If you watch the 2020 Professional Bull Riders World Finals in Arlington, Texas, you might see a couple Lima athletes. Not any riders, but two bulls named Sugar Boom Boom and The Undertaker, hailing from Cornwell Bucking Bulls in Lima.
'That’s pretty exciting, that’s kind of a dream," said Justin Cornwell, owner of the bulls. "And where anybody that owns bulls that’s where you want to be."
Sugar Boom Boom is the veteran. The six year old bull, ranked 97 in the world by PBR, is making his second finals appearance. The Undertaker, just four years old and ranked 168, will make his first trip to the finals.
"Last year he bucked twice at the finals," said Cornwell. "And Jose Leme, who’s currently the number one in the world, was 89.5 on him. And then he threw off Brady Sims on Sunday."
The livestock director has chosen these two to join 98 other bulls at the finals.
The bulls are judged on how difficult they are to ride. Judges grade riders on their control, but only receive a score if they aren’t bucked off in under 8 seconds.
"We really want to see those bulls do what they call blowout, where they really arch and then follow it with a kick," Cornwell said. "And then we call it turning back when they spin. It’s that centrifugal force that helps throw the guy off."
Cornwell is preparing his bulls like he has all season, jogging them at least twice a day.
"We exercise them," said Cornwell. "We feed them a special diet that has different vitamins and minerals in them, unlike you would feed a beef cow. We want them really lean and muscled up. We don’t want any fat on them."
The PBR won’t only crown a riding champion, but a world champion bull as well. The PBR World Finals can be watched Nov. 12 through Nov. 15 on the CBS Sports Network.
