TRI-CITIES, Wash. — For three years, Professional Bull Riding (PBR) has been bringing the competition to eastern Washington.
The event starts on Friday at 8:00 pm with Round 1 and then Round 2/Championship Round is Saturday at 7:00 pm.
With professional riders from around the world, the competition is two days of bull riding at the Toyota Center in Kennewick.
35 bull riders from Brazil, Canada, Guatemala and the US will be competing for the title. The layout, each rider will be riding bulls. The scores from the weekend will be totaled and the top ten advance to the championship round for another chance at the event title.
The biggest athletes considered to be contenders this year are Dakota Louis, Dawson Branton and Conner Halverson.
I had the opportunity to speak with Halverson before opening night and he says he’s ready to ride.
Halverson was raised in Gordon Nebraska where he started competing at the age of 8-years old with steers.
After riding the steers, he started watching bull riding videos and practicing in his down time. He was best known in high schools as the twice crowned champion bull rider during his junior and senior year at Gordon-Rushville High School.
He tells me he played football his freshman year of high school while also wrestling all four years.
In 2019, Halverson made his first PBR debut just a month after turning 18. He made his official debut at the Touring Pro Division in Brighton, Colorado.
In his third career event, Halverson began to get into the rhythm of being a professional bull rider and finished in fifth at the early August event in Sterling, CO.
Within a year, he had expanded his competition schedule, making his official debut at the Pendleton Whisky Velocity Tour. Eventually making seven appearances in the year.
The following year was one for the books for Halverson. He had his first ever PBR World qualification, ranking a career high of 35 in the world.
Afterwards, he had his first ever PBR event win under his belt in Sioux City, Iowa.
With the PBR Tri-Cities Classic officially here, Halverson is hoping he makes it back to PBR Worlds once again.
Derek Bevington from Chad Berger Bucking Bulls is in charge of making sure the bulls are healthy and ready to go for showtime.
He says they have to be on location a minimum of 5 hours before the event starts.
When it comes to arriving, they have to show up at least two days before. The bulls then rest for a full day, usually the day before the competition.
However in the off time, he’s making sure they stay healthy and get the exercise and nutrients they need.
You can find tickets to the event at the Toyota Center here or purchase them at the Toyota Center located on 7000 W Grandridge, Blvd Kennewick, WA 99336.
