Day 1 of the Professional Bull Riders Lucas Oil Invitational presented by Cooper Tires ended on a high note with fan favorite J.B. Mauney leading the average through the first two rounds and Chad Ochocinco receiving bull riding tips from PBR legend Ty Murray.

Mauney won Round 1 with an 87.5-point ride on Full Force (Teague Bucking Bulls, LLC) and followed that up with an 89-point ride on Smoke Screen (Frontier Rodeo Company) in Round 2. Wyoming rider Jordan Hupp, the only other rider to cover two bulls, tied for eighth in the first round with 84.5 points on Large Jacket (Torres Brothers). In Round 2, Hupp rode Bad Moon (Circle T Ranch & Rodeo) for 87.5 points.

Sitting in third after two rounds is former World Champion Mike Lee. Lee finished second in Round 1, behind Hupp, riding Cowboys Compactor (Frontier Rodeo Company) for 86.75 points. Brazilian Robson Palermo finished Day 1 tied for fourth in the standings with Canadian Aaron Roy and North Carolina cowboy Shane Proctor. Palermo posted an 86.5-point ride on Outa Da Blue (Circle T Ranch & Rodeo) in the first round, while Roy stayed on Uppercut (K-C Bucking Bulls) for 86.5 points, and Proctor rode Off the Hook (Davis Rodeo Ranch & Brady) for 86.5.

Round 3 and the Built Ford Tough Championship Round begin at 7:00 p.m. ET on Saturday, May 14. Tickets are still available and can be purchased at the Arena at Gwinnet Center’s box office, at www.Ticketmaster.com or by calling (800) 732-1727.

Following Saturday’s long round, the riders with the 10 highest cumulative scores will advance to the Built Ford Tough Championship Round, where they will compete with one more bull. The overall event winner will be the rider with the highest combined score from all four rounds Friday and Saturday. Day 1 of the Lucas Oil Invitational presented by Cooper Tires will be broadcast on VERSUS on Saturday, May 14, at 11:00 p.m. ET.

Also on Saturday, fans will watch as NFL star Ochocinco answers PBR COO Sean Gleason’s challenge to ride Deja Blu (Jeff Robinson/Cappello) in a one-time-only exhibition ride during intermission. The challenge began on May 5, when Ochocinco posted on Twitter that he was going to ride a bull at the PBR event in Duluth (Atlanta), Ga., on May 13-14. Gleason replied to Ochocinco on May 9, stating that if the receiver showed up, got on a bull and exited the chute, the PBR would pay him $10,000. If he completes a successful 8-second ride, the PBR and Ford Trucks will present him with a brand-new Ford F-150 with EcoBoost® Engine. Bad Boy Mowers has added an Outlaw mower if he is successful. As an added bonus, he will also be able to permanently rename the bull as he chooses. If he does not get on the bull Saturday, the bull will be permanently renamed “#58 No Show Cinco.”

Duluth is the 18th stop on the nationally-televised BFTS, which makes 29 stops in 23 states. The season began at world-famous Madison Square Garden in New York, and culminates Oct. 26-30 in Las Vegas at the richest bull riding event in the world, the PBR Built Ford Tough World Finals. The Finals is where the 2011 PBR World Champion will be crowned and awarded the $1 million Built Ford Tough bonus.

About the Professional Bull Riders, Inc. (PBR)
The PBR is the world’s premier bull riding organization. More than 100 million viewers annually watch over 400 hours of primetime PBR programming on VERSUS, NBC, CBS and networks around the world. The PBR has awarded over $100 million in prize money, and 20 riders have earned over $1 million, including Justin McBride with $5.5 million – the most of any western-sports athlete in history. The PBR was nominated as 2010 Sports League of the Year at the Sports Business Journal Sports Business Awards, alongside the National Football League, National Basketball Association and Major League Baseball. Nearly 2 million fans attend Built Ford Tough Series and Touring Pro Division events each year. For more information on the PBR, go to www.pbr.com, or follow on Facebook at www.facebook.com/TeamPBR and http://twitter.com/TEAMPBR.