In a landmark partnership between Teton Ridge and Professional Bull Riders, the two iconic Western lifestyle brands have announced a reunion between The American, the richest single-day rodeo in the world, and the premier bull riding league.
In 2022, the two leading properties will again team up to host the ultimate weekend in Western sports by bringing The American and the 2022 PBR Global Cup USA to Arlington and AT&T Stadium on March 5-6.
The American and PBR last united for a historic weekend of Western sports at AT&T Stadium in 2018. Throughout the weekend, PBR set a record for the highest-attended, single-day event in its league history, hosting more than 46,000 fans inside AT&T Stadium, a news release said.
The partnership with Professional Bull Riders follows Teton Ridge’s recent move to bring The American under the brand’s umbrella and elevate it to new levels in March 2022, including an unmatched total purse of more than $3 million, non-stop rodeo action, live music, entertainment and more.
“In just nine short years since its inception, The American payout earnings rival that of the Kentucky Derby,” said Teton Ridge Vice Chairman Randy Bernard. “This revolutionizing event is the first rodeo in the world that gives the underdog the opportunity to win more money in just one day than they could accumulate in a lifetime rodeoing. Reuniting with PBR will extend this already engaging iconic experience for fans into a great weekend showcasing athleticism and talent in western sports.”
“PBR is committed to transforming the western sports industry, and by partnering with Teton Ridge to reunite with The American, we will continue providing more competitive and high-earning opportunities for the industry’s hard-working athletes, and further reach new audiences by bringing them the cowboy culture in never-before-seen ways,” said Sean Gleason, CEO and Commissioner, PBR. “After the PBR Global Cup spotlights bull riding’s top riders from around the globe, rallying competitors and fans in the name of national pride, The American will culminate the high-adrenaline weekend by awarding life-changing prize money to dozens of cowboys and cowgirls. We envision bringing fans a weekend of western sports like never before.”
Over the course of qualifier events across the country, competitors for The American will be vying for what could be the biggest single-day paycheck of their careers.
Founded in 2014 and hosted annually at the home of the NFL’s Dallas Cowboys, The American is a true open competition in format. The high-profile event brings together top professional rodeo athletes and honest, hardworking cowboys and cowgirls in a winner-take-all showdown to crown the world’s finest champions, the news release said.
The American features competitors in all eight rodeo disciplines: barrel racing, breakaway roping, steer wrestling, team roping (heading and heeling), tie down roping, bareback riding, saddle bronc riding and bull riding. Each qualifier who makes it to the 2022 finals will be eligible for their discipline’s $100,000 prize money and will also have their shot at the bonus millions.
Teton Ridge also recently announced that for the first time in the event’s history, women’s breakaway ropers will also be eligible for the $2 million added bonus.
Regarded as the “Olympics of bull riding,” the 2022 PBR Global Cup USA will feature five nations and six teams battling it out for national pride and the title of “Toughest Nation on Dirt.” Teams from Australia, Brazil, Canada and Mexico will attempt to upset host nation Team USA, which will be represented by Team Eagles and all Native American Team Wolves.
The PBR Global Cup, first held in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada, in 2017, debuted in the United States in Texas at AT&T Stadium in 2019. Team USA made history at the most recent iteration of the event in 2020, becoming the first nation to win the international team event on home soil.
PBR has a decade-long history of events at AT&T Stadium, welcoming the Iron Cowboy Major from 2010-2018, before hosting the PBR Global Cup in 2019 and 2020, and the first-ever PBR World Finals held outside of Las Vegas in 2020.
Tickets for The American and 2022 PBR Global Cup USA go on sale Friday, Nov. 5 at 10 a.m. CDT. They can be purchased at the AT&T Stadium Box Office, online at https://attstadium.com/ or https://seatgeek.com/ or via phone to PBR Customer Service at (800) 732-1727.