TALLAHASSEE, Fla. — Stop No. 13 of the 2026 PBR Unleash The Beast season delivered something fans rarely get to experience anymore: professional bull riding under the open sky.
While the Unleash The Beast tour is most often contested inside packed arenas, Tallahassee offered something different — a return to the sport’s roots. Long before sold-out stadiums and national broadcasts, most bull riders learned their craft outdoors in rodeo arenas and county fairgrounds across America.
That made the setting in Florida’s capital city feel especially fitting for the only Major event on the 2026 regular-season schedule.
With significantly more world points available than a standard tour stop, Tallahassee represented the largest regular-season opportunity of the year for riders trying to gain ground in the race toward the gold buckle. Every qualified ride carried extra weight, and every mistake had the potential to reshape the standings.
Add in the post-event concert that followed the action, and the entire weekend felt like a throwback celebration of the western sports lifestyle — the kind of atmosphere that gave fans even more value for their ticket.
Once the riding began, the energy inside the arena proved exactly why the Tallahassee Major carried so much importance.
Four of the first six riders produced scores, the crowd stayed engaged from start to finish, and the biggest regular-season stop of the year wasted no time delivering drama.
Friday, March 13, 2026
Here are my Top Three Takeaways from Night One in Tallahassee.
No. 3 — Sage Steele Kimzey Stayed Right Where a Champion Needs to Be
World No. 1 Sage Steele Kimzey entered Tallahassee knowing every ride mattered at a Major.
Kimzey delivered when it counted Friday night.
Matched with Little Rip, the reigning world leader let it rip for 85.95 points, securing a qualified ride and valuable points in the standings.
It wasn’t the biggest score of the round, but that hardly mattered. At this stage of the season, maintaining momentum and collecting points can be just as important as chasing huge numbers.
Kimzey did exactly what championship contenders are supposed to do — take care of business.
No. 2 — Dalton Kasel May Have Found the Spark
Dalton Kasel covered Wingnut for 84.90 points, and the ride may have meant more than the score itself.
Kasel opened the season on fire, winning the first event of the year in Manchester and quickly climbing to the top of the world standings. But injuries and the grind of the tour slowed that early momentum.
Coming into Tallahassee, Kasel made a noticeable adjustment — switching back to an American bull rope after riding with a Brazilian rope earlier in the season.
Sometimes a small change is all it takes.
Friday night suggested the adjustment may have helped, as Kasel secured a qualified ride and positioned himself to build momentum heading deeper into the weekend.
No. 1 — John Crimber Owned Night One
The ride of the night belonged to John Crimber.
Matched with Phe-Phe’s Soul Man, Crimber delivered a standout performance, riding the bull for 88.80 points to win Round 1 and collect 38 Unleash The Beast points.
More impressive than the score was the way he rode.
Crimber stayed loose, reactive, and completely comfortable throughout the ride, letting the bull do what he does while simply matching every move.
When the dust settled Friday night in Florida’s capital city, Crimber had closed the gap on world No. 1 Sage Kimzey to just 55 points.
And with a Major event still unfolding, the potential for a significant shift in the standings was very real.
John Crimber — 88.80 — 38 points
Trace Redd — 88.55 — 28 points
Daylon Swearingen — 88.20 — 22 points
Kase Hitt — 87.35 — 20 points
Alex Cerqueira — 87.10 — 18 points
Marco Rizzo — 86.95 — 17 points
Cort McFadden — 86.85 — 16 points
Maverick Smith — 86.50 — 13.5 points
Bob Mitchell — 86.50 — 13.5 points
Kaiden Loud — 86.15 — 11 points
Sage Steele Kimzey — 85.95 — 10 points
Eduardo Aparecido — 85.85 — 9 points
Saturday, March 14, 2026
Round Two Belonged to Andy Guzman
Round Two Belonged to Andy Guzman
Saturday night’s Round Two would end with Andy Guzman on top.
Matched with Hoka Hey, Guzman made the most of a re-ride opportunity, covering the bull for 88.65 points.
From the moment the gate opened, Guzman looked completely in control, spurring with authority with his outside foot and staying balanced throughout the ride.
The bull performed well, but Guzman was never in danger. When the eight seconds expired, he walked away with the go-round win, 38 Unleash The Beast points, and a significant payday at the Tallahassee Major.
