While it’s definitely not our first rodeo, it is our first PBR. Fort Worth is hosting the World Finals for the Professional Bull Riders Association for the first time in history Friday thru Sun, May 23. (Suck it, Vegas!) This fact means that there are tons of bull-oriented events this week and next, including the ones below.
Thursday May 12, 2022
If you’ve been meaning to check out the National Cowgirl Museum and Hall of Fame (1720 Gendry St, 817-336-4475), you might want to sneak in before the PBR world descends upon us. The museum is open 10am-5pm today (and every Tue-Sat) and noon-5pm Sun. The women honored in the Hall of Fame — 243 in all — include actress/icon Dale Evans, writer Laura Ingalls Wilder, Nacona Boot Company founder Enid Justin, sharpshooter Annie Oakley, U.S. Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O’Conner, painter Georgia O’Keeffe, and Lewis and Clark’s principal guide Sacagawea, to name a few. Tickets are $12 at Cowgirl.net.
Friday May 13, 2022
Beyond the bulls, the PBR is bringing a slew of concerts with them in the next two weeks. Opening the festivities is North Texas’ own neo-C&W crooner Charley Crockett playing Will Rogers Memorial Center (3401 W Lancaster Av, 817-392-7469) at 8:30pm. Tickets start at $36 at Ticketmaster.com. (For info on more PRB concerts, see this week’s Crosstown Sounds at FWWeekly.com.) Also, the Bill Pickett Invitational Rodeo is 7pm Fri, and 1:30pm or 7pm Sat, at Cowtown Coliseum (121 E Exchange Av, 817-625-1025). Tickets are $25-55 at JimAustinOnline.com, with a portion of the proceeds benefiting the National Multicultural Western Heritage Museum (2029 N Main St, 817-922-9999).
Saturday May 14, 2022
Kicking off each weekend is the PBR Parade of Champions at 11:35am today (and next Saturday) in the Stockyards (131 E Exchange Av, 800-433-5747). Along with its other programming, the PBR is launching its newly created family-friendly Cowboy Experience and Expo. This showcase of the sport’s history and the Western way of life via interactive exhibits is happening 10am-6pm Mon-Sat and 10am-1pm Sun thru Sun, May 22, at the Simmons Bank Pavilion outside Dickies Arena (1911 Montgomery St, 817-402-9000). The parade, experience, and expo, as well as the Tractor Supply pre-shows, are all free to attend.
Sunday May 15, 2022
Another free PBR event is the National Barrel Horse Association’s Fort Worth Super Showcase at 9am at Cowtown Coliseum (121 E Exchange Av, 817-625-1025). “We’re honored to work alongside the PBR to produce this featured barrel racing event as part of the PBR World Finals in Fort Worth, Texas,” said NBHA director Bailey Nahrgang. “Fort Worth is home to the NBHA office, so it’s a very special opportunity to do what we love in our home state.”
Monday May 16, 2022
Described by the PBR as the “richest women’s rodeo event,” the 2022 Women’s Rodeo World Championship at 4pm today and 7:30pm Tue-Wed features women in four disciplines vying for a $750,000 purse paid out across the three days. Attendee tickets are $20-40 at eTix.com. To learn about the competitors, visit PBR.com/news.
Tuesday May 17, 2022
If you are taking a lot of photos at the PBR this week, you might enjoy learning about the lost art of developing your own film. As part of the 2022 Fort Worth Foto Fest going on Friday thru Sat, May 21, you can take the Developing Film class taught by D. Anson Brody at Fort Worth Camera (6483 Camp Bowie Blvd, 817-335-3456) 11am-12:30pm today. Tickets are $25 at EventBrite.com. Then at 7pm, head to Downtown Cowtown at the Isis Theater (2401 N Main St, 817-808-6390) for the Fort Worth Foto Fest Texas Short Film Showcase. Tickets are $10 at EventBrite.com.
Image courtesy Wikipedia.
The Main Event
The event that is central to everything above is, of course, the actual 2022 Professional Bull Riders Association World Finals. With a theme of “Unleash the Beast,” this year’s finals will take place at Dickies Arena (1911 Montgomery St, 817-402-9000) 7:45pm Fri-Sat and 1:45pm Sun, then 7:45pm Thu-Sat, May 19-21, and 8:45am Sun, May 22.
For the “toughest eight seconds in sports,” the PBR pits the most rugged riders against the baddest bulls. “Each two-day stop kicks off with pyrotechnics. The riders themselves quickly outdo the explosions and flames — 35 matchups divided into three rounds of dirt-flinging, arm-flailing, and fierce performances by all of the athletes in the arena, human and animal alike. Unleash the Beast brings 750 tons of dirt, 65 tons of steer, and 25 tons of steel. Each rider faces all of that weight as he competes to qualify for the PBR World Finals, where the winner will walk away with $1 million and the coveted gold belt buckle.”
Between rounds, see well-known rodeo clown Flint Rasmussen cut through the tension with his unique brand of humor. If you’d like to meet Rasmussen, stop by Flint Rasmussen’s Outside the Barrel Fri-Sat, then Thu-Fri, May 19-20, at the Simmons Bank Pavilion at Dickies Arena.
PBR Finals tickets are $46-287 per day. There are also VIP options starting at $476.
