Bucking Wild
As bull riders took home awards, animal rights activists protested. The Michelob ULTRA Professional Bull Riders (PBR) Los Angeles Unleash The Beast, presented by Ariat, made their annual stop in Los Angeles, California, for a two-day event at Crypto.com Arena from Feb. 16 -17. The best bull riders from around the world put on a thrilling display of bull rides as they took on 1,200 pounds for an intense eight seconds.
The event kicked off at 7:45 pm on Friday and resumed at 6:45 pm on Saturday. The booming sport has brought new sponsors that have doubled since 2020 and new fans as they came out to see the award-winning entertainment of man and beast.
Upcoming riders in their late teens lead the competition for almost the entirety of the event, with John Crimber (18) of Decatur, Texas, at the top. Crimber held on to first place for the majority of the Championship Round, where he would be overtaken by the top rider in the world who had the biggest ride of his life.
Cassio Dias (22) from São Francisco de Sales, Brazil, the best rider in the world, took on the best bull in the world, Man Hater, in an unforgettable event within the Championship round. Man Hater had a previous record of 30-0 before being broken by Dias after he held on for 8 seconds and jumped from fourth to first place with an aggregate score of 182 points.
Aside from their dominance in soccer, as uncommon as it sounds, Brazil also dominates in the bull riding world. Dias is one of the few Brazilians that have dominated in PBR which as bull riding is very popular in Brazil and many dream of competing against professionals. This has left at least one Brazilian rider in the top three since 2019.
When asked how he managed the impossible by making it eight seconds on Man Hater after winning the Tournament, Dias said, “God gave me the strength to make this happen. Without his blessing, we couldn’t do all this, and I’m very happy, and I’m just doing my job”.
Despite the growing popularity of the sport, controversy continued as animal activists rallied outside Crypto to protest against the “cruel” rodeo. Organizations such as the Los Angeles Animal Defense League and Los Angeles for Animals came out in solidarity with Last Chance for Animals (LCA), the organizers of the protest, to stop a “display of animal abuse.”
LCA issued an advisory on Wednesday stating, “Rodeos and stand-alone bull riding events, like PBR, glorify animal abuse as they masquerade as a family entertainment.”
On Dec. 5, 2023, the L.A. City Council unanimously voted for an ordinance defining and prohibiting rodeos and any rodeo-related events in the city. A draft of the ban is in the pipeline, and once approved, it could be the end of the annual PBR events in Los Angeles.
PBR returns to Southern California in Anaheim for a three-day event at the Honda Center on September 13-15 for their Camping World Team Series.
