PUEBLO, Colo. – Nashville Stampede head coach Justin McBride and Stampede Director of Scouting/Rider Development Keith Ryan Cartwright walked out of Casa Torres Mexican Restaurant on Jan. 17 and hopped in McBride’s truck with similar looks on their faces.
The two men tasked with building the Stampede’s roster for the inaugural PBR Team Series had just been blown away at this small restaurant in Decatur, Texas.
Inside Casa Torres an hour or so earlier, 2018 World Champion Kaique Pacheco looked McBride and Cartwright firmly in the eye and posed a question during their nearly two-hour lunch meeting.
“Do you need me to move? I will move,” Pacheco said.
McBride was confused.
“Move where?” he asked.
Pacheco responded: “Nashville. I’m in.”
While riders for the Nashville Stampede will not be required to move to the Music City, that question and answer were music to McBride’s ears. The 42-year-old coach laughed and told Pacheco that would not be necessary.
Regardless, that comment made a lasting impression on the two-time World Champion-turned-head coach.
Pacheco’s response was one of many during that winter afternoon interview that proved to McBride how committed he was to helping lead a team during the PBR Team Series season.
McBride and Cartwright were fairly confident Pacheco would be their guy with the No. 2 selection for the 2022 PBR Team Series Draft, presented by ZipRecruiter, but that lunch meeting solidified their plans for May 23.
That was certainly the case when Pacheco gave Cartwright and McBride a funny look during the interview when Cartwright asked him to discuss some of his hobbies.
Pacheco seemed puzzled, so McBride figured maybe it was a language-barrier issue.
“What do you do for fun?” McBride asked.
Pacheco, though, still furrowed his brow at them.
“I ride bulls better for fun,” Pacheco replied.
If you would have heard McBride yell ‘Check please!’ it was not because Pacheco had failed his interview with the Stampede. Rather, it was McBride calling Stampede CEO & General Manager Tina Battock, confirming he found Nashville’s guy.
“I have known him for a long time, and I visited with him here and there, and I always thought he was a great guy and a talented bull rider,” McBride said. “But when we sat down with him, it really opened my eyes. Everything he said that day led to us realizing he checks all the boxes for what we are looking for.”
Nothing has changed in the seven months since that meeting either.
The Stampede selected Pacheco with the No. 2 pick in the inaugural PBR Team Series draft, and the team announced on Tuesday that they have agreed to a multi-year endorsement deal with Pacheco.
“It’s very important for me to officially be a part of the Stampede team and this family. It makes me really happy,” Pacheco said in an official team release. “I watched Justin McBride before I came to the United States. He’s one of the greatest bull riders we’ve ever seen, and it’s awesome having him behind me and supporting me.”
McBride added, “I feel very lucky that as a coach of a brand-new franchise, Pacheco is the guy that lays the foundation for what the Stampede will be for years to come. His past accolades speak for themselves, but his commitment to excellence and his calm demeanor are exactly what you want when tasking someone to lead a franchise.”
Pacheco’s early season slump (3-for-14) during the UTB season never had McBride reconsidering who the Stampede would select at No. 2, especially considering the Austin Gamblers publicly stated they were targeting two-time World Champion Jose Vitor Leme with the No. 1 pick.
“It is an easy pick to me,” McBride said. “The first two picks are pretty easy – Leme and Pacheco. They are the best two guys in the world. Anywhere. For me, how he is riding doesn’t change anything. The only thing that changes it to me is an injury. When he was struggling (beginning of the year), Pacheco was still our guy.
“The cool thing about Pacheco is he is game. Every second of his life is about becoming a better bull rider. We already have had conversations with him, and he is willing to trust the process that we have in mind for him. We made it pretty clear to him that we do want to give him help. This is not like taking Andrew Luck to the Colts, where there is no help. We want to build around him.”
Pacheco went 1-for-3 for the Stampede during the team’s season-opener in Cheyenne, Wyoming, last week. The Stampede head to Kansas City, Missouri, this weekend for Outlaw Days, where they will take on the Ariat Texas Rattlers (0-2), Kansas City Outlaws (1-1) and Arizona Ridge Riders (1-1).
Nashville vs. Kansas City is this week’s CBS Game of the Week and will air Sunday at noon ET on CBS national television.
“It is a really important honor for me,” Pacheco said earlier this year about joining the Stampede. “This means a lot for them to want to pick me with their first pick. I am a big fan of Justin (McBride). He was a great bull rider. I am going to try to help them with whatever they need so the team will do good. I am excited about riding for Nashville. It will be similar to Global Cup. Everybody needs to work out together and work as a team. There are no individuals.”
Pacheco erupted from his slow start to finish the season runner-up to 2022 World Champion Daylon Swearingen. Pacheco also won $2.1 million at The American at the beginning of his 2022 turnaround and has certainly not looked content despite the record-setting payday.
McBride believes Pacheco has untapped potential, and he hopes the Stampede will benefit from that in the coming months and years.
“I don’t think Pacheco has ever seen his best days yet,” McBride said. “I don’t think he has barely scratched the surface of what he can be, and I think he gets that. He doesn’t know how to get there by himself, and he is trying really hard to. I think he is a coach’s dream. You can’t find a guy physically, mentally, and more willing to want to be the best he can be. No matter whether that is finishing ahead of this guy or not, he just wants to get better.”
Follow Justin Felisko on Twitter @jfelisko
Photo courtesy of Josh Homer/Bull Stock Media