CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas — Buc Days has a carnival and a parade, but come this Friday night, everyone is talking PBR- the Professional Bull Riders Competition!
Our Madeline Salinas joined First Edition with one of those bull riders taking part in the Velocity Tour Finals at the highly anticipated event taking place the American Bank Center beginning at 7:30 p.m.
The bull riding ONLY event features some of the world’s best riders going head-to-head with bulls who were 'born to buck.' It’s a night of adrenaline-fueled battles you won’t forget, according to tour promoters.
L.J. Jenkins is a PBR stock contractor who helps take care of the animals who make the entire show possible. He says that the bull riders won't be the only athletes out on the stadium floor come showtime.
He introduced us to a bull by the name of 'Midnight Magic,' who is apparently one of the calmest, chillest animals in the business. Jenkins said that a common misconception is that the animals are angry and don't enjoy the job.
"You want the bull to perform to the best of his ability... there's a lot of respect. These animals are our pets, they get fed before we do."
Michael Lane, a North Carolina native, is one of the bull riders who is ready to participate in the action-packed night of competition that he says will keep YOU and your family on the edge of your seat.
"It's a little different for bull riders who grow up on the east coast, but being around the best guys in the world has helped me elevate myself."
Lane grew up as the PBR was being developed, and said he's been pursuing the sport ever since.
"That's where it all started with me, it went from sheep riding to junior bulls to high school rodeo then had a main focus on being a professional bull rider."
He said its those years of experience and fighting through injuries that have taught him the most.
"I think the biggest thing I take is- I sat out two years for surgeries and had never made a world finals," said Lane. "I bounced back in 2015 right after that to make my first Every World Final. So, it taught me so much, not only about how to handle my bullriding career but how to handle life as well.
A group of 35 riders will saddle up Friday and Saturday night, and Lane says that none of the riders know exactly what's going to happen when those gates open and the bulls start buckin'.