Kasel Earns First Win of 2021 at Wrangler Long Live Cowboys Classic in Sacramento

By: Mandi McCary

SACRAMENTO, Calif. – 2019 PBR Rookie of the Year Dalton Kasel (Muleshoe, Texas) went 3-for-3 inside of Golden 1 Center this weekend, winning the Wrangler Long Live Cowboys Classic in Sacramento.

Kasel knocked down two big 90-point rides on Sunday to win his first event in the 2021 PBR (Professional Bull Riders) Unleash The Beast (UTB) season.

To begin Sunday evening of the three-day event, the 22-year-old Texan was paired against Sky Harbor (Wilks Ranch/ Clay Struve/Dakota Rodeo/Chad Berger) in Round 2. Launching from the chutes, the bull spun fast yet still with strong up-and-down kick, and Kasel was flawless. The 90.75-point ride score propelled him to the top of the leaderboard when the day’s opening round ended.

 
Kasel then selected Speed Demon (Heald Pro Bulls/ Clay Struve/ Dakota Rodeo/ Chad Berger) as his opponent in the championship round.

The arena braced for the possibility of a walk-off win on the last ride of the day. As the seconds flew, the cheers rose louder and louder from fans and fellow riders alike. The raucous crowd enjoying the first national touring event in the Golden 1 Center since the onset of COVID-19 was on its feet as his 91-point score was announced.

Kasel’s Round 2 score was his first 90-point ride of the 2021 UTB season, and his championship-round ride marked the second.

“I’m just having fun again,” Kasel said. “I had fun my 2019 season because I didn’t know what to expect, and here I am again having fun. I have a beautiful wife and baby girl to support me. I’m enjoying every minute of life right now.”

Kasel collected a check for $27,112 in addition to 143 world points. Beginning the weekend at No. 28 in the world standings, the win moved him up to No. 16.

2021 Rookie of the Year contender Chase Dougherty (Decatur, Texas) also made his mark in Sacramento, going 3-for-3 for a second-place finish on the weekend.

Dougherty’s weekend catapulted him to the No. 1 position in the 2021 PBR Rookie of the Year race. He now leads No. 2-ranked young gun Colten Fritzlan (Rifle, Colorado) by 54 points.

After an impressive Round 1 win across Friday and Saturday night, Dougherty was paired with Ghost of Oscar (Leffew Bucking Bulls) for Round 2. His 87-point score wasn’t enough to stay atop the leaderboard but kept him at No. 3 in the event as the championship round began.

Dougherty then chose 4B Special (4B Bucking Bulls) in the championship round, riding for 89.5 points and earning $17,359 and 110 world points.

The 23-year-old rider, who began the weekend as the No. 15-ranked rider in the world standings, has now moved to No. 10.

Reigning PBR World Champion and current world leader Jose Vitor Leme (Ribas do Rio Pardo, Brazil) and Mason Taylor (Maypearl, Texas) shared third place for the weekend.

Earlier in the night in Round 2, Leme, who is amid one of the greatest seasons in PBR history, was matched up with TJ Chavez (Walking Lazy J Bull Team) and came down hard after just 2.01 seconds. Leme’s Round 1 ride shared the third-place finish with Austin Richardson (Stephenville, Texas) and kept him as a contender on the leaderboard despite his 2-for-3 weekend.

Leme then chose The Right Stuff (Diamond Willow/ Clay Struve/ Dakota Rodeo/Chad Berger) in the championship round, a bull that has only been ridden five times previously, four of which were by Leme himself.

In hopes of a 90-point or higher score to surpass 1999 PBR World Champion Cody Hart’s single-season 90-point ride record, Leme climbed into the chutes with a determined look.

While he made the 8-second whistle, Leme’s ride, however, was less than he had hoped for, earning an 88.75-point ride score. Due to a technical issue, judges awarded Leme the ability to claim a re-ride, which he declined. The chase for a second world title was the priority for the determined world champ, and he kept the points awarded versus facing another bull and unknown score.

Leme is still tied with Hart’s record.

Collecting $10,411.50 and 53 world points, the No. 1-ranked man still significantly leads world No. 2 Kaique Pacheco (Itatiba, Brazil) by 470.5 points in the world standings.

Taylor began Sunday afternoon aboard Muscles (Leffew Bucking Bulls) for a solid 86.75-point score headed into the championship round.

In the championship round, the talented young Texan chose I’m Busted (Ken Barnhart/ Clay Struve/ Dakota Rodeo/Chad Berger) to earn his first 90-point ride of the 2021 season. When his ride score of 91.5 was announced, his fellow competitors all cheered from the back of the chutes.

Taylor’s 2-for-3 weekend earned him 70.5 world points and $11,882.50. The third-place finish moved him 10 spots in the world standings from No. 31 to No. 21.

 
2016 PBR World Champion Cooper Davis (Jasper, Texas) rounded out the Top 5 of the weekend.

Davis was paired with Twisted X (Hawkins Bucking Bulls/Arthur Saabye/ B Bar) in Round 2 for an electric 87.25-point score. As the championship round began, he sat in the No. 2 spot on the leaderboard.

His selection of Pookie Holler (Dakota Rodeo/Brian & Ashley Pintar/ Chad Berger) did not go as planned in the final round as he hit the ground after 7.43 seconds. The buckoff earned the energetic bovine the “YETI Bull of the Event” honor for his 46.5-point bull score.

Despite Davis’s trouble as the weekend came to a close, he earned $8,044 and 50 world points to hold strong to his No.3 spot in the world standings. Davis sits 46 points behind No. 2 Pacheco and 516.5 points behind world leader Leme.

