Reese Cates, 2008 Daisy Rookie of the Year in the Professional Bull Riders, Inc., isn't afraid of much. And he's certainly not afraid to express his opinion about the difference between competing on the PBR's Built Ford Tough Series and pretty much anywhere else in the world of bull riding.

"It's like night and day," he says matter-of-factly. "It's the highest level; it's the ultimate. It's like going from playing minor league baseball to playing major league baseball.

RIDING STYLE Skeeter Kingsolver

RIDING STYLE Pete Farley

RIDING STYLE Cody Nance

"Any time you go from riding in front of two or three thousand people to riding in front of 15 or 20 thousand people and being on TV and getting on the rankest bulls in the world week in and week out — it's a huge difference, absolutely."

And while cowboys and Western lifestyle enthusiasts could make a case for the bull riding of the Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association and the prestige of the National Finals Rodeo, it is at least safe to say this about the PBR's top series: it certainly holds the title for most bombastic, over-the-top production.

And, to be fair, the leap from the structure of professional baseball to the structure of the PBR isn't a large one. In the PBR, riders start by competing on one of three smaller circuits — the Challenger, Enterprise, or Discovery Tours (or in some cases, all of the above). Once enough money is earned to land the rider in the top 40 PBR riders, he makes it to the Built Ford Tough Series — in other words, the Major Leagues.

That's where the fireworks start, and the tens of thousands in the stands, and the performances at Madison Square Garden, and the groupies (commonly referred to as "buckle bunnies") and the PBR World Finals in (where else?) Las Vegas.

So, what's it like for a rookie to finally step on that largest — or at least loudest — of stages?

"It's pretty surreal," says Cates.

This year, the BFTS features another talented crop of rookies, led by Tennessee's Cody Nance, Kansas' Skeeter Kingsolver and Australia's Pete Farley. The trio stands 1-2-3 in the Daisy Rookie of the Year rankings, which goes to the bull rider who earns the most money during his first season on the Built Ford Tough Series.

The race almost always comes down to the last event of the year, the World Finals, where a massive amount of money is up for grabs. That's the way it was for Reese Cates last year, when he edged out Pistol Robinson and Ryan Dirteater with a stellar performance in Las Vegas.

Farley agrees it will probably be the same this year.

"Pretty much the way I see it is that the rookie who has the best Finals will win," Farley says. "You can win so much money in Vegas. No rookie can go to the Finals unbeatable; that's just the way I see it."

But the rookies won't just have each other to deal with — they'll also be surrounded by the glitz and glamour of Sin City, the pomp and circumstance of PBR production and more autograph signings and promotional appearances than a major leaguer might know what to do with. In fact, oftentimes the first World Finals appearance for a bull rider is also their first trip to the city, a category that Farley, a native Australian, falls into.

"It's probably pretty crazy I'd imagine," Farley, whose brother Jared has qualified for five World Finals, surmises. "Hopefully I'll be able to ride there."

Kingsolver has been to Vegas once before, albeit for "like seven hours," to ride in the ABBI Classic usually held in conjunction with the World Finals each year.

His impression?

"A lot of traffic. And there's a lot of fancy hotels and stuff."

Cates, a 20-year old rider from Carthage, Texas, flourished in the spotlight at the Thomas & Mack Center last year, riding six of eight bulls and qualifying for the short go in his first World Finals.

"I don't really remember thinking about any of it until the short round came around and I had a legitimate shot to win the PBR World Finals, and I already had the Rookie of the Year sewn up," he recounts. "And it was kind of like all that pressure was relieved for just a second, and I kind of looked up at all those fans that were there…it was something you dream about your whole life.

"I knew that in a matter of about five minutes I was gonna have my shot that I'd been working for my whole life. And all I was thinking about was how I didn't want to mess it up, but unfortunately I did."

Cates was bucked off Lufkin Ranch & Rodeo's Maverick in the short go after 3.3 seconds, but still walked away with the Daisy Rookie of the Year title and more than $175,000 in earnings for the season. The potential to rack up earnings during the eight World Finals performances is certainly on the minds of this year's rookies as well.

"There's a lot of money to be won, which is pretty cool," says Kingsolver, who has earned $61,654.25 thus far. "If you get your bulls rode you're going to win some money, so I just want to go in there and get my bulls rode and stay consistent. Wherever that puts me, it puts me."

The riders will also have a few days off in between the first and second weekends of the event, held Oct. 31-Nov. 8, to experience the city — Cates continued his winning streak on the blackjack tables in 2008 — and riders frequently have friends and family in town to sightsee with.

So does Cates, now in his second year on the BFTS, have any advice for the 2009 rookie class?

"There's really nothing that you can tell them because everybody's at a different point and going through different struggles," he says.

Farley says he hopes to have his parents make the journey from their home in Kempsey, Australia, while Kingsolver says he'll try to do a little bit of everything. "I'll try to stay busy," he says. "I heard it gets boring."

Who will emerge from the Thomas & Mack Center victorious is still up in the air, but at least one rider would like to offer his opinion.

"I plan on winning it," says Kingsolver. "There's still a lot of the year left and I'm definitely gonna give it my all. I'll be really disappointed if i don't win it."

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