No. 3 — A Missed Opportunity for the World No. 1
World No. 1 Sage Kimzey entered Saturday night with an opportunity to extend his lead in the standings.
Instead, the door opened for the rest of the field.
Kimzey drew Purple Rain, but the matchup ended quickly. The bull dominated the encounter, sending Kimzey to the dirt in 2.94 seconds.
With only one qualified ride coming from Friday night’s opening round, Kimzey was unable to capitalize on the biggest points opportunity of the regular season.
At a Major event, missed opportunities can quickly change the landscape of the championship race.
No. 2 — Cort McFadden Seized an Unexpected Opportunity
The Championship Round in Tallahassee featured five qualified rides, but one of them stood out for the circumstances surrounding it.
Cort McFadden only found himself in the Championship Round after several riders ahead of him were forced to sit out due to injuries. That placed him 12th in the order — the final rider into the round — and in most cases, that means drawing the bull nobody else wanted.
That’s exactly the situation McFadden walked into.
In front of a packed Tallahassee crowd at the sport’s biggest regular-season event of the year, McFadden stepped up and delivered, riding Night Fury for 87.30 points. From the moment the gate opened, he looked completely in control, matching the bull move for move and finishing the ride with authority.
By the time Kate Harrison caught up with him for the post-ride interview, McFadden looked like he had barely broken a sweat — a testament to just how comfortable he looked during the ride.
Opportunities like that don’t come around often, and when they do, capitalizing on them can make all the difference. In Tallahassee, Cort McFadden did exactly that.
No. 1 — Daylon Swearingen Made the Weekend Count
If one rider took full advantage of the Tallahassee Major, it was Daylon Swearingen.
After battling injuries and inconsistent results throughout the early part of the season, Swearingen arrived in Florida looking to regain momentum.
He did exactly that.
Swearingen rode a perfect 3-for-3, punctuating the performance with a 90.85-point ride aboard UTZ BesTex Smokestack to win the Championship Round and secure the event victory.
The win carried added significance. It marked Swearingen’s first event victory since his championship season in 2022, when he was crowned the PBR World Champion.
The result had major implications for the standings.
Swearingen entered Tallahassee ranked 30th in the world. By the end of the weekend, he had climbed all the way to No. 15 in the standings heading into Indianapolis.
But the biggest shift happened at the very top.
Because of his success earlier in the event, John Crimber now sits as the new No. 1 rider in the world, overtaking Sage Kimzey by just 28 points — roughly the value of a single go-round win.
And in a season where every point matters, the Tallahassee Major proved once again just how quickly the championship race can change.
Daylon Swearingen — 266.40 — 188 UTB points
Maverick Smith — 265.75 — 149.5 UTB points
John Crimber — 177.35 — 120 UTB points
Felipe Furlan — 177.25 — 69 UTB points
Paulo Eduardo Rossetto — 175.70 — 63 UTB points
One of the more emotional storylines surrounding the Tallahassee weekend actually began the week prior in Simmons Bank Arena in Little Rock, Arkansas.
There, fans unknowingly witnessed what would become the final out for one of the most iconic bucking bulls in the sport — Man Hater.
Man Hater wasn’t just another great bull. He was one of the most dominant animal athletes in the history of professional bull riding, producing some of the highest bull scores ever recorded, including legendary marks approaching 49.5 points.
His passing comes not long after the loss of legendary stock contractor Gene Owen, the man behind Man Hater and one of the most respected figures in the bucking bull industry.
Losing both Gene Owen and Man Hater within the span of a year is heartbreaking for the bull riding community.
Rest in peace, Man Hater.
Did you miss the action from Tallahassee and want to see how your favorite rider performed?
Or maybe you’re not watching for the riders at all — maybe you just enjoy watching the bulls buck and want to see how the animal athletes performed.
If you want to see every score, every buckoff time, and every bull score from the weekend, click HERE for the complete event results.
HERE are the up-to-date standings heading into Indianapolis.
With only five events remaining on the regular-season schedule, the championship race is beginning to take shape.
And with the PBR World Finals set for May 14–17 at Dickies Arena in Fort Worth, Texas, the question now becomes clear:
Will someone from the middle of the pack step up and make a late-season run at the title?
Or will John Crimber, Sage Kimzey, and the other contenders at the top of the standings begin to create separation, setting the stage for an unforgettable showdown when the sport’s biggest prize is on the line in Fort Worth?
Photo courtesy of Bull Stock Media