedule
The following events are regular stops on Xtreme Bulls; and the regularly scheduled PRCA-sanctioned event is indicated below. Several additional events may be added, and the Tour's season-ending championship's dates, purse and location will be announced in the near future.

• Feb. 2 San Antonio San Antonio Stock Show and Rodeo
• March 6, Houston, RodeoHouston
• March 24-25, Austin, Texas, Star of Texas Fair and Rodeo
• June 20, Reno, Nev., Reno Rodeo
• July 17, Salt Lake City, Days of '47 Rodeo
• Aug. 8, Caldwell, Idaho, Caldwell Night Rodeo
• Aug. 30, Ellensburg, Wash., Ellensburg Rodeo
• Sept. 24, Omaha, Neb., Summer ProRodeo Tour Finale
• Oct. 3, Waco, Texas, Heart o' Texas Rodeo
• Oct. 11 Kissimmee, Fla., Silver Spurs Semi-annual Rodeo

Television
ESPN2 and ESPN are the exclusive networks for Xtreme Bulls, and all airtimes are either in prime time or weekend afternoons.

Contestants
The pool of bull riders for the 2003 Tour includes the top cowboys in the PRCA's Jack Daniel's World Standings for 2002, the top cowboys from the 2003 PRCA Jack Daniel's World Standings, the top contestants from the 2003 Xtreme Bulls Standings and contestants who qualify through the PRCA's qualifying events. The first qualifying event is in Rapid City S.D., Jan. 31-Feb. 1.

The field for the first event in San Antonio features the top 30 bull riders from the PRCA's 2002 world standings. The second event in Houston will draw its contestants from several sources: the top 15 finishers from San Antonio; the top three from the 2002 world standings (who have not already made the field); the top five from the qualifying event in Rapid City; any bull rider who competed in the 2002 Wrangler National Finals Rodeo and is not already in the field; and the remaining contestants are chosen based on the 2002 Jack Daniel's World Standings.

The only two-day performance is the third event, held in Austin, Texas. The first day's competition is a qualifying performance with 30 contestants: 20 percent from the PRCA qualifying event standings; 20 percent from 2003 Xtreme Bulls standings; 20 percent from the PRCA's 2003 Jack Daniel's World Standings; and the balance from the 2002 world standings.

Austin's second day of competition includes the semifinals and finals. The 35-man field is comprised of the top 15 finishers from the Houston stop; the three highest-ranked riders on the 2003 Jack Daniel's World Standings; the top three from the PRCA qualifying event standings; the top five from the qualifying performance the day before; any 2002 Wrangler NFR bull rider who is not in the field; and the remaining spots are filled based on the 2002 world standings.

After Austin, the formula for determining the field's make-up is: the top 15 from the previous Tour stop; the top five in the Xtreme Bulls rankings; the top five from the PRCA qualifying event rankings; any 2002 Wrangler NFR bull rider not already in the field; and the balance based on the 2003 Jack Daniel's World Standings.

Tour championship contestant field.
The top 25 in the Xtreme Bulls Standings will be seeded into the second day's performance. The first performance is a qualifying round, with the top five advancing to the second night. The first performance's 30 contestant field will be comprised of: the top 15 in the 2003 Jack Daniel's World Standings who aren't already seeded; and the top 15 from the PRCA qualifying event standings who aren't already seeded.

Competition format
Each Tour stop will feature 30 contestants, with the exception of Austin's two-day event, which will have 35 contestants on the second day.
One-day event. The 30 contestants are divided into two groups of 15 for the semifinal round, and the competitors with a qualified ride in the semis advance to the finals. If there are not 15 qualified rides, the contestants with the longest completed ride times will advance.
In the semis, the first group of 15 is comprised of the contestants with the lowest qualifying credentials, and the order of competition is random. The second group is comprised of the top 15 competitors from the previous venue (except San Antonio, which features the top 15 in the 2002 Jack Daniel's World Standings), and the top five-ranked contestants go last, with the other 10 competing in random order.
In the finals, the contestants compete in reverse qualification order, with the cowboy ranked 15th going first and the top-ranked cowboy going last.
Two-day event - In Austin, the first performance is a qualifying round, with the top five advancing to the second night. The second night features 35 contestants, with 20 contestants competing in the first section. The breakdown of contestants for the qualifying round and the semifinal and final rounds are basically the same as the one-day performance. The contestants are divided into two groups, based on their qualification credentials, and the 15 with the "lowest" qualifying credentials are in the first group. The second day of competition is exactly like the one-day performance, except the first group has 20 contestants rather than 15.

Prize money
The purse for each Xtreme Bulls stop is $75,000, with the exception of Austin that has a $96,250 purse. The purse for the championship will be announced later.
Everyone competing in the Tour stop will receive money; however, only the earnings of cowboys who have a qualified ride may count toward the world standings.
Cowboys earn monies for how they place in both the semifinals and in the aggregate. The final payout is based on the aggregate placing, adding scores achieved in the semifinals and finals. For the two- performance venues, the monies earned in the qualification round will also count for the 2003 Jack Daniel's World Standings for bull riding, but the scores will not carry over to the second performance.
Semifinal rounds. If the number of qualified rides does not equal the number of places paid, that money will be distributed based on longest completed ride times.
Aggregate. The pay-off is first paid based on the best two combined scores and then follows a pre-determined formula.

Payout
Aggregate. A total of $50,000 is paid out in the aggregate.

• 1. $25,000
• 2. $10,000
• 3. $5,000
• 4. $3,000
• 5. $2,000
• 6.-10. $750
• 11.-15. $250

Semifinal round. A total of $25,000 is paid out in the semifinal round. Each 15-contestant section pays the amounts listed below.

• 1. $3,000
• 2. $2,500
• 3. $2,000
• 4. $1,500
• 5. $1,000
• 6.-15. $250

Qualifying round (two-day events only).
$21,250, total (including day money). The semis, finals and aggregate pay the top four places. The top five contestants in the aggregate advance to the second day. The total purse breaks down into $19,000, which is broken down further below, and a pool of $2,250 that is divided equally among all contestants who make qualified rides in the semifinals. This is call "day money" and also counts for the 2003 Jack Daniel's World Standings.

Breakdown of the $19,000
Semifinal round purse allocation: 25 percent of the total purse or $4,750
Final round, 25 percent or $4,750
Aggregate, 50 percent or $9,500.

Tour stop champion
The Tour stop champion is the cowboy who has the highest score on two bulls.

Tour standings
Xtreme Bulls has its own standings, based on the Tour stop results. The monies won through Xtreme Bulls also count toward the Jack Daniel's World Standings, but do not count in the all-around or circuit standings.

Stock
Approximately 55 bulls per performance
An award for the best bull will be presented at each Tour stop. If there is a tie, the tiebreaker is the bull with the fastest buck-off time. An annual award, based on a bull's total combined points from the year, will also be given.

Miscellaneous
The stops on the bull riding tour may count toward a cowboy's limit of 75 competitions that count toward the world standings. Each cowboy can determine if it will count or not, and this must be designated at the time of entry. The Xtreme Bulls stops are held in conjunction with existing rodeos. If a bull rider competes in that rodeo, he may or may not designate that rodeo; it is totally separate from the Tour stop. For example, if a bull rider enters the Tour stop in Houston and RodeoHouston, it would count as two rodeos toward the 75 rodeo-cap that counts toward the world standings -- if he has so designated those rodeos at the time of entry.

The Tour monies do not count for the all-around world title race or for circuit standings.
The PRCA Bull Riding Tour is a wholly owned, but independent subsidiary of the Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association.