PBR RidePass on PlutoTV will offer re-airs and on-demand replays of every PBR Unleash The Beast event. PBR RidePass is available on desktops, laptops and mobile devices via www.pluto.tv. Tune to channel 720 for the latest programming schedule.

The PBR Unleash The Beast next travels to Little Rock, Arkansas and Simmons Bank Arena for the PBR Bad Boy Mowers Mowdown on Saturday, Aug. 14, at 6:45 p.m. CDT and Sunday, Aug. 15 at 1:45 p.m. CDT.

Elsewhere in the PBR, headlined by a championship round-best 8-second effort, Manoelito de Souza Junior (Itamira, Brazil) won his career-first PBR Pendleton Whisky Velocity Tour event in Columbia, South Carolina, at the league’s second iteration of the Carolina Classic at Colonial Life Arena.

Despite bucking off Mike’s Effect (Blake Sharp) in Round 1 in 4.21 seconds, Souza was determined to leave the Palmetto State with nothing less than a golden finish.

Souza, who advanced on time, then faced Dang It (Davis Rodeo Ranch/Ed & Cindy Fogle) in the championship round. Poised, the 26-year-old Brazilian contender matched his bovine athlete opponent jump-for-jump en route to an event-best 89.5-point score.

Souza left the campus of the University of South Carolina with 37 world points, and he rose from No. 51 to No. 41 in the race for the 2021 PBR World Championship.

PBR Unleash The Beast – Wrangler Long Live Cowboys Classic
Golden 1 Center -Sacramento, California
Event Leaders (Round 1-Round 1-Round 2-Round 3-Event Aggregate-Event Points)

1. Dalton Kasel, 0-89-90.75-91-270.75-143 Points.
2. Chase Dougherty, 0-90-87-89.5-266.50-110 Points.
3. Jose Vitor Leme, 0-89.5-0-88.75-178.25-53 Points.
(tie). Mason Taylor, 0-0-86.75-91.5-178.25-70.5 Points.
5. Cooper Davis, 0-89.75-87.25-0-177.00-50 Points.
6. Kaique Pacheco, 0-85-88.25-0-173.25-36 Points.
7. Dalton Krantz, 0-85.75-84-0-169.75-24 Points.
8. Dener Barbosa, 0-0-89.75-0-89.75-23 Points.
9. Austin Richardson, 0-89.5-0-0-89.50-20.5 Points.
10. Cody Teel, 0-0-89-0-89.00-19 Points.
11. Boudreaux Campbell, 0-88-0-0-88.00-15 Points.
12. Lucas Divino, 0-87.25-0-0-87.25-13 Points.
13. Cody Nance, 0-86.75-0-0-86.75-12 Points.
14. Ezekiel Mitchell, 0-0-86.5-0-86.50-12 Points.
(tie). Dakota Louis, 0-86.5-0-0-86.50-11 Points.
16. Thiago Salgado, 0-0-86.25-0-86.25-11 Points.
(tie). Eli Vastbinder, 0-86.25-0-0-86.25-10 Points.
18. Keyshawn Whitehorse, 0-85-0-0-85.00-8 Points.
(tie). Jesse Petri, 0-0-85-0-85.00-10 Points.
(tie). Davi Henrique de Lima, 0-85-0-0-85.00-8 Points.
21. Marco Juarez, 0-84.75-0-0-84.75-8 Points.
22. Cole Skender, 0-83.75-0-0-83.75
23. Silvano Alves, 0-83.5-0-0-83.50-8 Points.
24. Alex Cerqueira, 0-82.25-0-0-82.25-8 Points.
25. Aaron Williams, 0-77.25-0-0-77.25
Marco Eguchi, 0-0-0-0-0.00
Derek Kolbaba, 0-0-0-0-0.00
Junior Patrik Souza, 0-0-0-0-0.00
Mauricio Gulla Moreira, 0-0-0-0-0.00
Cole Melancon, 0-0-0-0-0.00
Eduardo Aparecido, 0-0-0-0-0.00
Claudio Montanha Jr., 0-0-0-0-0.00
Marcelo Procopio Pereira, 0-0-0-0-0.00
Andrew Alvidrez, 0-0-0-0-0.00
Conner Halverson, 0-0-0-0-0.00
Matt Triplett, 0-0-0-0-0.00
Lucas Fideles Souza, 0-0-0-0-0.00
Ramon de Lima, 0-0-0-0-0.00
Lane Nobles, 0-0-0-0-0.00
Dalton Rudman, 0-0-0-0-0.00
Hunter Kelly, 0-0-0-0-0.00
Bob Mitchell, 0-0-0-0-0.00
Eli Byler, 0-0-0-0-0.00
Rubens Barbosa, 0-0-0-0-0.00
Casey Coulter, 0-0-0-0-0.00
D.J. Parker, 0-0-0-0-0.00
Aaron Pass, 0-0-0-0-0.00
Adriano Salgado, 0-0-0-0-0.00
Venn Johns, 0-0-0-0-0.00
River Stephenson, 0-0-0-0-0.00
Mason Ward, 0-0-0-0-0.00
Nate Hoey, 0-0-0-0-0.00
Tyler Congleton, 0-0-0-0-0.00
Thor Hoefer II, 0-0-0-0-0.00
Gage Gay, 0-0-0-0-0.00
Ross Freeman, 0-0-0-0-0.00
Justin Houston, 0-0-0-0-0.00
Flávio Vinícius da Silva, 0-0-0-0-0.00
Laramie Craigen, 0-0-0-0-0.00
Andy Guzman, 0-0-0-0-0.00
Riley Gagnon, 0-0-0-0-0.00
Alex Santana, 0-0-0-0-0.00
Junio Quaresima, 0-0-0-0-0.00
Santiago Castellanos, 0-0-0-0-0.00
Alex Guzman, 0-0-0-0-0.00

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