Entertainment News

Six of the world’s Top 30 bull riders will travel to Australia as part of an eleven man contingent, to compete in this month’s Professional Bull Riders (PBR) Brendon Clark Invitational, it was announced today.

The competition pits the world’s best international bull riders against 30 of Australia’s greatest, including event patron, Morpeth boy Brendon Clark (ranked 22 in the world) who returns from the U.S. to compete in his inaugural signature event.

One of the richest bull rides in Australia, the debut PBR Brendon Clark Invitational, at the Newcastle Entertainment Centre Friday May 30 and Saturday May 31, matches the cream of the world’s riders from nations such as the USA, Canada, Mexico and Brazil, against our finest bull riding athletes.

Led by Brazilian sensation Valdiron de Oliveira, currently ranked number three in the world, the international contingent has its work cut out, not only against Australia’s bravest young riders but also against our explosive bovine powerhouses. This is Australia versus the Rest of the World and man versus beast, right here in our own back yard.

So who are these foreign invaders? The aforementioned Brazilian gun, Oliveira, has rocketed through the rankings since making his PBR debut in 2007. He was part of the Brazilian team that took home the inaugural PBR World Cup held on the Gold Coast in June last year and has continued that brilliant form throughout 2008, picking up two wins and four top five finishes already in the U.S. Built Ford Tough Series.

Heading the U.S. riders’ list is eleventh-ranked “Cool Hand” Luke Snyder. Known as the true iron man of the sport, Snyder holds the record for most consecutive events attended in a PBR career, with 216. In nine years with the PBR, 25-year-old Snyder has amassed more than $1m in prize money and comes into the PBR Brendon Clark Invitational in blistering form, having just scored his first victory since 2005 in the U.S. Built Ford Tough Series.

Snyder will have as his lieutenant 20-year-old North Carolina young gun, Brian Canter. Currently ranked 16th in the world this diminutive southpaw has exploded through the U.S. PBR ranks with a combination of style, skill and youthful courage. Standing a mere 164cm and weighing it at just 53kg, Canter is never-the-less a genuine heavyweight contender once the chute opens and the dirt starts to fly.

Serious injuries are something that every PBR rider learns to live with and none more so than thumbless Mexican bull rider Rocky McDonald. Ranked at 51 in the world, this 28-year-old veteran of the sport has fought back from two major head traumas and now always dons a helmet before mounting his bull. McDonald, whose mid-level ranking this season is due to injury and belies his amazing skill, incredibly manages to tackle the massive beasts even though just two years ago he lost the thumb on his riding hand in a roping accident!

Three more Americans who definitely have all their digits in place are Shane Proctor, McKennon Wimberly and Pistol Robinson. This trio of bovine battling warriors are all highly ranked, consistent performers on the U.S. PBR circuit. The brethren rounding out the U.S. contingent are Amish bull rider Willy Ropp and devout Christian Kolt Donaldson.

Adding to the international flavour of the event is Brazilian Arnobio Ferreira Neto and Canadian Tyler Pankewitz. Born just outside the sprawling Brazilian metropolis of Sao Paulo, Ferreira is a Top 80 ranked rider who will have just turned 23 ahead of arriving Newcastle.

Tyler Pankewitz is the only Canadian making the trip down under but is a serious contender for the PBR Brendon Clark Invitational title. Ranked at 31, Pankewitz tied for first place in the 2007 PBR Canadian National Championship.

“We’ve got six of the world’s top 30 bull riders and the best Aussies,” said Brendon Clark. “This is the level of competition that’s finally happening for the sport of bull riding in Australia and it’s only going to get better.

“It’s good for us as riders, good for the sport in Australia, but it’s the best news for the fans who can expect the same action as the fans in the U.S. get,” he said.

“It’s going to be one hell of a weekend!”

On May 30 “First-blood Friday” of the two-night PBR Brendon Clark Invitational sees ten of the world’s top international bull riders go head to head against local heroes in a team Australia vs Rest of the World format.

Each of the 20 riders buck-out twice and the combined scores, tallied, determine which team takes the win.

Adam Harvey performs and gets dirt-deep in the action, heading behind the chutes as guest commentator.

The action continues on Saturday (May 31) in a last-man-standing battle for the coveted Champion’s buckle and a swag of prize money.

Ten of the international bull riders and 30 of Australia’s best, compete one-one-one, man against beast, in an individual format battled out one ride each in the first round (bucked over three sections), with the top ten progressing to the Championship round.

The highest scorer will take the PBR Brendon Clark Invitational title.

Across Friday May 30 and Saturday May 31 the PBR Brendon Clark Invitational is at Newcastle’s Entertainment Centre.

Tickets are on sale now from www.ticketek.com.au or 132 849.