LITTLE ROCK, Ark. – History was made at the PBR Little Rock in Simmons Bank Arena on Saturday night, and if you blinked, you might’ve missed it.

In Round 1, 2018 World Champion Kaique Pacheco rode Flash Gordon for 83 points. It was a low score, and Pacheco – famously known as the Ice Man for his even-keeled demeanor – didn’t celebrate it.

But it was the most significant ride of Pacheco’s career, making him the 10^th rider in PBR history to join the 400-ride club.

“I’m really happy and proud to hit that number,” Pacheco said. “It’s a long road to get to that number.”

With the milestone, Pacheco joins one of the most exclusive clubs in bull riding, populated by some of the greatest athletes in the sport: Guilherme Marchi (635), J.B. Mauney (538), Silvano Alves (527), Mike Lee (525), Joao Ricardo Vieira (454), Valdiron de Oliveira (430), Eduardo Aparecido (424), Chris Shivers (412) and Ross Coleman (402).

“That means a lot to me to join that group with those guys,” Pacheco said. “I grew up watching those guys riding, and it’s a pleasure to me to join them.”

It may be easy to overlook Pacheco, as the softspoken 30-year-old declines to draw attention to himself. But he’s consistently been one of the best bull riders of the last decade, if not this generation.

Pacheco made his premier series debut in 2015 and dominated the Rookie of the Year race at just 20 years old, finishing No. 2 in the world standings. In 2016, he was 226.58 points ahead of Cooper Davis on the final day of the season, only to lose out on the world title when Davis rode Catfish John for 91 points and he bucked off Slinger Jr. in 6.46 seconds.

In 2017, he finished No. 5 in the world after dealing with a groin/pelvis injury.

Pacheco finally won his world title in 2018, but it wasn’t without some drama. Just days before the 2018 World Finals, at the Velocity Tour Finals, he tore his left PCL and MCL, and there was some doubt as to whether he could compete for the world title.

But compete he did, notching qualified rides in Rounds 1 and 2 as he arrived at the arena three hours before competition to get treated by the sports medicine team. Those two rides were enough, and Pacheco took home a very well-earned gold buckle.

The following season was plagued by injury. Pacheco competed in just 11 events in the 2019 season and wrapped up the year ranked a shocking No. 40.

Since then, Pacheco has been back up near the top of the standings. He finished No. 6 in 2020, No. 2 in 2021-22, and No. 3 in 2023. That year, he led the world title race before fracturing his right tibia and fibula at the second-to-last event of the regular season and having to doctor out of World Finals. Even so, he led the world standings until the last few days of the season.

In 2024, Pacheco finished the season ranked No. 9.

Amid all this, Pacheco also became the first rider to win multiple PBR Team Series titles. He was a member of the Nashville Stampede squad that won the inaugural title in 2022 and then joined the Austin Gamblers before their championship campaign in 2024.

“I always worked really hard to do my best in what I love to do, and my dream was always to come to America and get in the PBR and be a World Champion,” Pacheco said.

Along the way, he collected more rides than just about anybody, joining the 300 club in October of 2022. His career total now stands at 401 after he also rode Pixie for 73.5 points in Round 2 in Little Rock.

Maybe not his favorite rides in his career – those would be his 94-point trip on Chiseled and 93-pointer on Ricky Vaughn, the two highest-scoring rides of his premier series career – but some of the biggest nonetheless.

He was made aware of his impending milestone a week earlier in Milwaukee, but in classic Ice Man fashion, he says it didn’t rattle him and that he felt no additional pressure.

Pacheco is currently ranked No. 9 in the UTB standings, 363 points behind No. 1 Brady Fielder, and is 20-for-38, good for a 52% clip. He’s had four Top-5 finishes this season, though he is still searching for his first victory.

“I struggled a little bit at the start of the season, first few events, but I’m really happy to be on my road again,” Pacheco said. “My riding performance is good now.”

Indeed, in the last three events, he’s finished second, sixth and 10th.

He has some ground to make up, but if he keeps stringing rides together, Pacheco could be in a position to take home another World Championship at the 2025 PBR World Finals in May.

For now, that’s what he will focus on: just stringing rides together.

Few riders have ever done it better.

“Just going, keep riding, and everything can happen,” Pacheco said.

Photo courtesy of Josh Homer/Bull Stock Media