The opportunity to compete for his share of the $2 million purse in The American always has been a no-brainer for two-time world champion bull rider Justin McBride.

“As soon as Randy (Bernard) said he was doing it, I thought, ‘I’m going to go win the bull riding,’ ” McBride said Thursday morning from Las Vegas, where he is working as a television analyst for the Professional Bull Riders World Finals, the same arena in which he won his two gold buckles. “You can’t dangle that carrot in front of face and not expect me to go for it.”

No, you can’t. The American, scheduled for March 2 in Arlington, Texas, will feature a $2 million purse, the largest one-day rodeo in the sport’s history. It is being organized by Rural Media Group, which owns RFD-TV; Bernard, the former PBR chief executive, is the president and CEO of Rural Media Group.

“I don’t think returning is going to be a big deal,” said McBride, who retired from bull riding five years go. “This is nothing like bareback riding. The bareback riding is something that I was never an elite guy in the world. It was something I wanted to try. The bull riding … it’s something I knew I could do.”

McBride competed last weekend in bareback riding in Salina, Kan., during The American qualifier on Saturday morning and during the Professional Roughstock Series’ Midwest Classic that evening. It was his first competitive ride on a bucking horse in 15 years.

Though the bull riding exemption means McBride is definitely in The American field, he still plans to try his hand in bareback riding, meaning he will have to work his way there through qualifiers and hope to be one of the five cowboys to come out of the semifinals with the opportunity to ride inside AT&T Stadium, home of the Dallas Cowboys.

“I think I’m going to try to go to the last two qualifiers,” McBride said Thursday. I’m going to work at it some more and get on more practice horses. I’m going to work with Steven (Dent) more. I got a call from (2004 world champion) Kelly Timberman, who watched film of my ride. He said he saw some little bitty things he can help me with that will really help me out a lot.

“The really cool thing in bareback riding is the support I’ve gotten from the really good guys.”

Timberman qualified for the Wrangler National Finals Rodeo seven times in his career, and Dent – who lives near McBride in the Nebraska Sandhills – is heading to the NFR for the sixth time. McBride plans to utilize any assistance he can muster as he lives out another dream.

“I don’t feel like I’ve got bareback riding out of my system,” he said. “I want to get on some more. I’m going to do it in the practice pen first. I went last weekend to see how I stacked up in the event.

“Bareback riding is something I wanted to do and still want to do. I didn’t realize how much fun it was for me until I did it.”

And in true cowboy fashion, McBride plans to give it his best effort. He knows there will be much work involved, but he’s ready for the challenge.