Woodward, Okla. — Tuff Hedeman has been doing his part to develop the sport of bull riding for decades.

In fact the former pro  rider himself helped form the Professional Bull Riders, Inc. (PBR) with fellow pro riders in 1992.

“We just felt that bull riding was a sport in itself,” Hedeman told The News during an interview Wednesday.  “Not any disrespect to rodeos, but we felt there were more opportunities for us.  When you go to rodeos, bull riding is 1 of 6 events ... and we felt like it needed more attention.”

That attention proved spot-on as bull riding continues to be a growing sport.

Hedeman said the popularity of the sport has been aided by televised coverage, but the true key to its success with fans is it’s simplicity.

“It’s easy to understand; it’s just 8 seconds and the highest score wins,” he said.

Beyond that, he said bull riding is “non-stop action; it’s just entertaining and fun to watch.”

Hedeman is now serving as the president of Championship Bull Riding (CBR), which will be hosting an event in Woodward on Sept. 18.  He was even in town earlier this week to kick off local promotions for the event.

He said this year’s CBR tour includes 50-plus events all over the nation including “about 15 televised events and around 40 other events that aren’t televised.”

While the Woodward event falls into the latter category, Hedeman said there will still be plenty of excitement to be had.

“What our tour does is work hand in hand with guys from the PRCA,” he said, noting that CBR riders include some of the best such as J. W. Harris, the reigning PRCA world champion bull rider.

Other top names on the CBR tour include Wesley Silcox and Cody Hancock, he said.

Altogether, Hedeman said, “there’ll be about 40 riders” who will compete during the CBR event.

“We’ll have 40 guys ride once, then the top 12 will advance to championship round,” he said.  “And the high score on the 2 winds the event.”

CBR chose to host one of its tour events in Woodward, Hedeman said, basically because the city asked.

“They just contacted us and expressed an interest,” he said, but did not identify which city leaders he spoke with concerning the event.

But beyond a basic interest on behalf of a tourism opportunity for the city, Hedeman said he knew Woodward had a “great facility” in the Crystal Beach Stadium for hosting the event.

Unlike other places, he said the CBR likes Woodward because they won’t have to “build an arena.”  He explained by noting the CBR is holding an event in Bossier City, La., this weekend and has to transform what is usually a sports arena, used for hockey  games, into a rodeo arena, bringing in tons of dirt and other equipment just for the bull riding event.

“But the good thing about Woodward is that everything is already set up and intact; that makes it easier,” Hedeman said.

In addition, he said he knows Woodward has experience hosting similar, high-quality events at the Crystal Beach Stadium.  He pointed to the annual Elks Rodeo in particular, noting “Woodward holds a great rodeo every year.”

Tickets for the Horizon Series CBR Best Out West Showdown, set for Sept. 18, are currently available online at www.ticketsareavailable.com or by calling 1-877-548-3237.

Tickets will also be available for purchase at Sam’s CDs, The Cowboy Tack Shop, and both United grocery stores in Woodward.

Gates for the event will open at 6 p.m. and the show will kick off at 7:30 p.m., Hedeman said.

For more information, visit the CBR website www.cbrbull.com.