#InCaseYouMissedIt: Looking Back at the Highlights of 2023

By: Darci Miller

Here we are, at the end of 2023, and man, was it a wild one in the PBR. We kicked things off with the Unleash The Beast season, as always, making history as we crowned a World Champion in Dickies Arena in Fort Worth. Then, PBR Teams took over for its second season, and we watched the Texas Rattlers complete a spectacular season to win the world’s largest gold buckle. Plus, we crowned a two-time YETI World Champion Bull, champions were crowned across the world, and more.

Miss a moment of the action this year? Here’s what happened around the PBR.

On the Unleash The Beast…

 
Jose Vitor Leme kicked off the year with back-to-back wins at his first two events of the season.

Dalton Kasel went on a crazy run in 15/15 Bucking Battles in January and February, winning two and placing second in another over the course of four weeks.

2021 Rookie of the Year Eli Vastbinder earned the first UTB event win of his career.

We said goodbye to 2021 YETI World Champion Bull Woopaa, who officially retired from competition in March.

 
Up-and-coming bull Domino exploded in Nampa to record a bull score of 47.75 points – the highest recorded since the 2021 PBR World Finals.

2016 World Champion Cooper Davis won in Billings, Montana, for what would be the final UTB win before announcing his retirement from the premier series.

Eduardo Aparecido notched his first premier-series win in five years with a walk-off 90-point ride.

Iconic entertainer Flint Rasmussen had his last dance at the PBR World Finals, enjoying his swan song before retiring from the dirt.

Ridin’ Solo joined an elite club with his second consecutive YETI World Champion Bull title.

Rafael Jose de Brito started his own elite club, becoming the first rider ever to win the World Championship, Rookie of the Year and World Finals event title in the same year.

 

On the PBR Team Series…

PBR Teams gained a massive star in seven-time PRCA bull riding world champion Sage Kimzey, who was drafted by the Carolina Cowboys with the No. 1 overall pick.

2008 World Champion Guilherme Marchi joined PBR Teams as assistant coach of the Kansas City Outlaws…

…who went on to win not one…

…not two…

…but three regular-season events, including a walk-off win on home soil for their first event win in team history.

 
The Outlaws were led all season by emerging superstar Cassio Dias, who finished No. 2 in the regular-season MVP race.

The regular season ultimately belonged to the dominant Austin Gamblers, who went 19-9 for their second consecutive regular season championship.

Jose Vitor Leme outdistanced Dias for the regular-season MVP award, going 20-for-29 to be crowned the top rider for the second season in a row – this time, though, with bleached blonde hair.

Texas Rattler Joao Ricardo Vieira became the eighth rider in PBR history to record 400 qualified rides.

Less than a month later, the Nashville Stampede’s Silvano Alves became just the fourth rider in history to reach 500 qualified rides.

 
Brothers Kade and Briggs Madsen joined forces on the Missouri Thunder…

…helping the No. 8 seed to an incredible fourth-place finish at the PBR Teams Championship.

The Rattlers won their home event (for the second year in a row) to close out the regular season…

…and then they went and won the whole damn thing at the PBR Teams Championship.

 

In the WCRA…

Martha Angelone won the 2023 Women’s Rodeo World Championship All-Around title…

…while four individual event champions were crowned.

On the Pendleton Whisky Velocity Tour…

Josh Frost won the Pendleton Whisky Velocity Tour Championship.

On the Challenger Series…

Alan de Souza was crowned the 2023 Challenger Series Champion.

Up north in PBR Canada…

 
Dakota Buttar made history in winning the 2023 PBR Canada Championship, becoming just the fourth PBR Canada rider to win multiple titles.

Down under in PBR Australia…

 
Macaulie Leather placed fourth at the PBR Australia Grand Finals to secure his first PBR Australia National Championship.

Looking ahead

What’s up next on the docket?

The Unleash The Beast continues with the PBR Albany in Albany, New York, on Dec. 29-30 (Dec. 29 at 7:45 p.m. ET on RidePass on Pluto TV; Dec. 30 at 12:30 p.m. ET on CBS; Dec. 31 at 8 p.m. ET on CBS Sports Network).

The Touring Pro Division rolls on with the PBR Stockyards Showcase in Fort Worth, Texas, on Dec. 28 and Jan. 4 (each night at 8:30 p.m. ET on RidePass on Pluto TV), and PBR Bullmania in Klamath Falls, Oregon, on Dec. 31.

Photo courtesy of Josh Homer/Bull Stock Media

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