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U.S. Border Patrol Color Guard prior to the Jan. 26 National Anthem ceremony. The Border Patrol is one of the PBR’s main sponsors.

Rider Luciano De Castro during pre-event introductions.

Emilio Resende rides Sketchy Bob during first-round action.

: Troy Wilkinson manages to avoid being trampled by Whiskey Trip during first-round action.

Longtime PBR fan Carlos Olayo and son Lucas, 4, of Yuba City, during their second trip together to a PBR event.

Jared Groene, PBR “In-Arena Safety Man,” AKA wayward bull roper, during first-round action at the Sacramento event.

Kaique Pacheco gets in an 8-second ride, triggering a fireworks show.

Country singer Ryan Weaver, a former Black Hawk helicopter pilot, performs one of several songs on Jan. 27, such as “Never Forgotten,” written in memory of his brother Aaron who was killed in Iraq.

(L-R) Jerret Strong, Steve Atencio and Jake Molburg, with PBR’s sponsor fulfillment division.

Pre-competition pyrotechnics at the Golden 1 Center.

Official title may be “PBR Entertainer,” but Flint Rasmussen has been called the most famous rodeo clown in the world, and was named Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association Clown of the Year for eight consecutive years.

Kaique Pacheco stays on Jack Shot long enough to earn 88.5 points to win the special 15/15 competition. This was the only qualified ride of the 15/15, securing him 150 points toward the PBR world standings along with $7,000.

Ryan Dirteater stays on the airborne Frequent Flyer just 2.6 seconds during the 15/15 competition.

In front of the DOCO sign outside the Golden 1 Center after the Jan. 27 event.

PBR crowd Jan. 27 at Golden 1 Center.

Brennon Eldred, riding Omaha, breaks from the gate during the first-round.

Brazilian Ramon de Lima, here doing his first ride of the competition, stayed on for eight seconds for all four of his rides during the weekend, taking home a $40,626 paycheck. Lima won his first PBR career event in Sacramento.

Sacramento Welcomes the Bulls

Golden 1 Center continues as popular stop for Professional Bull Riders Tour

Back Photo gallery Feb 8, 2018 By Steve Martarano

“Ladies and gentleman,” booms the arena announcer. “The top 35 bull riders in the world are in Sacramento!”

It’s opening night for the 2018 Professional Bull Riders tour and the 21st century version of your father’s rodeo unfolds on the dirt-covered floor of Golden 1 Center on Jan. 26.

Animals, cowboys and clowns all seem in constant motion, working in tandem to keep the show rolling. A steel gate is pulled open and the real action begins — a 150-pound rider attempts to hang onto an unaccommodating 2,000-pound bull for 8 harrowing seconds — and often failing. Barrel men and ropers are right behind, chasing down any wayward bulls and separating the participants from injury. Rodeo clown Flint Rasmussen narrates the activities live to the capacity crowd.

The pyrotechnics start early with the opening flag ceremony and are triggered again whenever a rider hits the magic 8-second mark. The constant thumping of classic rock and country tunes selected by the riders provide the soundtrack of the night.

For 16 consecutive years, first at Arco/Sleep Train Arena and now the Golden 1 Center, Sacramento fans have made it a ritual of grabbing their cowboy hats and heading to the home of the Kings to welcome the best talent the bull riding world has to offer. The streak should continue in 2019. PBR officials say Sacramento set an attendance record over the Jan. 26-28 weekend for this year’s 25th anniversary edition of the PBR tour, the Unleash the Beast: Wrangler Long Live Cowboys Classic.

Related: Golden1 Center: A Year of Transformation

Ramon de Lima of Sao Paulo, Brazil, went went 4-for-4 over the three days (which meant he rode all four of his bulls at least 8 seconds) to earn the championship trophy and collect a paycheck of $40,625.

Sacramento is one of the few stops on the tour to host a three-day event, a show of confidence that appears to be paying off.

“Sacramento has always been a great tour stop for us,” Casey Lane, PBR’s senior vice-president of partnership and marketing, says during the first night of the Golden 1 Center run. “It’s the right kind of market for PBR, a mix of urban-suburban, but close-enough-to drive-country. It’s a super educated and passionate audience for us. That was true at Arco Arena and is true in the new building.”

Those demographics fit well into the long-term plans of the Golden 1 Center, says Vivek Ranadivé, owner and chairman of the Sacramento Kings.

“Events like PBR, Monster Jam and family shows, combined with Kings basketball and world-class concerts, reflect the taste of our community — reaching across all genres — and igniting a new sense of culture and entertainment for the region and beyond,” Ranadivé said in a recent statement after the local arena was named by industry magazine Pollstar as the 15th busiest venue in the nation.

Started by 20 pro circuit riders in 1992 who put up $1,000 each, the PBR was purchased by media giant William Morris in 2015 and has a long-term TV contract with CBS and its affiliated sports networks. The tour will stage 17 major events in 15 states during the first half of 2018, with each event featuring the top 35 riders in the world, competing for a portion of $11 million in prize money.