PUEBLO, Colo. – Last week, 2019 Rookie of the Year Dalton Kasel had a whirlwind of a week in New York City.
He arrived on Tuesday and attended a New York Rangers game, followed by a New York Knicks game on Wednesday. On Friday, he and a few other riders and PBR staff members also rang the opening bell at the New York Stock Exchange.
“I don’t know if it was good or bad for the economy,” Kasel joked. “I’m not really into that, and I was trying to figure out what all the computers meant. I knew that green was good and red was bad, so that’s all I could go off of.”
Kasel then finally got to compete over the weekend at the PBR Monster Energy Buck Off at the Garden, presented by Ariat, in Madison Square Garden – the world’s most famous arena.
It was a week of incredible opportunities for the native of Muleshoe, Texas – population 5,090 – and that fact is not lost on him.
“I thought (bull riding) would maybe make me enough money where I could go see stuff, but the stuff I’ve seen isn’t anything that I would actually think that I would go spend money on,” Kasel said. “And now, looking back at it, it is something that I’m super thankful that I get to experience. It’s cool, all the things the Lord has put in my way.”
Kasel won Round 2 Saturday night with 88.5 points on Homegrown, going 1-for-3 to finish 13th overall in New York.
“That bull was an awesome bull,” Kasel said. “I’ve seen him a bunch, and I actually was in the locker room saying how I’ve always wanted to get on that bull, and I got a re-ride and ended up being able to get on that bull. He’s really neat. He has a lot of whip to him, and he’s an awesome-feeling bull.”
Kasel is ranked No. 12 in the Unleash The Beast standings heading into this weekend’s PBR Tractor Supply Co. Invitational in Chicago. He will take on Black as Coal (0-3, UTB) in Round 1 on Friday (8:45 p.m. ET, RidePass on Pluto TV) and Roc Wit It (1-0, UTB) in the 15/15 Bucking Battle (3 p.m. ET on Saturday on CBS).
“I don’t think on any of them I get on, and sometimes I do think, and I usually fall off,” Kasel said. “So if I kind of just go in and let my body react, that’s probably the best way I stay on.”
So far this season, Kasel’s best finish is a third-place effort at the Manchester Invitational in December. He finished eighth in Albany, New York, 12th in St. Louis, and 13th in New York. The 23-year-old says his goal is to win a world title this season, and he’s feeling confident and plans to stay the course.
Don’t think. Just ride.
“I’m not going to change anything,” Kasel said. “I feel like I’ve been riding good; I just haven’t been posting the biggest scores and stuff. So I’m just going to keep doing what I’m doing and just keep it simple and just try to stay on as many as I can.”
FIRST 15/15 BUCKING BATTLE OF 2023
This weekend in Chicago is the first 15/15 Bucking Battle of the season, matching up the Top 15 riders against the Top 15 bulls. A rider to keep an eye on is – as always – two-time World Champion Jose Vitor Leme, who takes on The Right Stuff, a bull he has seen eight times and ridden five. Leme has 10 rides of 90-plus points in 15/15s in his career and has the chance to earn his eighth 15/15 victory.
Another notable rematch is Mason Taylor vs. Night Hawk. The last time these two met was at the 2022 PBR World Finals, when Night Hawk was marked 47.25 points en route to the Bull of the Finals title.
Eduardo Aparecido and Cooper Davis each have five career 15/15 wins, while four riders are making their first appearance in a 15/15 – Daniel Keeping, Thiago Salgado, Rafael Jose de Brito and Brady Oleson.
2022 YETI World Champion Bull Ridin Solo is in the 15/15 draw after finding his groove last weekend, earning a 45.5-point bull score in the championship round to tie for the highest-marked bull.
