March 20-21, the Professional Bull Riding Unleash the Beast event came to Kansas City, Missouri. The event consisted of two rounds, and a championship round to declare a winner. Entry to this event was limited because of COVID-19 restrictions.  

  On March 20, socially-distanced PBR fans watched Jose Victor Leme winning round one scoring 90 points vs Knee deep. Leme was the PBR World Champion for the 2020 season. The second-place winner was Boudreaux Campbell with 88.5 points vs Hard Shot. Luciano De Castro follow

ed behind with 88 points vs Big Mac.

  Round two, held on March 21, won by Derek Kolbaba scoring 89.5 vs Homebrew. Chase Outlaw took 2nd place scoring 89 points vs Bullseye. Taylor Toves earned 3rd place with a score of 88 points vs King Brute.

  The championship proceeded after round two. The top 12 riders of rounds 1 and 2 were eligible to compete and got to select what Bull they wanted to challenge.  It was a shocking moment when Campbell, the reigning Rookie of the Year, scored 95.5 against Woopaa and took the belt. In second place was Cooper Davis, who is ranked number one rider in the world, and he scored 97 points vs Chiseled, the number one bull in the world. The third-place winner was Kaique Pacheco with 80.5 points.

  PBR fans enjoyed watching the event. Jayne Keil, who attended the event with her husband, Tom and grandson, Morty, said Cooper Davis’s ride was amazing.

 “That was probably one of the best rides I have ever seen live and in person” Keil said.

  Jayne and Tom Keil decided to attend the event after being vaccinated back in February. 

  Jayne said, “We sat around here long enough watching Netflix, so it is time for us to go experience life again.”

  Kansas City is still under a mask mandate and the T-Mobile Center staff took safety precautions. They limited attendance, required masks and had socially distanced seating. T-Mobile Center employees even carried signs that read,“Please wear your mask.” Despite this, some audience members wore a mask incorrectly or didn’t wear a mask at all. 

  Jayne recalls, “After the show, we went to get Morty something from the t-shirt stand, there was no social distancing whatsoever.” 

  However, she complimented the staff on doing their job.

  “I felt the T-Mobile Center event people, they were doing their part; it’s just the audience. I mean, if my 6-year-old grandson with down syndrome can wear a mask, here’s the thing, I would think others could as well.” 

  Usually, the PBR event would be set a year in advance, but because of the COVID-19 pandemic, the rodeo was planned about four months in advance. The Marketing Officer for the PBR, Konha Irby, said the team took the necessary steps to keep everyone safe for the event. The PBR organization and T-Mobile Center tested all of their employees, T-Mobile staff and the riders to ensure that everyone participated in the safest way possible. Even though some fans were not wearing a mask, Irby and his staff tried to remind people to keep themselves and others safe. 

  “We are committed to the cowboy state program which is our safety protocol in T-Mobile Center,” Irby said. “We were very pleased with the staff, the fans and how the majority of them followed the protocols we put in place and we look forward to returning very soon.”

  As of April 27, the number one bull rider is Pacheco, following him are Leme and João Ricardo Vieria.