PUEBLO, Colo. – When Dalton Kasel exited the dirt at the Golden 1 Center in Sacramento after his out in the PBR Wrangler Long Live Cowboys Classic 15/15 Bucking Battle, he was visibly not pleased.

“I didn’t ride that bull very well,” the 2019 Rookie of the Year told Matt West on CBS. “I ride better than that, and that was pretty piss poor.”

The ride that upset him so much was an 88.25-point outing on Chiseled.

It also won him the 15/15 Bucking Battle.

Kasel out-rode two-time World Champion and eventual event-winner Jose Vitor Leme (86.75 points on Charmer), 2020 Rookie of the Year Boudreaux Campbell (85 points on Cold Creek), and 2016 World Champion Cooper Davis (77 points on Express Lane).

Not bad for an evening of work.

A month ago, at the Monster Energy Buck Off at the Garden in New York City, Kasel ruminated on what has been a somewhat inconsistent season.

“I feel like I’ve been riding good; I just haven’t been posting the biggest scores and stuff,” he said at the time. “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.”

Since then, Kasel has notched two Bucking Battle wins and finished second in another. Before Sacramento, he won the 15/15 in Chicago with 89.75 points on Roc Wit It. His second-place finish came thanks to a massive 92 points on Tulsa Time in Indianapolis last weekend, just falling short of 2018 World Champion Kaique Pacheco’s 93-point ride on Ricky Vaughn.

While his ride Saturday night on Chiseled may have been for a lower score, it ultimately earned him more points toward the Unleash The Beast standings, where he’s ranked No. 6.

“That’s such a great old bull right there,” two-time World Champion Justin McBride said. “That’s what you would call a rider-friendly bull, because you watch when he leaves out of here. He’s got Kasel stuck. All of Kasel’s weight’s running down his left leg. He’s trying to get it shifted over. You can see him lean with his upper body to the right, trying to get around there, and Chiseled will allow for that.”

Outside of his streak of 15/15 success, though, Kasel has been on a bit of a skid. He last placed in an event in Chicago in mid-January, finishing 23^rd with a 1-for-2 showing. He’s since bucked off his subsequent six bulls not in 15/15 Bucking Battles.

But when the big bulls show up, so does Kasel.

The win also extends Kasel’s string of successes in Sacramento. He was the event champion in 2021, placed second in 2022, and is a cool 8-for-10 (80%) in the Big Tomato.

“It helps having a great crowd like Sacramento. I’ve always enjoyed coming to this place,” Kasel told West. “And these bulls that are better caliber make me aggressive. That’s what I need, to be aggressive on every bull I get on, and these bulls have been fitting my style, it seems like, as of late.”

Kasel will have to wait a bit for the next 15/15 Bucking Battle, but he’ll next head to Tulsa, Oklahoma, for the PBR Express Ranches Invitational, presented by Hard Rock Hotel & Casino, on Feb. 10-11. Round 1 airs on Feb. 10 at 8:45 p.m. ET on RidePass on Pluto TV.

Photo courtesy of Andy Watson/Bull Stock Media