GUYMON, Okla. – It will likely go down as the highlight ride of the Built Ford Tough Series summer break, and it may just remain one of the top rides of the 2015 season.
Kaique Pacheco’s 94-point ride on Bruiser at Saturday night’s Kasey Hayes /Stormy Wing BlueDEF Velocity Tour event was one that showcased the true potential of this year’s 20-year-old sensational rookie from Itatiba, Brazil.
Pacheco was able to not get toppled over during Bruiser’s initial strong exit out of the bucking chute into his right hand before handling H.D. Page’s bull’s powerful spin away from his hand. Then after demonstrating dominant poise and posture for most of the ride, Pacheco was able to hang on in the final seconds as Bruiser resulted to two final heavy-dosed leaps off his four legs.
After hitting the ground following the whistle, Pacheco stood up to a loud ovation from the raucous Oklahoma crowd before being mobbed by a group of riders behind the bucking chutes.
He is also the first right-handed rider to make 8 seconds on Bruiser.
“It was very difficult to ride Bruiser,” Pacheco said through a translator. “I was hoping he would go to the left and I had to give everything I got to get 8 seconds.”
Pacheco is currently ranked fourth in the world and is leading the Rookie of the Year race by 1,017.5 points over Cooper Davis. He has ridden 20-of-47 (42.35 percent) bulls in 14 BFTS events. He won his first career event in St. Louis and has posted three Top-5 finishes and seven Top-10s.
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Bruiser has developed a reputation as one of the bulls on the BFTS that can help propel a rider to magic and that was evident before Pacheco even nodded his head.
Douglas Duncan had pulled out his iPhone to record the ride from the opposite chutes, and Renato Nunes began whistling and clapping his hand with enthusiasm as Pacheco celebrated hitting the 8-second mark in the arena.
Even event winner Kasey Hayes was still in awe of Pacheco’s performance despite winning his own event.
“How about freaking Kaique?” Hayes asked. “94 points. That was an amazing bull ride. I have not seen too many 94-point bull rides and it was worth it. It was definitely worth it. My hat is off to Kaique.”
It is the highest-marked ride of Pacheco’s young PBR career. His career-high ride on the BFTS is 89.75 points on Brutus and Joe The Grinder, but this will surely go down as one of his all-time bests.
RELATED: Looking back at Pacheco’s Top-5 BFTS rides
Robson Aragao was right on the chutes while Pacheco was tying his hand into his bull rope and the 35-year-old couldn’t help but be amazed at the calmness the rookie bull rider possessed.
“Kaique for me is the best young guy in the world right now for riding bulls,” Aragao said. “He is looking like he is riding bulls like Adriano (Moraes), Silvano (Alves). They tie the rope, he squeezes his legs, they open the gate and he is 8 (seconds).
“He looks like Silvano in the chute. There are no nerves. He is so tough to.”
Page said Pacheco deserved every ounce of the 94 points he earned.”
“Bruiser is back there licking his wounds,” Page said metaphorically. “He is a sucker in the dirt. It was a really good bull ride.”
The out helps Bruiser’s case at being named an official contender for the 2015 World Champion Bull race.
Bruiser was marked 46 points in his second consecutive BDVT event.
He was previously marked 46 points after bucking off Reese Cates in 2.91 seconds in Decatur, Texas, during the BlueDEF Velocity Tour event on May 30.
“A lot of left-handed guys have had a lot of success on him in the past and after being on him you kind of see why,” Cates said at the time. “I was kind of right in there and I thought I was a little too far to the inside and I waited and he is bucking hard enough that you can’t wait.”
Page said Bruiser is a bull that any of the best riders in the world should be able to ride for a 90-plus score.
In fact, four of the five rides aboard Bruiser have resulted in 90.5-points or higher.
“That bull is the type that if you don’t make bad mistakes and you try hard he is going to buck under you,” Page said. “He has all of the up-and-down and timing. If you are a bull rider at this level you want him.”
Bruiser has gone 3-1 on the BFTS this year with an average bull score of 44.94 points per out.
“I want to thank H.D. Page,” Pacheco said. “He has excellent bulls.”
Coincidentally, the rider Pacheco is trying to catch in the world standings – Joao Ricardo Vieira – has had the most success on Bruiser.
Vieira is 2-for-3 against Bruiser, including this year’s 90.5-point ride that spearheaded his first PBR Major victory at Iron Cowboy.
Pacheco believes his own ride on Bruiser can now propel him to a strong finish to the season once the BFTS resumes in Biloxi, Mississippi, on Aug. 7.
“It is a big confidence booster because it is a very rank bull, and I put a hell of a ride on him, so I feel very good,” he concluded.
Follow Justin Felisko on Twitter @jfelisko