FORT WORTH, Texas – If the 2024 Unleash The Beast season was known as the “Year of the Rookie” with talents like Cassio Dias, John Crimber and folks storming onto the sport’s biggest stage and letting it be known the next wave of top-tier bull riding talent had arrived (with four different rookie talents ending last year’s journey ranked in the tour’s Top 7 ranks) …

… Then 2025 is quickly serving as a big reminder that the premier series pack’s veterans remain more than capable of holding their own.

Which remains ever-evident ahead of the approaching Week 6 showcase in Albany, New York, as seven of the tour’s current Top 10 riders are at least 25 years old (with No. 1 Crimber, No. 6 Kaiden Loud and No. 7 Julio Cesar Marques representing the three youngsters in the mix – not surprisingly, as they were three of the most impactful rookies during the star-studded 2024 slate). 

A deeper dive into the current 2025 UTB standings with the same age filters reveals 20-year-old and fellow sophomore Leonardo Castro is the next young rider in the fold at the No. 12 spot. And even after including No. 14 Koltin Hevalow (who’s 21) in the mix, it appears we’ve only got a combined five riders under the age of 25 within the Top 20 of this year’s standings.

Which says a lot about the kids regressing when it comes to consistently providing fireworks.

But says even more about the veterans who continue to reclaim their chart-topping territory. 

RELATED: By the Numbers: Derek Kolbaba earns first premier series win in seven years via flawless slate in Manchester, New Hampshire

Crimber, who’s captured two of the tour’s first five event titles, is officially a sophomore after lighting the tour on fire back in 2024 during his electric rookie campaign. Which doesn’t necessarily make him a veteran but solidifies the idea that his first-year lap is over.

So, it’s fair to continue counting him amongst the circuit’s “kids” and fellow young stars on tour.

And when you consider the likes of Jose Vitor Leme, Dalton Kasel and Derek Kolbaba have captured the other three, including three of the last four event titles, it’s fair to wonder which of the youngsters will challenge Crimber to get the kids back in the win column.

It’s even fairer to wonder which veteran is hungriest and can recognize the opportunities associated with this early-season window.

Even if there’s a bumps, bruises or broken feet getting in the way.

“Oh, of course. It’d be nice sitting on the couch at home with my family right now, but if we don’t ride we don’t get paid,” veteran Sage Steele Kimzey shared with Kate Harrison via the RidePass on Pluto TV stream in Manchester, New Hampshire, just one week after suffering the lower-body injury. 

“And at the end of the day, the world title race is already getting hot and I definitely want to throw me name in that hat. It’s big. A million dollar payout at the end of it and a shortened season (compared to past seasons in which Kimzey opted to compete in PRCA), so we’re going to stay hot until May and make it happen.”

Originally getting roughed up during the Week 4 showcase in Wichita, Kansas, the wreck wouldn’t keep the seven-time PRCA Bull Riding Champion from escaping the meetup inside INTRUST Bank Arena with a quality second-place performance.

Just like it didn’t keep him from showing up and getting on the scoreboard during the tour’s most recent event in Manchester, eventually settling for a 10th place tie as he navigated the arena in a walking boot for a majority of the weekend. 

Of course, we’ve heard and told stories about riders gritting it out in the past. Kimzey just happens to be the latest on the list to turn a borderline “questionable” designation into a Top 10 finish. 

Remaining ranked No. 3 on tour at 6-for-13, he’s one of many pack veterans who haven’t been afraid to shine early in 2025. 

Right behind him at the No. 4 spot, Kolbaba continues to put his own injury-plagued past in the rearview as he reinvents himself in real time.

RELATED: Flawless Derek Kolbaba wins in Manchester, New Hampshire, for first premier series victory since 2017

And while we’ll never be surprised to see two-time World Champion Jose Vitor Leme amongst the tour’s leaders, it’s a bit surprising to see the two-time PBR Teams MVP still locked into the No. 5 rank as he looks to break out of an uncharacteristic six-out buckoff streak.  

Which is part of the story itself – Some of the circuit’s typical frontrunners haven’t exactly been up to the task so far. Or, if they have, they’ve run into some rested and reloaded veterans like Dener Barbosa and Claudio Montanha Jr., who have made their own early splashes. 

Just like the 8-second goal, age is merely a number. 

Guys have been considering each of those wrinkles and notches in the beltloop a token of experience instead an element to potentially set them back. 

And for as much energy and health the youngsters on tour bring to the equation, there’s something special about knowing how all of this works. 

How it all feels. How to rebound from a slow start and how to fire things up from the get-go.

The tour was off to quite the fiery start, recording at least 37 rides in each of the season’s first three events. But as the bull power continues to ramp up and some of the kids lose that early-season sparkle in their eye, it’s been the veterans holding the fort – and leaderboard. 

Racking up just 34 and 32 combined qualified rides during the past two events, the veterans understand what it takes to assemble a complete season. Several of the young riders from 2024 were forced to watch on as Crimber and Dias duked it out for the truest honors.

But knowing Dalton Kasel is a mere 16 points back from Crimber means Kasel and dozens of other capable cats are right on his tail entering this weekend’s showdown.

RELATED: Where to Watch: Albany

Fans can catch all of this weekend’s action up in the Northeast beginning on Friday, Dec. 27 at 7:45 p.m. ET and concluding on Championship Saturday, Dec. 28 at 7:45 p.m. ET. 

All three rounds of action in Albany, New York, will be available LIVE and FREE on RidePass on Pluto TV, PBR’s YouTube channel, PBR’s mobile app, PBR’s app on connected TVs, including Apple TV, Fire TV, Roku, and Google TV, as well as on your favorite web browser at watch.pbr.com. The stream for PBR Albany begins on Friday, December 27, at 8 p.m. ET and continues on Saturday, December 28, at 8 p.m. ET. 

Photo courtesy of Josh Homer/Bull Stock Media