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Bull-riding cowboys right at home in Rabobank Arena
| Thursday, May 10 2007 10:18 AM
Last Updated: Wednesday, May 9 2007 8:02 PM
Bull riding and Bakersfield -- with its country heritage -- go together like love and marriage, love and marriage, not to mention a horse and carriage.
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So it's lucky that no fewer than 84 brave souls will ride bulls Friday and Saturday at Rabobank Arena as part of the Bakersfield Professional Bull Riders Enterprise Rent-A-Car Tour.
(For the record, bull riding and car rentals don't usually go together like a horse and carriage, but that's another story for another time.)
Chris Shivers, two-time PBR world champion, talked to The Californian recently and said each of the two shows should be "21/2 hours of non-stop excitement" with plenty of action, comedy and, of course, "blood and guts."
Shivers knows a little about the latter two things, as he is getting over a potentially disastrous injury from a bull ride in Honolulu last November. He broke a leg, literally.
Shivers is a true cowboy, considering that when he talked to The Californian from his cell phone mooing could be heard in the background. He was herding cattle at the time.
Need another reason to verify that he's a cowboy? He said his son's first name is Christopher, but Shivers and his wife call their son by his middle name: Brand.
Shivers will ride Saturday,and promised to sign autographs in the concourse before the show.
Shivers is only 28, but is one of the biggest stars in competitive bull riding, having:
* tied for the highest-marked ride in PBR history with a 96.5;
* become the first bull rider in PBR history to win more than $300,000 in a single season; and
* won more than $3 million in prize money, the most in PBR history.
Guilherme Marchi also called The Californian from his home in Texas to talk about his Friday ride in Bakersfield.
Marchi, known as "Hollywood," grew up in Brazil, where bull riding is the second-most popular sport, said Mark Nestlen, president of Cowboy Sports Agents.
Marchi said he was thrilled that this PBR season opened at Madison Square Garden, another place more used to Bulls riding over the Knicks than bull riding.
Bakersfield Professional Bull Riders Enterprise Rent-A-Car Tour
When: 8 p.m. Friday and Saturday
Where: Rabobank Arena
How much: $15 to $65, available at ticketmaster.com, or call 322-2525