WICHITA, Kan. – Even the middle of nowhere can be the center of the action sometimes – Exactly the case this weekend as the best bull riders and bovine athletes on the planet gathered inside INTRUST Bank Arena.

That’s no diss to the beautiful city of Wichita, Kansas, or any of the Greater Plains region in general, which is home to several of the tour’s top talents. 

Honestly, there’s a sincere simplicity about a city like Wichita. 

Smaller planes coming in and out of town. Bar burgers and old fashioned whiskey saloons. 

The simpler things in life. 

PBR’s Unleash The Beast Tour kicked off a trio of smaller market shows to finish out the 2024 calendar year in Wichita Friday night, with its next stops including Manchester, New Hampshire and Albany, New York before kicking off the 2025 slate in the ever-elegant New York City.

But before shifting gears to the northeast, Derek Kolbaba and 17 other riders who made the 8 Friday night were up to the task of putting on a show. 

And they were just fine lacing em’ up here in the heart of Tornado Alley.

“I think the bright lights of New York City are fun and they kind of bring a different bit of energy but I always like coming to smaller areas like this here as well and get to be in front of some good ole’ people and not have to fight with a bunch of bullshit traffic,” Kolbaba said with a laugh.

“At the end of the day when you look at the arena, it all feels and looks the same no matter where you’re at.”

We love the Madison Square Gardens and Crypto.com Arena stops of the tour, 100%. But we’d be lying if we said some of these towns that keep things a bit old school don’t remain atop the list of our personal favorites. And the riders agree.

Most guys understand those community-facing events, interviews and autograph signings when the tour invades some of the country’s major markets help them respectively maintain or elevate their star status and remain fan-favorites of the Western sports world.

But some downtime to FaceTime the family never hurt anybody. 

Or an extra nap or two ahead of the day’s competition. Especially when you’re going head-to-head with 1,600-lb animal athletes. 

But when you’re on the road with your close pals and everyone else is smiling, it’s hard not to enjoy the circus yourself. 

“Both tours (Unleash The Beast and the PBR Camping World Team Series) have their pros and cons but at the end of the day we’re all bull riders having a good time with each other and there’s a lot of good laughs between all of the guys,” Kolbaba said.

“That’s what makes bull riding so much fun. It’s just the camaraderie that all of the guys have. It’s only 8 seconds out there but it’s about four or five hours with all of your buddies, so you’ve got to enjoy that.”
Yet, for as much as the tour’s different markets have varying welcome parades, PR opportunities and fan-forward festivities, the specs are the same once these guys punch the clock.

The dirt can change a bit from time to time, depending on where PBR is setting up shop for the weekend. But those chutes aren’t changing anytime soon.

And while the bovines continue to advance their game, respectfully so, the goal remains the same: 8 seconds of greatness.

Thankfully for Kolbaba, he began to dig himself out of his slow start courtesy of the night’s inaugural 8-second effort. Dancing with Boujee Boy for a sound 84.75 points, it wasn’t the flashiest of efforts.

But after starting the season slower than expected, it was about time the Walla Walla, Washington veteran kicked things into gear after spending some post-PBR Teams time relaxing at home.

“It wasn’t enough time. It was just kind of recovering from the hectic 12 weeks of Teams and trying to get healthy. It really just kind of puts you in that nice zone of being home for a couple of weeks,” Kolbaba detailed.

“You get comfortable and then it’s like ‘Oh damn, I gotta snap into it and get ready to get on for a hell of a grueling season’ you know? So it was nice to be home. As I’ve gotten older and with my family, I definitely enjoy being home a lot but I’m excited to get things rolling.”

Entering the evening ranked No. 34, he understood riders ranked outside the No. 35 cutline come Saturday night would be at risk of being relegated to Pendleton Whisky Velocity Tour action.

The veteran wasn’t phased by the pressure, however. He was merely concerned with soaking it all in and enjoying his job.

“I’ve been doing this shit long enough that at the end of the day ‘Yes, is there added pressure not having a guaranteed spot? Sure. But at the same time you have to go back to riding bulls and enjoying it. That’s what I did tonight and I feel real good about the outcome,” he offered.

“That definitely wasn’t that that bull’s normal trip. I’ve watched my teammate Cooper Davis ride him twice in the Team Series. Normally he’s a lot of gas around to the right. Today he kind of was out there for two or three jumps, kinda got lost and went left. It wasn’t his trip but I felt really solid through the whole ride and now I’m ready for tomorrow.”

Big city lights are right around the corner. 

But for now the tour is laying low to close out the 2024 calendar year, with another night of Week 4 plains-based action inside INTRUST Bank Arena Saturday, Dec. 14 set to invade Wichita for another electric night of entertainment. 

At the same time, INTRUST Bank Arena is a beautiful arena in its own right and played a great host during the opening night of thrills. 

And fans have proven time and time again just because a market is smaller does NOT mean the tour’s support levels will waiver. 

A packed barn Friday night reassured just that, with the rowdy crowd engaged early and often through the opening night’s show. 

Wichita, and Kansas in general, may be known as more of a football, basketball and baseball region most nights. But this weekend it was clear the town still respects a good ole’ bull riding.

Kolbaba wasn’t the only man who found himself in need of a conversion Friday night, with several other talents lurking in a similar spot.

When the tour resumed action on Championship Saturday, Kolbaba wasn't able to improve to 2-for-2 but still managed to end the event ranked No. 33, meaning he'll be back with the pack in Week 5 when the tour invades Manchester, New Hampshire Dec. 20-21. 

Each of the other four aforementioned riders also stayed above the cutline, including Austin Richardson, who turned in an encouraging No. 4 finish to skyrocket up to the No. 18 spot. But with another set of cuts looming in the near future, each of the riders will need to pick up the pace.

Photo courtesy of Andy Watson/Bull Stock Media