15/15 BUCKING BATTLE MATCHUPS
Keyshawn Whitehorse vs. Ridin Solo*
Luciano de Castro vs. Preachers Kid
Boudreaux Campbell vs. Cold Creek*
Dalton Kasel vs. Roc Wit It
Brady Oleson vs. Renegade
Jose Vitor Leme vs. The Right Stuff*
Silvano Alves vs. Tulsa Time
Jesse Petri vs. Pookie Holler
Eduardo Aparecido vs. Cliff Hanger
Mason Taylor vs. Night Hawk*
Rafael Jose de Brito vs. Blue Duck
Thiago Salgado vs. Smooth Steel
Daniel Keeping vs. Sky Harbor
Cooper Davis vs. Magic Potion
Andrew Alvidrez vs. Time For Magic
*indicates a rematch
WHO’S IN FOR CHICAGO
Andrew Alvidrez
Cooper Davis
Daniel Keeping
Thiago Salgado
Rafael Jose de Brito
Mason Taylor
Eduardo Aparecido
Jesse Petri
Silvano Alves
Jose Vitor Leme
Brady Oleson
Dalton Kasel
Boudreaux Campbell
Luciano de Castro
Keyshawn Whitehorse
Bob Mitchell
Sandro Batista
Colten Fritzlan
Manoelito de Souza Junior
Kaique Pacheco
Koltin Hevalow
Derek Kolbaba
Tate Pollmeier
Wyatt Rogers
Dener Barbosa
Rafael Henrique dos Santos
Ezekiel Mitchell
Joao Ricardo Vieira
Alex Cerqueira
Joao Henrique Lucas
Adriano Salgado
Ednei Caminhas
Dakota Louis
Conner Halverson
Alex Marcilio
Alisson de Souza
Dalton Rudman
Jake Morinec
Eli Vastbinder
OUT BECAUSE OF INJURY/OTHER
Daylon Swearingen
Marcelo Procopio Pereira
Braidy Randolph
Chase Outlaw
Casey Roberts
Vitor Losnake
Briggs Madsen
Cody Jesus
Lucas Divino
Chase Dougherty
Clayton Sellars
Cole Melancon
Kyler Oliver
Junior Patrik Souza
Marcus Mast
Ednelio Almeida
Cole Fischer
Wingson Henrique da Silva
VELOCITY TOUR UPDATES
This may be the busiest two-week stretch of the regular season, with a handful of riders competing at the Pendleton Whisky Velocity Tour event in Denver on Monday-Wednesday before heading to Chicago. Among that group are Luciano de Castro, who won Round 1 and finished third overall, and Rafael Jose de Brito, who finished fifth.
Four riders from the Velocity Tour earned draw spots in Chicago after the second round of premier-series cuts – Alex Marcilio (winner in Lexington, Kentucky), Jake Morinec, Conner Halverson (winner in Portland, Oregon), and Dalton Rudman.
ALVIDREZ TAKES 111.5-POINT LEAD INTO CHICAGO
Andrew Alvidrez still holds the top spot of the Unleash The Beast standings following a blazing start to the season. After earning the first two Unleash The Beast event wins of his career back-to-back in Manchester and Albany, Alvidrez finished sixth in New York. He even gained ground on No. 2 Cooper Davis, who went 0-for-2 before withdrawing. Alvidrez will take on I’m A Secret (9-4, UTB) in Round 1 in Chicago.
ROUND 1 REMATCHES
Derek Kolbaba vs. Back Jack (2021 Fort Worth, Texas – 5.38 seconds)
Ezekiel Mitchell vs. Lil’ Man (2019 Velocity Tour in Wheeling, West Virginia – 2.55 seconds)
Mason Taylor vs. WSM’s Sun Country (2022 Challenger Series in Thief River Falls, MN – 5.94 seconds)
FOLLOW ALONG
All of this weekend’s action will be available to watch beginning Friday at 8:45 p.m. ET on RidePass on Pluto TV. The 15/15 Bucking Battle will air on CBS national television Saturday at 3:30 p.m. ET, while Round 2 and the championship round will air Sunday at 8 p.m. ET on CBS Sports Network.
Photo courtesy of Andy Watson/Bull Stock Media
