DENVER – In September of 2019, Kache Moosman quit his job as a foreman to focus on bull riding full-time.
He immediately went 0-for-7 in his next four Pendleton Whisky Velocity Tour events.
“I kind of got in a little bit of a slump there towards the end, but I think I just put too much pressure on myself trying to make the (Velocity Tour) Finals,” Moosman said. “I thought I’d just missed the cut, but I got the call.”
At the 2019 Pendleton Whisky Velocity Tour Finals, Moosman won Round 1 with an 89-point ride aboard Reckless Tested, and it finally seemed like taking the plunge was paying off.
“You’ve just got to look back and remind yourself why you do it, why you started it, for the love of the sport,” he said. “For me, I’ve loved riding bulls ever since I was a kid.”
Moosman went 1-for-3 at the Velocity Finals, missing out on a World Finals berth. During the offseason, he took it easy as far as competing, but used his newfound freedom to put all his focus into training for bull riding.
“I was still at home riding the barrel, working on proper moves I need to make, just trying to get everything ready for this 2020 season, and I’m feeling really good for this 2020,” Moosman said. “I’m feeling really good about this is going to be a good season.”
Since the Velocity Tour Finals, Moosman is 4-for-10 in Touring Pro Division and Velocity Tour events, and is 3-for-5 on the Velocity Tour.
On Tuesday at the Denver PBR Chute Out at the National Western Stock Show in Denver, Colorado, Moosman rode Hou R U for 85 points, tying for eighth place in a Round 1 comprised of 90 riders.
“I’m feeling actually really good this year,” Moosman said. “I know I’ve had a couple hiccups here where I didn’t get my hips back down and stuff on bulls going away from my hand, I just kind of got tipped out. But I feel like I’m able to focus on bull riding 100%, and when I make the moves, I know what I do, because I’m practicing so much on trying to get it right.”
The Denver Chute Out continues on Wednesday. Round 1 was split over the course of Monday and Tuesday, with the Top 30 riders overall qualifying for Round 2 on Wednesday. The Top 15 riders in following the first two rounds then advance to the championship round.
Fans can watch all of the action from Denver live on RidePass beginning at 9 p.m. ET.
Moosman has spent a good deal of time focusing on improving on bulls away from his hand, and he’s already seeing improvements. All four of his draws at the Oakland Classic in Oakland, California, and the Reno Rumble in Reno, Nevada, to begin the season were away from his hand.
“I got on two bulls that went away from my hand in Oakland, California,” he said. “I rode the first one. The second one got me down just before the whistle. And then this last weekend in Reno, I ended up getting on two bulls away from my hand. The first one got me down a little early, and then the second one I made sure to make the right moves and stay small and have some fun, and I got him rode. So I’m feeling good coming into this week.”
Moosman’s career-best finish at a Velocity Tour event was second place at the 2019 Oakland Classic. He hopes Denver could be his first win, and that he’ll get up to the Unleash The Beast sooner rather than later.
“That’s what the goal is,” Moosman said. “I’m hoping to get up there before the summer break. I want to be sitting at the top before the summer break, and then just continue hitting the ones through the summer break that’s open, and then when they start back up, I’d like to be at the top.”
In Las Vegas in November, Moosman celebrated his Round 1 win with his wife, Jessica, his 1-and-a-half-year-old son Sutton, and his 5-year-old daughter Kache Lynn. His family is usually on the road with him, and he toted Sutton around the locker room following the completion of Round 1 in Denver as well.
A huge family man, Moosman said it was never a doubt that he’d take his kids on the road with him.
“I was always going to take them with me,” he said. “Before I had kids, my wife went with me quite a bit on the road. She’s been supportive of me ever since we got together. She’s always pushed me to go.”
In fact, Sutton was born right before Moosman competed at his first-ever PBR event, the Velocity Tour stop in Youngstown, Ohio, in February of 2018.
Moosman had just driven from his home in Price, Utah, to Youngstown when he got the call that Jessica might be in labor and was checking herself into the hospital.
“About 10, 15 minutes later after she got checked in the hospital, I got the call saying I was a dad,” Moosman said. “It was pretty neat. And I ended up doing pretty good out there. I ended up taking second place overall out of the two days. So I mean, it was kind of crazy. As soon as I leave to go out of town, he ends up coming five weeks early. But I was just blessed he was healthy, everything was good.”
When his kids aren’t on the road with him, they’re watching and cheering for him at home – Moosman says Sutton loves it so much, he wouldn’t be surprised if he wanted to become a bull rider one day. But having them on the road with him is always preferred, as he knows that he always has a soft place to land, regardless of what happens on the dirt.
“That’s the thing. I know they’ll definitely love me no matter what, and they’re really supportive if I ride or if I get bucked off,” Moosman said. “They’re happy either way. Just as long as I stay healthy and keep going this year. That’s my goal, is just stay healthy, hit it as hard as I can, and it’ll pay off.
“I think if I just keep working at it, as soon as it clicks, it’s just going to take off.”