KANSAS CITY, Mo. – About an hour or so after his bull had just recorded the rankest bull score in PBR history, stock contractor Gene Owen was purchasing an iced tea from a vending machine on the back side of T-Mobile Center.

Struggling a bit to unfold the dollar bills and insert them into the machine while holding his wallet, all while still downloading the feat and all it meant, this was a night to remember for a man who’s been in this business for nearly 40 years.

And while he was just trying to catch up with the idea while enjoying a cool beverage, he was constantly approached with hugs, high fives and handshakes.

We’ve seen Man Hater strut his stuff plenty of times in the past year or so.

He is the defending 2024 YETI World Champion Bull after all.

But what Owen, PBR judges and thousands of fans inside the Midwestern arena witnessed during the second game of Saturday night’s slate doesn’t exactly happen very often.

Hell, it had NEVER happened up to that point.

And just like that, the PBR record books were reset, with the legend producing a rank 49.5-point bull score.

“That, I haven’t even soaked in yet. When Kate (Harrison) asked me some questions right behind the deal I was just speechless almost. It hadn’t soaked in. 20 years from now, it still may be the highest. Maybe not, but they’ll have a hard time beating it. And he’s not hardly done, so he may beat it himself,” Owen shared of the historic performance.

“I’m just blessed. Blessed that Jane Clark is a great partner. Lari Crane is a good partner. Jesus Christ is my Lord and savior. You can’t top all that.”

Quite the trio of support, no doubt.

The only way to make it even more epic?

The fact that the bull’s performance came against a rather legendary cowboy in his own right.

“Sage Kimzey added to the deal. A seven-time World Champion. Everybody can ride otherwise they wouldn’t be here but if it was a younger guy that wasn’t as well known … it just meant more with it being Sage because he’s one of the best ever,” Owen admitted.

While it’s ultimately a delicate blend of care, timing, regiment and beyond, which keeps the bovine in tip-top shape, Owen confirmed his standout athlete was continuing to enjoy his Hot Bull Summer since winning it all inside AT&T Stadium.

RELATED: Ever-dominant Man Hater finishes standout season as 2024 YETI World Champion Bull

“I put him out on some cows – When I went home I had three weeks off a while back, so I turned him out for 10 days on some heifers. They were all bred, but I just wanted him out, not just sitting in the pen,” he detailed.

“We exercise him every day we can and he’s eating better when he’s by himself. I used to keep him with three other bulls but he’s been by himself since I’ve had him on cows, because it’s hard to mix them back, so he’s adjusted to being by himself really well. He eats better and he’s bigger. I don’t know what he weighed last year but I bet he’s 100 lbs. bigger than what he was last year.”

If he wasn’t already one of the fiercest and revered bulls on tour … Owen and company have only seen their bucker take another step in the direction of greatness.

On any given night, there are roughly 45-50 bulls needed for an Unleash The Beast or PBR a Camping World Team Series event. Regionally speaking, sometimes the stock contractors available and willing to haul their bovines dictate what type of talent is available on a certain weekend. At the same time, PBR only settles for the best, so to be one of the 20-some regular contractors on speed dial means you’re doing something right.

And while the tour and its fans are typically pleased anytime the Gene Owen trailer pulls into a loading dock entrance, the fans inside T-Mobile Center couldn’t have asked for a ranker experience Saturday night when it comes to animal athlete greatness.

The idea Man Hater continues to evolve means they’ve got a good one on their hands. But it’s all according to plan.

“I really thought after he was 48.75 (during the PBR Teams season-opener in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma) I thought there was a chance this could happen because I feel like he’s in his prime right now,” Owen said.

“I’m not bucking him as hard as I did a year ago or six months ago, trying to keep him fresher. So, I wasn’t surprised that he got the score and I wasn’t surprised that he bucked that good.”

Bulls can only bring so many outs from the PBR Camping World Team Series with them during their year-long journey in hoping to become the YETI World Champion Bull.

Thankfully for Man Hater, he’s already turned in 47.5, 48.75 and 49.5-point efforts this summer, meaning it's going to be pretty damn hard for him to one-up himself over the course of the last six weeks of the 5-on-5 season. But if there's a bull to send shockwaves through the riding world, this is the one.

While the chute-side shot caller is embracing a set of revised travel goals this year, he’s still trying to give the people what they want (seeing Man Hater do his thing) while ensuring his prized bovine is rested up and healthy for the long run.

“I made a rule this year for myself and I’m not changing my rule. There’s two places I’ll go that takes me over a day to get there. That’s going to be Las Vegas and New York. Duluth or any of those like that, if it takes me two days, it’s not happening,” he explained.

“I went to LA last year. We went to two in New York and came home to the worst week of winter we had. The next week we hit Tulsa then we left and went to LA. Man, that was asking a lot. And he gets there and of course Cassio (Dias) is the first one to ride him. Nothing against him, it was a great ride, but you can only ask so much of those bulls. I’ve been doing this for 39 years and I still learn stuff all the time. When you quit learning you’re going backwards.”

Dias may have ended Man Hater’s flawless career-starting buckoff streak. But when it’s the eventual 2024 PBR World Champion who got the job done, it stings a little bit less.

The duo hasn’t been matched up since Dias improved to a perfect 2-for-2 atop the bull a month later, posting a rank 93.25 points in Albuquerque, New Mexico, after initially besting the bovine for an epic 94.75 points inside Crypto.com Arena.

But knowing Dias has plenty left in the tank, just like his animal athlete counterpart, we have a feeling we’ll see some additional fireworks from them sooner than later.

Especially if Owen believes his guy is ready to run it back in 2025.

“I’m looking at three, maybe four (titles). It’s all in his health. He bucks so hard and a year ago people were saying ‘Ah, he won’t hold up. He bucks too hard,’” Owen concluded, with a sly grin.

“We’re just going to keep him healthy and fresh.”

Photo courtesy of Andy Watson/Bull Stock Media