One scale, many judging pools
Scoring by Circuit
Every circuit scores bulls on the same 50-point scale — but each circuit's judges score the field in front of them, night after night. That's how a decentralized sport has to work, and it means the scale calibrates locally. This page shows how each circuit uses the top of the scale, so numbers from different circuits can be read side by side with honest eyes.
How Often Each Circuit Reaches the Elite Lines
The shape tells the story. PBR Brazil reaches the 45 line on 8.6% of outs — more often than the premier series (5.5%) — yet at 46+, the order flips: 1.84% for Unleash The Beast against 0.90% for Brazil, and the all-time highs sit at 48.75 and 47.00. A generous middle with a lower ceiling is what locally-calibrated judging looks like — not better bulls, a different yardstick.
The Numbers
| Circuit | Scored outs | Avg score | 45+ rate | 45+ rate (last 12 mo) | 46+ rate | All-time high |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Unleash The Beast | 36,293 | 42.27 | 5.5% | 3.4% | 1.84% | 48.75 |
| Team Series | 7,638 | 42.47 | 3.4% | 2.2% | 0.48% | 49.50 |
| Touring Pro | 14,188 | 42.30 | 3.7% | 1.3% | 0.68% | 48.50 |
| Velocity Tour | 15,247 | 41.86 | 1.4% | 0.7% | 0.24% | 47.00 |
| Challenger Series | 7,106 | 41.79 | 2.1% | 2.7% | 0.21% | 47.00 |
| PBR BrazilNational | 2,338 | 42.78 | 8.6% | 6.3% | 0.90% | 47.00 |
| PBR AustraliaNational | 2,880 | 41.84 | 0.7% | 0.1% | 0.14% | 47.00 |
| PBR CanadaNational | 4,546 | 42.02 | 2.1% | 0.0% | 0.37% | 47.00 |
Why the Yardsticks Can't Be Compared Directly
Cross-circuit comparison would need bulls who buck in both pools — a calibration bridge. There barely is one: of the 36 national-circuit bulls who scored 45+ in the last twelve months, 0 have ever recorded an out in a US circuit. The pools judge their own fields, and almost no bull crosses between them.
What this means for reading this site: the world title race is unaffected — it's decided entirely inside Unleash The Beast, one circuit, one judging pool. Cross-circuit surfaces like The Hot List and the Weekly Dirt's best trips carry a circuit column and a filter for exactly this reason. Scores are most meaningful next to scores from the same circuit.
Computed from every recorded out with a bull score, all circuits, at the most recent sync. This is an observation about decentralized judging, not a criticism of any judge or circuit — every sport that scores locally shows this pattern. Score inflation across eras →