Nashville, Tenn. (TN Tribune)–In 2022, the sports world is being introduced to a new league – PBR Team Series – as the PBR (Professional Bull Riders) transforms bull riding from an individual event into one where riders compete on teams. The league is made of eight founding teams, including Nashville’s first-ever professional bull riding team, the Nashville Stampede, who will debut in the Volunteer State Aug. 19-21 when they host their inaugural homestand, Stampede Days, at Bridgestone Arena.
The Nashville Stampede are led by Head Coach and two-time PBR World Champion Justin McBride. Their talent-packed roster includes first-round draft pick and 2018 PBR World Champion Kaique Pacheco, along with three-time PBR World Champion Silvano Alves. The contingent also includes 12-time PBR World Finals qualifier Ryan Dirteater, who emerged from retirement to compete in the PBR Team Series, and MMA fighter-turned bull rider Dustin Ortiz, who resides in nearby Franklin and is a member of the team’s practice squad.
The flow of competition in the PBR Team Series is simple.
Throughout the regular season, each team will compete at 10 events, playing in 28 games, all leading up to a Championship in early November in Las Vegas. Each of the eight founding teams will host a three-day home event, while also competing in two neutral site events. During each event day, each team will compete in one five-on-five bull riding game. The game winner will be the team with the top aggregate score.
The Nashville Stampede will hold the second of eight team-hosted homestands. The season got underway July 25-26 with the first neutral site event in Cheyenne, Wyoming, followed by the Kansas City Outlaws’ hometown debut Aug. 5-7, with the most recent event being the final neutral site event in Anaheim, California, on Aug. 12-13.
Through the first three events, the Nashville Stampede are currently sixth in the regular season standings, having gone 2-5 in game play, amassing 12 bonus round points.
The bull riding action for the 2022 PBR Stampede Days begins at 7:45 p.m. CDT on Friday, August 19, 6:45 p.m. CT on Saturday, August 20, and 12:15 p.m. on Sunday, August 21.