Stephen Montoya
In essence, the sport of bull riding is based on a very simple premise. A rider holds on for dear life while an over 1,000-pound animal does its best to throw that rider off. We have all seen it, but not many people can say that have experienced it, and even fewer can say they were good at it. Thirty years ago, before the invention of the Professional Bull Riders (PBR), most would be bull-riding legends would have to start anew in the mid to later part of their lives post-career. It was for this very reason that bull riding legend and PBR co-founder Cody Lambert says the PBR was created.
“When I was growing up when you would go to the rodeo, the event of bull riding was always held to the last part,” Lambert opined. “They did it like this back then because it was the most exciting and fan-favorite part of the rodeo.”
Lambert says he and his cohorts thought they could present bull riding in a better way as an event unto itself. “Bull riders have the most dangerous job in rodeo, and they have the shortest careers in rodeo,” Lambert says. “This got us thinking about the young guys and how they can make the most of their careers.”
The way he remembers it, he and his peers didn’t like seeing their heroes go from the heights of their careers to not being able to find a job post-retirement. “Most of these guys spent their youth learning how to be great bull riders, so their skill sets were limited,” he says. “This was tough because when they couldn’t physically do it anymore, they had to start at the bottom doing something else and learn another trade.”
The irony in this, he says was highlighted by the fact that other professionals in various sports, who had devoted themselves to their craft for the same amount of time, had enough financial backing to help them move forward. “These athletes made more money, bottom line, and we wanted that and also to expose this sport to more people.”
Besides wanting to boost the money aspect and exposure of the sport of bull riding, Lambert is also known for being the creator of the protective vest that professional bull riders have been required to wear for many years, after witnessing the death of his friend, and rodeo legend Lane Frost at the Cheyenne Frontier Days rodeo in Cheyenne, Wyoming, on July 30, 1989.
A few years later the PBR was formed with its first-ever event taking place right here in Cowtown circa 1993. Today, the PBR is considered one of the most significant events in Western sports. In fact, the 2023 PBR World Finals are set to kick off at Dickies Arena this week, with a purse valued at over 2.7 million up for grabs. This event marks a full circle for Lambert who besides being the PBR co-founder is also its first-ever event winner.
“It’s an easy sport for fans to understand,” Lambert says as an explanation for PBR’s success. “It’s scary, it’s physical, and very hard to do.”
Stephen Montoya
The 2023 PBR World Finals Week is estimated to bring nearly two weeks of non-stop Western lifestyle programming to North Texas, with the crown jewel taking place at Dickies Arena May 12-14 with Rounds 1-3, followed by Rounds 4-7 and the Championship Round on May 18-21. Throughout the seven days, 40 of the world’s best bull riders will duke it out through eight rounds of competition as one of the most ferocious title races in PBR history concludes.
