Bernie Taupin built close ties with Professional Bull Riders
NXTbets Pro | Published On: October 27, 2026
Bernie Taupin’s PBR ties
Bernie Taupin’s connection to Professional Bull Riders began at the 1995 World Finals in Las Vegas, and it grew into a lasting part of his life. What started as a first look at the sport turned into a deep involvement with PBR. A chance introduction to PBR chief Randy Bernard helped spark that interest, and Taupin’s appreciation for the sport developed from there into something more personal and durable. He did not just follow PBR from the outside. He became part of its world. That involvement connected him with the riders, staff and culture around the series.
Taupin’s connection to PBR also fit his lifelong fascination with Americana. The sport’s Western culture and the people in it gave him a setting that matched that interest closely. That mattered to Taupin, who gravitated toward the people around PBR as much as the competition itself. His relationship with the organization was built on more than casual fandom. It grew out of his passion for the sport and its Western culture. For Taupin, PBR was not a side interest. It became a place where his artistic curiosity and personal taste found a natural home.
PBR riders and staff
Taupin’s ties to PBR went beyond the arena and into his relationships with riders and staff. He became close to people throughout the organization, and that familiarity made him more than a spectator. His daughter, Charley, was also part of that connection, which gave the relationship another layer and made it even more personal. Those bonds helped define his place within PBR and explained why his interest lasted.
His hospitality extended to his own home, too. Taupin often hosted riders at Roundup Valley Ranch in California, giving them a place to gather. That detail says a lot about the way he connected with the sport. He did not simply lend his name to PBR. He opened his ranch to the people in it. For Taupin, the ranch became another point of contact with the world he had grown to admire. It tied his personal life to the sport in a direct way and helped turn a passing introduction into a durable relationship with the riders and the staff who make PBR run.
Little Yellow Jacket and Americana
Taupin’s bond with PBR also took a more concrete form through Little Yellow Jacket, the champion bull he invested in and co-owned. That ownership placed him closer to the competitive side of the sport. It was another sign that his interest in bull riding was active, not passive. He did not just watch the action. He took part in the landscape surrounding it. Little Yellow Jacket represented the kind of connection that can only come from deep involvement, where the line between fan, supporter and participant starts to blur. For Taupin, that fit neatly with the wider way he embraced the sport and the people in it.
The same sense of connection carries into his current creative work. Taupin is promoting a new album, The Sea Has No Mercy, which he describes as a personal reflection on his life, roots and legacy. That framing fits the themes that have shaped his time around PBR. Western culture, Americana and the people who live inside that world have all played a role in how he has understood himself and his work. The album title points to a reflective project, and the subject matter suggests a look back at where he came from and what he has built. Seen alongside his long relationship with PBR, the album adds another layer to the portrait of Taupin as someone drawn to identity, place and tradition. His ties to the sport, the ranch and the people around PBR all sit within that same broader sense of heritage and personal history.
