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This Is Not A Rodeo, the declaration that marks the opening of every Professional Bull Riders event. A simple statement that summarizes the mission of the 20 bull riders who parted ways with Rodeo in 1992 to start a bull riding league of their own. No longer would the men that considered themselves the true stars of Rodeo share the spotlight, and more importantly, prize money, with inferior Rodeo contestants. Steadfast in their confidence, each man was willing to part with $1, 000 of his own money to make bull riding a stand-alone sport. A seemingly modest investment, but for Rodeo athletes of that era, this was a giant leap of faith. From their $20,000, the Professional Bull Riders, or PBR, was born. An organization that is now among the fastest growing in all of sports. In 2007 the PBR merged with a New York based capital group for a sum approaching $100 million, thus culminating one of the great American success stories in recent history. Like any worthwhile story, this one is not without conflict and even tragedy along the path to ultimate glory. These visionary cowboys have boldly transformed this uniquely American sport into and international phenomenon. Their success can be attributed to the shared code they lived by, and ultimate belief in the very sport at which they have struggled to make their living. In reality, bull riders fail more often than they succeed, and perform under the pressure of knowing that each ride may be their last. They have faced that danger and every other challenge in life with a brand of bravery that has come to define them and their sport. With personalities and stories that are wilder than fiction, fate has made this band of bull riding brothers richer than fiction would have them. "This Is Not A Rodeo" is a modern cowboy story.
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