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Brant Atwood grew up in the town of Pampa, TX, where oil, cattle, and grain contribute to most of the town’s economy. One can imagine how easy it was for a young boy, who watched his two older cousins traveling and making new friends in the field of bull riding, to be persuaded into loading up and hitting the rodeo trail. It was 1997, and at 11 years old, Atwood started riding bulls at a small junior rodeo series put on by rancher and stock contractor Joe Merrick and family. The series was called Rough Riders and it provided a way for kids like Brant Atwood to better themselves in rodeo, and maybe even in life. It was a program that allowed kids to congregate with family and friends and have fun. Now Atwood has a career as a Professional bull rider. When asked how and why he got into riding bulls, Brant unabashedly gave the credit to his cousins, Curtis and Cody Atwood, as the two driving forces that helped him start his bull riding career.  

Atwood has come a long way since 1997; he has accomplished things few bull riders ever have. After working his way up through all of the ranks of Junior Rodeo, Atwood, while still in high school competed in amateur rodeo in associations like the Texas Cowboy Rodeo Association and the New Mexico Rodeo Association. In 2010, he decided to see how well he would do at the professional level. From this writer’s perspective, I think it’s safe to say he has done alright.

Brant has competed in the 2013 PBR World Finals, won the 2012 All-American PRCA Finals, and was also the Reserve Texas Circuit Finals Champion in 2012. Atwood missed out on the 2016 PBR World Finals by 6 spots. He currently competes in the Real Time Pain Relief Velocity tour and hopes to gain enough points to compete in the 2017 PBR tour.

The Built Ford Tough Tour is the highest level of competition in the PBR. The top 45 bull riders go on tour and compete in televised weekly events for the number one position in bull riding and the chance to compete in the PBR Finals in Las Vegas.

But how do you get on the Built Ford Tough tour?

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Bullfighting in America has grown to be a very competitive event; gaining notoriety in the sport is a bullfighter’s hardest endeavor. Unlike the matador bullfighting in Spain, bullfighting in America is solely based on preventing bull riders from being injured after the eight-second whistle. Getting new bullfighting jobs is challenging because most rodeo committees book their bullfighters and stock contractors years in advance, some committees even book on two-year or five-year contracts. So, getting your foot in the door takes a significant amount of time, promotion, and relationship building.

In November of 2016, Real Time Pain Relief became the head sponsor of the Real Time Pain Relief Velocity Tour, and we will be writing a few articles that highlight people on our team who have inspirational stories to share. Join us as we meet Lucas Teodoro, the first Brazilian bullfighter to take the plunge and come to the United States to follow his dreams of becoming one of the best bullfighters in America and fighting on the Built Ford Tough Tour.

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Photo Credit: Andre Silva, you can follow him or contact him on facebook

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.