FORT WORTH, Texas – When JaCauy Hale was a young teenager, he would watch close friend Cody Jesus get on practice bulls.

Hale was intrigued, and after a while, Jesus had a suggestion.

“He told me to get on,” Hale said. “I fell in love with it, and after that, he’s been a good teacher and coach to me.”

Hale was 17 at the time, and he slowly worked his way up in the bull riding world, eventually winning the 2023 Indian National Finals Rodeo.

That earned him a berth as the INFR invite at the 2024 Ty Murray Invitational in Albuquerque, New Mexico – the same way Jesus made his premier series debut in 2017.

Now, the two were sharing the locker room.

The 22-year-old had a strong debut in Albuquerque, going 2-for-4 to finish eighth. The following weekend, he was invited back to the premier series in Sioux Falls, South Dakota, and won Round 1 with his 87.5-point ride on Snap Chatter.

“I had the invite, and I was just really happy to be there,” Hale said. “I just took it as another bull, and did good there. I was on my way. My second event, they called me out of nowhere, and that was Sioux Falls, and I was happy. After that, they kept calling me, and I’m just happy to be here.”

Hale was blanked through the rest of the regular season, going 0-for-9, but his brief premier series career was enough to qualify him for the 2024 PBR World Finals: Unleash The Beast.

“I’ve been starstruck,” Hale said. “I’ve been dreaming about this ever since I was a little kid, and it still hits me every time I come to a new event. I’m riding against my heroes.”

Hale had a difficult time in Eliminations, going 0-for-3 and withdrawing from Round 4 due to a knee injury sustained in Round 3, later diagnosed as a strained MCL. He attributes his poor performance to both nerves and the nature of bull riding but came into Ride For Redemption at Cowtown Coliseum with a new mindset and new motivation.

He had his girlfriend in Fort Worth with him, but before Ride For Redemption began, his mom and older sister flew in from Ganado, Arizona, to surprise him.

Now, it was time to get the job done.

“It’s been a dream come true, being here, and that’s how I’ve been seeing it last week and yesterday,” Hale said. “It’s just been a dream. I didn’t ride anything until tonight, and I told myself, ‘It’s time to wake up.’”

On Thursday morning, Hale checked the draw and saw his name next to Lapua.

“I normally get the draws the night before, and I didn’t want to look at it until today,” Hale said. “I looked at it, and I knew the bull. I didn’t really know much, but I knew of him, and I knew he was really good. People in the locker room asked me who I got, and I was telling them I got him, and they said it was a good bull, so I was excited.”

That excitement was warranted, as the two matched up for 89 points.

The Top 5 riders from the Ride For Redemption aggregate would qualify for the Championship at AT&T Stadium on May 18-19. Six riders already had scores on the board from Round 1, and Hale had to wait with bated breath for Round 2 to wind down to know his fate.

When only two of those riders, Daniel Keeping and Bob Mitchell, went 2-for-2, it was official: Hale was in, and it was in a tie for the Round 2 win.

“It feels real good,” Hale said. “It’s been a blessing, and I’m just happy to be here and happy to punch my ticket to AT&T.”

With an off day on Friday, Hale plans to ice his knee and do the rehab exercises prescribed by the sports medicine team. His goal is to win the World Finals event title and move up in the standings, but he won’t complicate it too much.

“Bull riding’s simple, so that’s my game plan,” he said. “Just get in the right mindset and be at AT&T.”

Photo courtesy of Andy Watson/Bull Stock Media