Bushwacker, the "baddest, most muscular bucking bull" in PBR, is retiring this year, and this week's Built Ford Tough World Finals "is the bull's swan song," according to Alan Snel of the LAS VEGAS REVIEW-JOURNAL. The 8-year-old bull's owner, Julio Moreno, said, "PBR has put him out there, and they're marketing him good ... He's a fan favorite. He's more of a favorite than the cowboys. He's put the PBR on the map." Moreno places Bushwacker’s value at $2M and said that he "turned down an $800,000 offer a few years ago." PBR Chair & CEO Jim Haworth said that ticket sales are "expected to jump" 10% at the World Finals "because of Bushwacker’s last appearance." Haworth said, "Bushwacker has been a rock star and has given us an opportunity to sell merchandise and tickets." Haworth added that TV ratings of PBR events with Bushwacker as the drawing card are up 20% this year and that T-shirt sales have increased 40% "thanks to the star bull." PBR rider Flint Rasmussen said, “He’s probably the most popular athlete we’ve had in the PBR. We introduce him as a celebrity and people stand up and go crazy" (
LAS VEGAS REVIEW-JOURNAL, 10/21). In Las Vegas, Ray Brewer wrote Bushwacker is "the most iconic figure in PBR history." While the PBR riders "aren't mainstream, Bushwacker has gained national media exposure." The bull was featured in SI and "was included in last year's body issue" for ESPN The Magazine. The bull also "was featured in Newsweek" this month. PBR VP & Dir of Livestock Cody Lambert said, "He is our biggest star and our most famous athlete, albeit a four-legged athlete" (
LAS VEGAS SUN, 10/19).
