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Young Gun Henry Triumphs In Ingham

10/12/2010

TOYO TIRES PBR CHALLENGER SERIES INGHAM

SATURDAY, OCTOBER 9, 2010

Ebor young gun Tom Henry claimed his first ever PBR victory in Saturday night’s Toyo Tires Professional Bull Riders (PBR) Challenger Event in Ingham.

A crowd of 1500 north Queenslanders braved the damp conditions at the Ingham Show Grounds to cheer on Australia’s toughest athletes. With all the big names of Australian bull riding on show, twenty-year-old Tom Henry seized the opportunity to impress the judges with two sensational rides.

Henry finished the long round trailing Queensland veterans Jock Connolly and Grant Wells by two points. However, it was Uralla’s Chris Lowe who began the championship round with his second high scoring ride, taking the lead and putting the pressure well and truly on Henry.

The young cowboy proved himself to be up to the challenge and responded with one of the best rides of the evening – scoring 87.5 points on Ross Beak’s new brindle bull, Oscar. Henry, however, was unaware he had been awarded an event winning score as he had taken a blow to the head during the ride and had to be escorted from the arena.

Upon regaining his composure, Henry celebrated his win and was ecstatic about receiving his first ever PBR event trophy buckle. “It feels great to finally win one, I have been trying for a long time and have had to deal with a lot of injuries. It was an amazing feeling to finally get over the line,” he said.

Boulia’s Grant Wells placed second, after his second well-controlled ride and only narrowly missed winning the event. Townsville’s Jock Connolly placed an equal third with Chris Lowe after scoring 78 points on the last ride of the night. It was a wild ride aboard Ross Beak’s bull Hurricane that Jock and the Ingham crowd won’t forget.

Champion Kyogle bull rider David Kennedy did not compete over the weekend, yet still managed to hold onto top spot of the 2010 Australian Season Standings table. With only two events left in Luddenham and Cunnamulla before the PBR National Finals in Tamworth, there are still a few determined riders within striking distance who are sure to challenge Kennedy for the prestigious title.

The bone-crunching action of the Professional Bull Riders excitement machine now rolls south for the PBR Challenger Series in Luddenham.

Tickets will sell fast for this event so sports fans are encouraged to pre-purchase their tickets to avoid disappointment.

With the nation’s fiercest beasts and the world’s toughest athletes combined with the wall-to-wall exhilaration of a PBR show, the PBR Challenger Series in Luddenham is one sporting event not to be missed.

This is not a rodeo – this is the mother of all extreme sports wrapped up in a rock concert atmosphere. This is the one and only PBR!

PBR Challenger Series Ingham Results:

PBR Australia Season Standings:

Luddenham Showgrounds, Cnr Park & Campbell St, Luddenham, NSW

Saturday, October 30, 2010

Gates open 12pm for Rum Runners Australia Ute Show. Bull Riding action from 7pm

Tickets at the gate: adults $25; children 5-16 years $15; family (2A/2C) $60

Presale tickets on sale from October 15 from: Gloria Jeans Nepean Square Penrith – 146 Station Street, Penrith; Gloria Jeans Camden – 1/130 Argyle Street, Camden; AA Safety & Workwear – 25 Northern Road, Luddenham

Professional Bull Riders, Inc. (PBR) was founded in 1992 by 20 accomplished bull riders who decided to develop bull riding – the most popular event in traditional rodeo – into a stand-alone sport.  Today more than 1,200 bull riders hold PBR memberships and compete in more than 300 PBR sanctioned competitions around the globe for a total prize pool exceeding US$13 million.

In November 2005, PBR announced their plans for worldwide expansion.  Since then, PBR has opened offices in Canada, Mexico, Australia and Brazil and is rolling out major live events in key cities in each of these countries.

PBR Australia was established a partnership between the PBR and Dainty Consolidated Entertainment (one of Australia’s major concert promoters) and immediately set about staging major bull riding events in key cities in Australia and New Zealand – kicking off with the inaugural PBR World Cup on the Gold Coast in 2007. 

Due to the high demand for more bull riding across Australia, PBR has now established the PBR Challenger Series as a feeder into the Australian premier league of bull riding – the Bundaberg Rum PBR Touring Pro.  Prize money won at these events will allow riders to qualify for PBR Cup Events in Australia, and to the annual PBR World Finals in Las Vegas. So the Professional Bull Riders offer a genuine pathway for Australian bull riders to earn substantial prize money in Australia and to compete on the world stage.