our sports: BULL RIDING
Benny Cude, CEO of CBR
The Man Behind The Bulls
BY MELISSA MOORMAN
PHOTO BY TODD BREWER PHOTOGRAPHY, All Rights Reserved
JANUARY 2016
PA R K E R C O U N T Y T O D AY
A
54
s Championship Bull Riding
(CBR) looks toward the launch
of the second half of its season on
January 16, CEO Benny Cude is
riding high on the success of his bulls
and his brand. Founded in 2002, The
CBR moved its corporate headquarters to Parker County and specifically
Weatherford’s downtown square last
January 13.
The event included 4X World
Champion Bull Rider, Tuff Hedeman,
along with CEO Benny Cude and
President Carl Wilburn along with
local Parker County Sheriff Larry
Fowler. The men cut the ribbon on
a new era for the CBR, one of the
nation’s top professional sports organizations. The move to Weatherford
has been a good one for the CBR.
“We are a grass roots western organization and Weatherford is a great
place. A great Western atmosphere,
the people are our kind of people.
The NCHA has a big presence there
and we felt like we could improve
our organization by moving to
Weatherford,” said Cude.
The organization is looking at
ways to grow in the future. Most of
the current tour locations are in the
southwest and western part of the
country. According to Cude, “We
are looking at a bigger footprint on
the east coast, the north and parts
of the Midwest, either through alliances with existing promoters or
we produce and promote our own
events.” The CBR is run by a small
staff working hard to put together
all of the events on the yearly tour.
“It takes about 25 people to run our
organization, 20 are contractors and
the rest are full time employees. Our
team is the best in the business. They
know what they are doing, effective
at problem solving, and are team
players. They will not accept losing
and they win all the way,” said Cude.
The CBR has changed since its
inception over a decade ago according
to Cude, “Over the years we’ve
gone from a non-televised tour to
a nationwide tour that’s on FOX
sports. Our board of directors has
been very adamant in growing the
company. We’ve changed the history
of bull riding by going to a bull
team concept. It’s elevated the level
of cowboys that participate in the
CBR because of the maximum of the
payouts and the quality of the bulls.
The cowboys and bulls that participate in our events, they are true
athletes.”
2015 CBR World Champion Cody Teel, CBR Chief Executive Officer Benny Cude and 4X
World Champion Bull Rider and CBR Ambassador, Tuff Hedeman