PBR Announces Ouncie Mitchell Memorial Bull Riding Events To Benefit Family Of Fallen Bull Rider
2023 Season-opening Velocity Tour event at Cowtown Coliseum headlines a day of competition and fundraising
FORT WORTH, TEXAS (October 11, 2022) – PBR (Professional Bull Riders) has announced a special day of Western sports and fundraising, headlined by the PBR Ouncie Mitchell Memorial Bull Riding, a marquee Pendleton Whisky Velocity Tour event at Cowtown Coliseum on Nov. 19 in Fort Worth supporting A’nyla Allen, the 4-year-old daughter of PBR Bull Rider Ouncie Mitchell, who passed away in September.
The PBR Velocity Tour will open its 2023 season at Cowtown Coliseum with the PBR Ouncie Mitchell Memorial Bull Riding at 7:30 p.m. CT – an event anticipated to draw many of the sport’s top riders.
Earlier in the day, a Bill Pickett Invitational Rodeo event will take place at noon before a Bulls Gone Wild bull-fighting competition takes over the iconic venue at 3:30 p.m. Both events will also contribute to the fund established for A’nyla Allen in addition to a live and silent Auction through the day.
“The tragic passing of Ouncie Mitchell has devastated his family, friends, and everyone in our sport who knew and loved this big-hearted cowboy with a kind and gentle demeanor,” said Sean Gleason, CEO, PBR. “We are thankful for our partnership with Cowtown Coliseum and Bill Pickett Invitational Rodeo to hold these events in his memory, and grateful to the participating bull rider and bull fighter athletes who are helping support Ouncie’s daughter A’nyla.”
“Ouncie Mitchell was a rider and personality beloved in the Bill Pickett Invitational Rodeo, and our ties are even deeper with his dad, Teaspoon fighting bulls in our events,” said Valeria Howard-Cunningham, President of the Bill Pickett Invitational Rodeo. “We are honored to create a rodeo in Ouncie’s name at an iconic venue he respected and loved, to remember our dear friend and support his daughter.”
Ouncie Mitchell competed in PBR Unleash The Beast events beginning in 2019, the year he qualified for the PBR World Finals as a Wild Card winner at the Velocity Tour Finals despite a broken leg earlier that season.
Most recently in 2022, Ouncie was pushing to qualify for his first Wrangler National Finals Rodeo. Just days before his passing, he won the bull riding competition at the Tri-State Rodeo in Fort Madison, Iowa, with an 87.5-point ride. He was ranked No. 23 in the PRCA’s bull riding standings and second in the rodeo association’s Rookie of the Year bull riding standings.
Tickets for these events on Nov. 19 are available at AXS.com or the Cowtown Coliseum Box Office:
- Bill Pickett Invitational Rodeo (12 p.m.)
https://www.axs.com/events/450679/bill-pickett-invitational-rodeo-tickets
- Bulls Gone Wild (3:30 p.m.)
https://www.axs.com/events/450680/bulls-gone-wild-tickets
- PBR Pendleton Whisky Velocity Tour (7:30 p.m.)
https://www.axs.com/events/450681/pendleton-whisky-velocity-tour-tickets
About PBR (Professional Bull Riders):
PBR is the world’s premier bull riding organization. More than 500 bull riders compete in more than 200 events annually across the televised PBR Unleash The Beast tour (UTB), which features the top bull riders in the world; the PBR Pendleton Whisky Velocity Tour (PWVT); the PBR Touring Pro Division (TPD); and the PBR’s international circuits in Australia, Brazil, Canada and Mexico. In 2022, PBR launched the PBR Team Series—eight teams of the world’s best bull riders competing for a new championship—as well as the PBR Challenger Series with more than 60 annual events nationwide. The organization’s digital assets include PBR RidePass on Pluto TV, which is home to Western sports. PBR is a subsidiary of Endeavor, a global sports and entertainment company. For more information, visit PBR.com, or follow on Facebook at Facebook.com/PBR, Twitter at Twitter.com/PBR, and YouTube at YouTube.com/PBR.
About the PBR (Professional Bull Riders) Pendleton Whisky Velocity Tour:
The PBR’s Pendleton Whisky Velocity Tour (PWVT) began in 2014 as the premier expansion tour for the PBR. The Velocity Tour, the sport’s fastest-growing tour, brings the excitement and top-levels of cowboy and bovine talent that fans have come to expect from the sport to cities across the United States. The PWVT is proudly supported by Pendleton Whisky, Audacious Wreck Relief, Boot Barn, Cooper Tires, Fram-Autolite, Kubota, Nexgrill, Rank 45, South Point Hotel & Casino, TAAT, TicketSmarter, Tractor Supply, Union Home Mortgage, the United States Border Patrol, and Zip Recruiter. Every Velocity Tour event is carried on PBR RidePass on Pluto TV, PBR’s flagship digital network.
About Bill Pickett Invitational Rodeo (BPIR)
In 1977, during Wyoming’s Cheyenne Frontier Days, Lu Vason, a leader in the entertainment community, noted the absence of Black cowboys and cowgirls participating that day. Vason would research and found thousands of Black Cowboys and Cowgirls across the country lacking the opportunity to showcase their talents. In 1985, Vason believed the time had come to uncover the cultural past of the Black Cowboy, and he created an all-Black rodeo association named after the legendary Black cowboy, Bill Pickett, who had originated the rodeo event called “bulldogging’. After Vason’s passing in 2015, his wife, Valeria Howard-Cunningham, began working to keep the legacy alive and continue promoting a first-class African American rodeo tour for Black Cowboys/Cowgirls and their communities. Fueled by these principles, the Bill Pickett Invitation Rodeo is entering its 39th year of educating, entertaining and connecting communities across the US as the “Greatest Show on Dirt”.
For more information, contact:
Andrew Giangola – andrew.giangola@img.com – 646-871-2402