Pacheco Calm, Cool and Collected as Final Push for a Second World Title Begins at World Finals in Arlington
By: Justin Felisko
ARLINGTON, Texas – There may be another rider with a gold buckle already on his waist knocking on the door of the 2020 championship by the time Sunday rolls around at AT&T Stadium.
Throughout the days leading up to the 2020 PBR World Finals beginning on Thursday night, 2018 World Champion Kaique Pacheco has been his stoic, confident self in Arlington, Texas.
The No. 3-ranked bull rider may not be as flashy as two-time World Champion Jess Lockwood or 2016 World Champion Cooper Davis, but don’t think for a second that Pacheco is counting himself out when it comes to this year’s World Championship.
Pacheco is very much prepared to try to make a run at world leader Jose Vitor Leme and the PBR’s $1 million World Championship.
“I didn’t win as many events like I’d done the past few years,” Pacheco said this week during a CBS television production meeting with the help of Paulo Crimber translating. “I just won one event this year, but I’ve been to the championship round a lot of times. That’s kind of my way.
“Come quiet and surprise them at the end.”
In reality, it should not be a shock to see Pacheco only 688 points behind Leme, nor to hear him speak calmly about the big mountain awaiting him at the World Finals.
Pacheco has been a perennial World Champion contender nearly single year of his career. Outside of having to miss the final five months of the 2019 season because of elbow surgery, he has never finished lower than fifth in the world standings since winning the 2015 Rookie of the Year title. It seems somewhat silly to forget about Pacheco when people talk about the top tier of bull riders like Leme, Lockwood and Davis.
“People focus on the top two guys a lot more than they should, probably, and they forget about the guys coming behind,” Pacheco said. “But that doesn’t bother me none, because my focus is not on them. It’s on my bulls. I ride bull by bull, and I try to do my job. I try to do a great job, because when you do a great job, like I say, that’s what matters. I try to forget everybody else and what they say about who. I just try to do my job and focus on my bulls, because that’s what I have to go against.”
Another thing to keep in mind is that, when Pacheco climbs into the bucking chutes on Thursday, he is fully healthy once again.
This week is the first PBR World Finals in three years that Pacheco is healthy. He tore his left PCL/MCL at the 2018 Velocity Tour Finals, but he was able to hobble his way at the World Finals that year to two qualified rides and a gold buckle. He missed the start of the 2019 season recovering from the knee injury only to then have his season end in Brazil over the summer break when he tore ligaments in his elbow.
“I’m really happy with the season this year because, based on last year, after the Finals I tore my ligaments and had to be out for a while,” Pacheco said. “And then when I came back, I wasn’t riding very good, and then when I started riding, I got my elbow dislocated and had to have surgery. And that was kind of a rough time for me, and I had to take the rest of the year off. And to have this year, what I’ve done, I’m really happy and pleased with the year I’ve had so far.”
One rider can earn a maximum of 1,060 world points at the World Finals. Therefore, Pacheco will likely need to win the event average (560 points) to make a push for the world title.
Pacheco is 28-for-58 (48.28%) with one event win and one round win this season.
The five-time PBR World Finals qualifier’s best attribute this weekend may go beyond his normal consistency. Instead, it will be his mindset. Pacheco is one of the most even-keeled bull riders remaining in the World Championship race, and that is an attribute he believes a rider must have to walk out of AT&T Stadium Sunday with the gold buckle.
“To be the best rider in the world, you’ve got to be the best one out there, and that means to be focused, don’t let the pressure get to your head, and just do your job like nobody else does,” Pacheco said. “Just try to focus on your bull, and what you need to do on top of that bull, and forget anything else.”
The 26-year-old has drawn Goodnight Robicheaux (25-2, UTB) for Round 1 on Thursday (9:30 p.m. ET on CBS Sports Network/RidePass).
“The first round means a lot, because that’s going to kind of get you that momentum,” Pacheco said. “If you have a good start, that gives you a good place to pick for a good bull for the second round draft. And that means a lot.”
If Pacheco can get past Goodnight Robicheaux, he could be well on his way to challenging for the World Finals title, and possibly a historic second gold buckle.
“I just need to have a great Finals, and maybe get a gold buckle on Sunday,” he said. “For you to be a champion, you have to be the best one, the best bull rider, the one who rides more bulls and wins the most.”
Follow Justin Felisko on Twitter @jfelisko
Photo courtesy of Andy Watson/Bull Stock Media
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