THE AELEC will hold a record crowd tonight as seating sells out early for the fourth annual Professional Bull Riders Tamworth Invitational.
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There will be standing room only and that is exactly the way that announcer Matt West likes it.
West will join forces with entertainer Matt Merritt for the fourth time tonight to take the crowd through the rodeo blow by blow with a fair dose of American humour thrown in.
The PBR is less of a rodeo and more a full blown entertainment show, except the bulls are real and very hard to choreograph.
This year the top ranked bull is War Chief, one of the meanest in Australia.
The John Gill and Son-bred bull has only been ridden once and never in the PBR, even though it has been in the championship round every time.
American duo Matt Triplet and Jory Marcus are also on the Australian Series Cup leg, along with Canadian Brock Radford.
The foreign raiders are using the Australian leg to earn points and get an early start towards making the Ford Built Tough series, effectively the 35 best cowboys in the world.
The 23-year-old Triplett has drawn to ride first today on the back of Bluedog Time Warrior, but will not feel any pressure going first after the season he has had.
The Montana bullrider has been pro for two years and made the World Championships in Las Vega twice.
Last year he finished third and is determined to go two spots better.
“I have had a look at some footage of the bulls and they look good,” Triplet said.
“Plenty of points in them.
Canadian rookie Radford also likes the bulls he has drawn with Flying Feathers and Maximum Rat.
“The bulls are smaller here but they are quicker and more agile,” Radford said.
His goal for the season is to hit the finals with so many points that nobody could mathematically catch him.
A big ask in stiff company that includes a few Aussies and locals.
Tamworth’s Riley Gibson will ride, as will Attunga cowboy Clint Glass.
Uralla’s Chris Lowe will also get on board West Texas Crude in the first round, a bull that caused troubles in last year’s Tamworth Invitational.
David Kennedy, Lachlan and David Mason are touted as two of the Aussie’s best.
Mason winning the Troy Dunn Invitational last weekend.
Australian PBR general manager Glen Young is excited at the depth of Australian cowboys at the moment.
“There are so many just waiting to kick that one goal to get started,” Mason said.
Maybe that goal will be kicked tonight with doors opening at 5.30pm. The cowboys will do two full rounds before the top eight rider will go into the championship round.
Standing tickets are $30.