By BRIAN ARGABRIGHT
drnhsports@gmail.com
For more than 40 years, the George Paul Memorial Bull Riding has maintained its place among the top competitions in the sport.
Named for the 1968 world champion bull rider, and Del Rio native, the annual bull riding competition has seen its fair share of legends in the sport climb down into the chutes at the Val Verde County Fairgrounds and ride for a shot at the champion’s buckle.
This year’s George Paul will be held Friday, May 21, and Saturday, May 22, beginning at 8 p.m. at the Val Verde County Fairgrounds.
For ticket info, contact the bull riding offices at 830-775-9595. Hours are 9 a.m. to noon and 1 p.m. to 5 p.m.
For some, the trip to Del Rio was just the start of a hall of fame career. For others, it was a humbling lesson that just made the desire of winning the event burn that much hotter.
Nearly every man who rides at the event is doing so in the shadow of one of the greatest to climb atop a bull. Paul, who was killed in a plane crash in Wyoming in 1970, was a shooting star that lit up the sky with his combination of skill, strength and Hollywood good looks.
Born March 5, 1947 in Del Rio, Paul’s professional rodeo career was a lengthy one, but like everything else he did, Paul made the most of his time on the circuit.
His most impressive accomplishment was his streak of 79 consecutive successful bull rides. It’s a record that most experts in the sport agree will never be matched or bettered.
Paul was inducted into the Pro Rodeo Hall of Fame in 1979 and was part of the Bull Riding Hall of Fame’s inaugural class in 2015. The George Paul Memorial Bull Riding event itself was also inducted into the Bull Riding Hall of Fame in 2015 as part of its inaugural class.
Six other members of the Bull Riding Hall of Fame have won the buckle at the George Paul. They include three-time champions Tuff Hedeman and Charles Sampson, and two-time champions Jim Sharp, Lane Frost, Jerome Davis and Denny Flynn. Flynn is also in the history books as being the champion of the first ever George Paul Bull Riding held in 1978.
Sampson, Frost, Hedeman and Sharp also have the honor of being Pro Rodeo Hall of Famers who have won the George Paul.
Sometimes winning the George Paul is a stepping stone to winning the Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association’s World Championship in bull riding. Nine former winners of the George Paul have gone onto win the PRCA world title including the previously mentioned Sampson, Frost, Hedeman, Sharp and Davis. Joining them are Cody Snyder, B.J. Schumacher, Cody Teel and four-time PRCA champion J.W. Harris.
The event took 2020 off due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Despite being rescheduled, organizers agreed that the safest course of action was to cancel the event for the first time in its history with an eye on returning in 2021.
In February it was announced the George Paul would return to Del Rio with the best riders in the PRCA’s Xtreme Bulls Tour making the trip for a chance at history and those all important winnings that could help assure them of a spot at the end of the season in the Xtreme Bulls finale and, hopefully, the Wrangler National Finals Rodeo.
While there’s no lack of big names in bull riding among the leaders on the Xtreme Bulls tour, the George Paul buckle continues to elude some of the best.
Sage Kimzey, a six-time world champion, is currently in fourth place on the tour. Despite multiple appearances in Del Rio, he has never won the championship buckle.
Harris, a two-time George Paul champion, is currently ranked 23rd on the Xtreme Bulls Tour and could be shooting to join the prestigious three-time winners’ club.
Trey Benton is another familiar name on the Xtreme Bulls Tour that has made his mark on the George Paul event. Currently ranked 16th in the Xtreme tour, Benton is a three-time George Paul champion. No one has four Paul buckles. Can Benton become the first cowboy to achieve that record?
Trevor Reiste is still the defending champion of the George Paul, having won the title in 2019. He’s ranked 35th overall in the PRCA’s bull riding standings, but he’s not among the top 50 riders on the Xtreme Bulls Tour.
As of this writing, the top 10 riders on the Xtreme Bulls Tour are as follows:
1. Clayton Sellars
2. Josh Frost
3. Dustin Boquet
4. Sage Kimzey
5. Creek Young
6. Roscoe Jarboe
7. Fletcher Jowers
8. Laramie Mosley
9. Jeff Askey
10. Shane Proctor
