TACOMA, Wash. – Brady Fielder may be quiet and mild-mannered, but don’t let the calm exterior fool you: he’s as invested in the 2025 world title race as anybody else.

The tension in the title race has been bubbling for months, and it reached a fever pitch at the regular-season finale in Tacoma, Washington.

With No. 1 Dalton Kasel doctoring out of the championship round, No. 2 Fielder saw his opportunity.

He picked Ricky Vaughn with the second pick in the championship round bull draft and made it count, converting on the formidable bovine for 88.5 points.

And when he got off, he celebrated with a clap and a yell, accepting chest bumps and back slaps from bullfighter Austin Ashley and entertainer Brinson James.

From Fielder, who usually lets his riding do the talking and isn’t prone to showing emotion, that’s the equivalent of a war cry while doing a backflip off the Can-Am Cage.

“I’m just thankful to be able to take care of that moment that I was in,” Fielder said afterwards. “I just had to do what I love and let it take care of itself.

“I was pretty pumped up when I got him rode,” he added with a wide grin. “It felt pretty good.”

Fielder was one of three men to go 3-for-3 in Tacoma and walked away with a third-place finish, his 10^th Top-5 finish of the season. His aggregate of 262.5 points fell just short of winner Keyshawn Whitehorse’s 264.25 points and Cort McFadden’s 263.5 points.

He earned 79 points towards the UTB standings, while Kasel finished 13^th and earned just 18. The gap between the two is back down to 126 points ahead of the 2025 PBR World Finals: Unleash The Beast on May 8-18.

“I would’ve loved to have won, yeah, but I’m thankful for the achievement I achieved this weekend,” Fielder said. “I couldn’t ask for much more.”

It was a big one for Fielder, not just for the points but for the momentum. The most consistent rider on tour all year – his riding percentage sits at 65.57%, 7% higher than anyone else’s and 10% higher than Kasel’s – had gone a combined 1-for-5 the previous two weekends.

“I’m thankful for God’s blessing, and just keeping the faith,” Fielder said. “I’m doing my best every day and, no matter what, it’s always a good result in the end, whether it's good or bad. There’s so much to take from it, and it allows me to become better.”

It’s hard to get much better than the season he’s had. Even amidst this tight world title race, Fielder says the losing weekends never got to him.

“I just accept it for what it is and move on,” he said. “It doesn’t change who I am, so it can’t affect me in the way that it can, I suppose, because I just keep doing my best and moving forward. It helps me become better each and every time.”

While Fielder is chasing Kasel in the standings, he spent eight weeks in the No. 1 spot himself earlier in the season. Kasel has been riding with his hair on fire for the last two months, winning three events in a row in March and another last weekend in Nampa, Idaho.

Rather than being frustrated, Fielder loves the competition.

“It’s great,” he said. “It doesn’t make it easy, but seeing them guys ride before me and around me and whatnot, it’s what makes me better because I have to be better to win. I just can’t be afraid to go and take it, I guess.”

Fielder has actually been going to Kasel’s ranch during the week and having practice sessions with him, and the two have become close friends this season.

“I love being around Dalton,” Fielder said with a genuine grin. “His attitude is awesome. Just to be able to share these experiences with this kind of people, it’s simply amazing.”

Their friendship may take on a different tenor in a few weeks as all eyes turn to Fort Worth, Texas, for the PBR World Finals: Unleash The Beast. Eliminations kick things off on May 8-11 in Cowtown Coliseum, and Fielder has some work to do if he wants to run Kasel down before the Championship on May 17-18 in AT&T Stadium.

“I know I’d like to be No. 1 all the time, but it is what it is, and that’s what makes you better,” Fielder said. “That’s what it comes down to, is who can go ahead and take it.”

This will be Fielder’s fourth World Finals and by far the most critical of his career thus far.

But don’t let his show of emotion in Tacoma fool you – he’s still keeping things calm, cool and collected.

“I’m really looking forward to it,” Fielder said. “I’ve just got to take care of each and every moment I’m in and just take it as it comes. Nothing changes. Bull riding still remains the same, and that’s what’s going to get me what I want, is taking care of business.”

Photo courtesy of Bull Stock Media