Riders of the storm enjoying a bull run

The ‘Olympic Games of Bull Riding’ carries a $750,000 prize purse.

Brazilian rider Guilherme Marchi, Professional Bull Riders chief Sean Gleason and Montana-based Matt Triplett ahead of the PBR Global Cup. Picture: James Croucher.

A few years ago, Sean Gleason was watching the Ashes in Sydney and trying to understand the rules of cricket. “I didn’t learn much,” he said. But he did notice the trophy.

The US-based chief executive of Professional Bull Riders saw a small, wooden urn filled with ash, and had an idea: an international, team-based competition between the sport’s five major countries where a piece of the country was the prize.

“Our trophy is a little fancier,” Mr Gleason said. “The trophy is five bull horns representing each of the countries that contain the dirt and soil from each country. The substance is the same. It drives national pride.”

This weekend, Sydney will host the second annual PBR ­Global Cup and vie to hold on to its bull horn against the US, Canada, Mexico and Brazil. Over the next two days at Qudos Bank Arena in Sydney’s west, seven riders from each country — 14 from Australia, as the home team — will do their best to stay on top of an angry, roughly 900kg bull, for eight seconds.

Dubbed the “Olympic Games of bull riding”, there is a $750,000 prize purse.

The sport is one of the fastest growing in the world, according to Forbes, especially in the five countries included in the tournament.

The competition is impressive: Brazilian rider Guilherme Marchi, from Tres Lagoas in Mato Grosso do Sul, has made more eight-­second rides than anyone in PBR history and has won more than $5.2 million, while Montana-based Matt Triplett started riding when he was 10 and has been ranked in the top three in the world. “It’s very familiar — there’s a big cowboy culture in all of the five countries,” Mr Gleason said.

“They all have a rich cattle and rodeo history so bull riding has been a part of the heritage for many years. Bull riding was well established before we came along as the PBR.

“We’re celebrating our 25th year but bull riding has been around for more than 100 years.

“It was really one of the original extreme sports.”

Glen Young, PBR Australia general manager, said the host country of each tournament was fighting to retain its own soil. “Our riders will battle for ­supremacy for their country,” Mr Young said.

“This is the ultimate PBR battle — man versus beast, and nation versus nation, to take home the crown jewel of bull riding.”