PUEBLO, Colo. – Hidden behind the shadows of Rubens Barbosa’s first career win in Colorado Springs, Colorado, and J.B. Mauney’s continued hot streak since returning from a torn left ACL was the fact that Kaique Pacheco jumped into the Top 3 of the world standings this past weekend.
Here is a by-the-numbers look at the Built Ford Tough Rumble in the Rockies
250: Pacheco’s 250-point performance puts him third in the world standings
It was a simple, yet precise weekend for Pacheco.
The 20-year-old didn’t place higher than fourth in any round at The Broadmoor World Arena, but his third place finish in the event average helped him gain ground on world leader Joao Ricardo Vieira.
Pacheco finished 3-for-4 at the Rumble in the Rockies to earn 180 of his 250 points toward the world standings through the event average. He then tacked on another 40 points in the championship round with his 80.5-point ride on Raven Flyer, which placed him fourth in the round.
“I know that bull is kind of a hard bull, but he is a really good bull,” Pacheco said with the help of Robson Palermo translating. “I had to do everything right on him and I knew everything that bull was going to do. He was going to shoot out one way and turn back another.”
He is the third rider in 27 outs to cover the bull on the BFTS.
Pacheco earned 30 points in Round 1 with his 85.75-point ride on Spin Machine to finish the round in fifth place.
The PBR’s top rookie is expected to compete at the Cactus Jack PBR Bull Riding BlueDEF Velocity Tour event in Uvalde, Texas, and trails Vieira by 620 points.
62.5: J.B. Mauney has 62.5 percent riding average in return
J.B. Mauney returned to the BFTS two weeks ago from his torn left ACL and has been able to cover 62.5 percent of his bulls (5-for-8).
Mauney went 3-for-4 in Colorado Springs and earned another 420 points toward the world standings, giving him 980 points in the past two weeks. The 980 points is a little over half (50.39 percent) of his 1,945 total points he has earned this season.
The 28-year-old earned 70 of his points in Colorado Springs with his 87.5-point ride on King Buck to split the Round 2 victory with Alexandre Cardozo and Bonner Bolton. He then earned 60 points for placing second in Round 1 with an 87-point ride on Midnight Bender and 50 points for his third-place finish in the championship round with an 84.5-point ride on Fire Rock.
The 2013 World Champion returned as the No. 12 bull rider in the world and is now the No. 4 bull rider with Last Cowboy Standing, the featured event of Cowboy Spring Break, coming up on May 22.
Mauney trails Vieira by 682.5 points.
82.5: Cardozo jumps to 35th in the world, but for how long?
Without including injuries, Cardozo holds one of the few remaining spots on the BFTS courtesy of his second-round win.
Cardozo rode White Lie for 87.5 points for his only ride of the weekend, but he picked up an additional 12.5 points to go with his 70 for the round win to earn a total of 82.5 points.
Those 82.5 points helped him go from the last alternate in the draw in Colorado Springs (41st in the world standings) to 35th in the world.
However, Cardozo, who is also competing in Uvalde, will need to earn some points in the next two weeks or else he may lose that spot to other riders competing in Uvalde or at other Touring Pro Division events before Last Cowboy Standing.
5: Roy riding fifth-place consistency
Aaron Roy is sure getting used to finishing in fifth-place, not that he is trying to only finish in fifth place.
Coincidentally, Roy made it three weeks in a row with a fifth-place finish after racking up 120 points with an 88-point ride on Rusty in Round 1.
Like Cardozo, it was his only ride of the weekend, but he was the sole winner of Round 1 and earned 100 points for the victory. He then tacked on the additional 20 points for placing fifth in the event average.
Roy has earned 400 of his 530 world points – 75.47 percent – in the last three BFTS events and is up to 31st in the world standings.
46: Sweet Pro’s Long John racking up 46-point bull scores
Sweet Pro’s Long John was marked 46.75 points for the second consecutive week when he bucked off Nathan Schaper in 3.75 seconds. A week earlier, Long John earned the same score with his 6.49-second buckoff of Kasey Hayes.
Long John has been marked 46 or more points in five outs this season. In comparison, three-time World Champion Bushwacker posted five bull scores of 46 or more points last year.
Follow Justin Felisko on Twitter @jfelisko
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