SPORTS & RECREATION

The Professional Bull Riders Built Ford Tough Series consists of 31 regular-season events and the World Finals in Las Vegas. In two-day competitions, the top 45 bull riders each ride one bull the first night of competition and one bull the second night of competition. The 15 riders with the highest total score on two bulls qualify for a third round of competition that takes place after intermission on the second night. The overall event winner is the bull rider with the highest three-ride total. 

Leading the way into Music City will be home state favorite and Top 25 rider Cody Nance from Paris, Tenn.

Fans will witness thrilling 8-second rides and jaw-dropping wrecks throughout the adrenaline-soaked performance as the PBR’s insanely brave cowboys risk it all against monstrous animal athletes that can weigh as much as 2,000 pounds.

It will be the last chance for fans in Tennessee to watch two-time PBR World Champion Chris Shivers, who announced in February that he would retire at the end of the season. The 33 year old, who won the PBR World Championship I 2000 and 2003, was the first rider in PBR history to reach $1 million, $2 million, and $3 million, and he currently ranks third in career earnings with more than $3.9 million.

Competing for more than $125,000 in total prize money, each of the Top 35 riders in the world will ride on Friday and Saturday. Following Round 1 on Friday, the riders with the 10 highest cumulative scores will each compete with one more bull. Following Round 3 on Saturday, the riders with the 10 highest cumulative scores will advance to the Built Ford Tough Championship Round where they will compete with one more bull. The overall event winner will be the rider with the highest combined score from all four rounds, earning $30,000 for first place.

Nashville will be 23rd stop of the 2012 BFTS season, which opened on Jan. 6-8 with capacity crowds at Madison Square Garden in New York. The BFTS will make 28 stops in 23 states before the Built Ford Tough World Finals in Las Vegas on Oct. 24-28, 2012. The World Finals are where the PBR World Champion will be crowned and awarded the coveted championship buckle and a $1 million bonus. The richest bull riding event in the world, the World Finals has a total purse of more than $2 million.