J.W. Harris (PRCA Champ) And J.B. Mauney (PBR Champ) Go Head To Head
Photo Credit: www.pbr.com
When Professional Bull Riders Chairman and CEO Jim Haworth made the announcement earlier this year that there were going to be invitees joining the ranks of the top bull riders in the world it created a buzz that is still going on today. One of the most notable invitees that accepted the invitation was 4-time Professional Rodeo Cowboy Association Bull Riding World Champion J.W. Harris. Since Harris has come onto the scene he has put many of the top bull riders in the Professional Bull Riders organization on notice. He was given three events to crack into the top 35 in the PBR World Standings and that is exactly what he did and is a fixture on the Built Ford Tough Series Tour. Having the PRCA Champion as part of the PBR now brings up a lot of speculative questions that many fans of both professional rodeo and bull riding have been dying to find out. Which riders are better and which organization has the better animal athletes.
These questions as well as many others will be answered in just over a weeks time. The 4-time defending PRCA Bull Riding Champion J.W. Harris from Brownwood, Texas will go head to head with reigning PBR World Champion J.B. Mauney from Mooresville, North Carolina. The much anticipated match-up will take place on May 31st in Decatur, Texas as part of the J.W. Hart PBR Challenge with the winner taking home a cool $25,000 paycheck for their efforts.
The match-up’s for each cowboy are nothing to ignore either as the bull power for this legendary event will make both champions earn their money. 4-time PRCA Champion J.W. Harris will face the third highest ranked bull on the Built Ford Tough Series Tour based up points up to the point of the match-up, Shepherd Hills Tested. On the other side of the coin is the defending PBR World Champion J.B. Mauney who will face the number two ranked bull on tour, Asteroid.
This match-up may feel a little one sided to most as J.B. Mauney has successfully ridden both of these bucking bulls and J.W. Harris has yet to face either of these bovine athletes. Believe it or not, it is not as one sided as one may think. Remember J.B. Mauney has been battling a ton of injuries this year and is struggling with his riding percentage while J.W. Harris has made a huge impact since hanging around the PBR events. Harris has been on quite the hot streak as has recorded a top 5 finish as well as a top 10 finish in six events. Along with those stats remember that in only his second PBR Built Ford Tough Series event he recorded a second place finish as well. While J.W. Harris has stats like that J.B. is falling steadily down the ladder in the World Standings.
Jason and his Rodeo Round Up Team will have the unique opportunity to sit in on an one hour teleconference call with J.W. Harris, J.B. Mauney and J.W. Hart this Friday to get some of the questions answered that everyone is thinking and wants to know. Just a few questions that are set to be answered are:
How and why did J.W. Hart come up with this challenge?
What do they think about the challenge?
How do Harris and Mauney think they will fare?
What, if anything, do they think this challenge will do for the sport since it’s the first time that the PRCA and the PBR have formally met in a head-to-head competition?
If you have any questions that you would like answered feel free to leave a comment to this story, leave a comment on the Rodeo Round Up’s Facebook page here, or follow and comment on our twitter account @therodeoroundup. Questions must be received no later than 12 noon (CT) on Friday May 23, 2014. I am set to have my conference call time from 2 – 3 PM on Friday and will try to get all questions answered as well as have some quotes from all involved to let you all know exactly what they are thinking heading into this once in a lifetime match-up!
Check back to the Rodeo Round Up for a follow up story early next week before the much anticipated head to head competition happens live from Decatur, Texas as part of the J.W. Hart PBR Challenge May 31, 2014. You can catch live feeds from the event to see how everything unfolds in real time by following PBR.com and clicking on the direct link to the action here.
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