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LAS VEGAS — The number of athletes who can actually ride a bull is tiny, and the number who can do it well, smaller still. And the makeup of that group of elite, professional bull riders is changing. Americans used to dominate the sport on their home turf, but no longer.

On Sunday afternoon, the best rider of the year will be crowned the Professional Bull Riders (PBR) World Champion at the conclusion of the World Finals competition.

The world champion will be awarded $1 million dollars and a Ford truck. And this year, the odds are that champ will be Brazilian. Four of the top five ranked riders heading into the tournament are from the South American nation.

“It says a lot about the caliber of Brazilian bull riders,” said Adriano Moraes, the first Brazilian to become a professional bull rider in the U.S.

Moraes came in the early1990’s, and won the very first PBR championship not long after. Since then, dozens of Brazilians have followed in his footsteps to compete here. Brazilian riders have been doing well for years — four world champions since 2002 have been from Brazil. But 2011 has been a particularly strong year for them.

“We are doing pretty good and I think the tendency is going to be even better in upcoming years,” Moraes said.

There already is a strong cowboy culture in Brazil, and a burgeoning rodeo scene. When Brazilians come north to compete, though, they bring a slightly different technique with them.

“We ride with a different kind of bull rope and we feel like it helps us much more,” Moraes said. “We believe we have an advantage by using it.”

And fans are taking notice. Before the finals began, a steady stream of fans asked Brazilian rider Robson Palermo for his autograph.

Palermo, 28, is ranked third this year. His fellow Brazilian riders Silvano Alves and Valdiron de Oliveira entered the tournament ranked number one and two. In Palermo's career, he has won over $1 million in American prize money.

Palermo has learned to say “howdy” like a natural despite growing up on a ranch near the Amazon rain forest. His father was a cowboy and taught a young Palermo to ride.

“I was six years old, and I was riding bulls, working cows and everything,” Palermo said, trailing off as a fan interrupted to take a picture with him.

“He is so good, I love Robson,” said Shirley Shotts, after getting her photo. She came from Denver to see the tournament.

Jude Joffe-Block

Fans from Brazil waive their flag for the Brazilian bull riders at the PBR World Finals in Las Vegas on Oct. 30.

“I love the Brazilian riders. They are just fabulous,” Shotts said. “And they got it going on right now.”

But not everyone is as thrilled. Barbara Harmon is a fan from Merced, California.

“Well, I’d kind of like to see the Americans doing a little better,” Harmon said. “I don’t like the Brazilians taking over and winning everything.”

It’s not that she doesn’t enjoy watching the foreign riders.

“It’s really great fun to see them all,” Harmon said. “But I just think the Americans need to take over their sport again.”

One often cited theory for the Brazilians’ success is that the riders are even more motivated because of their hunger to achieve the American dream. For Brazilian riders, winning events in the U.S. can be particularly life changing, since they come from such humble beginnings.

The most successful Brazilian riders have bought ranches in Texas and want to stay and raise their families here.

There is at least one American athlete who is favored to win the championship this year: Bushwacker, a 1500 pound bull from Texas. He even has his own Facebook page.

Over the last two years, no rider has managed to stay on Bushwacker for the minimum eight seconds.