Salgado’s Pendleton Whisky Velocity Tour Championship is a Victory for Entire Family
By: Justin Felisko
LAS VEGAS – Adriano Salgado had tears running down his face on Sunday night as he accepted the 2021 Pendleton Whisky Velocity Tour championship.
Salgado was overcome with emotion as he thought about what the $50,000 championship bonus would mean for his family in Brazil, especially his 1-year-old son Henry Gabriel, and how blessed he was to have an opportunity to live out a dream his father gave up on pursuing two decades ago.
“This is amazing because me and my family, we were real simple coming up,” Salgado said with the help of Paulo Crimber translating. “Always hard workers. And without a doubt, this money is going to help us a lot.”
Not only did Adriano win the 2021 Pendleton Whisky Velocity Tour championship, but his brother Thiago Salgado also secured his first PBR World Finals qualification this weekend.
“It’s just another dream coming true, and that’s where we’re going to show everything we can do,” Adriano said. “That’s where we show how hard we worked to be here.”
Thiago looked up fondly at his brother and mentor and wrapped his arm around him on the dirt of the South Point Arena & Equestrian Center.
Adriano has been one of Thiago’s biggest coaches since Thiago got on his first calf at 5 years old. Bull riding is in their blood as both their father and mother rode bulls earlier in their lives.
When Adriano decided to return to the United States in 2020 after a brief stint in 2019, Thiago, who was still only 17 years old, decided to make the trek to the U.S. with his older brother.
However, COVID-19 put a damper on their aspirations last year.
Adriano competed at three events, including two Pendleton Whisky Velocity Tour events, and went 0-for-3.
Once the worldwide pandemic intensified, Adriano decided to head back to Brazil to be with his family and son.
Thiago, meanwhile, decided to remain in the United States in Whitesboro, Texas. The brothers were not reunited until Adriano returned this past March.
Now, the two riders are set to ride at the World Finals together beginning Wednesday night at T-Mobile Arena. Round 1 airs on CBS Sports Network at 10 p.m. ET.
“It’s amazing,” Thiago said. “There are no words to describe it because he’s always inspired me to show the best way to go, the best way to be. And he is my inspiration, always going to be. It’s like I just won that title with him.”
Thiago has drawn Mike’s Motive (11-3, UTB) for Round 1, while Adriano will square off against Wreck It Ralph (0-1, UTB).
Adriano began the Velocity Tour Finals ranked fifth in the VT standings, but he only needed to make up 33.5 points on injured No. 1 Michael Lane.
Salgado began the VT Finals with 88.5 points on The Bandit Round 1, dedicating his performance to his late friend Amadeu Campos Silva, but Blow Torch then bucked him off in 3.92 seconds in Round 2. Down to his final chance to win the VT championship, Salgado bore down in the championship round, riding Grey Smoke for 90 points to propel himself to the championship and a second-place finish in the event average.
“I told Thiago before the second round was done, I said, ‘If one more guy rides, I’ll get the bull I want for the short go,’” Adriano said. “Kaique (Pacheco) went on and rode, and I got the bull. I told my brother, ‘This is a bull I wanted. If I ride him, I think I can win the title and have the Finals made.’ But before the ride, I didn’t think about anything like that. I just wanted to do a good job and ride that bull.”
Reaching the World Finals is a family accomplishment, Adriano explained. The brothers say they represent not only themselves but all of their immediate and extended families in Brazil.
Their father, Adriano Gonzalez Salgado, was a talented bull rider in Brazil, but he eventually stepped away from the sport to take a job as a ranch hand and provide for his family. The Salgados split time living on a ranch in Batatais, Brazil, and then in the city.
After a series of multiple back-and-forth moves, the family settled in Batatais and opened a Western sporting goods store offering handcrafted saddles and safety equipment, such as bull riding vests and custom chaps, for bull riders and rodeo athletes.
The orange riding vests that Adriano and Thiago wear, as well as their chaps, are custom-made by their father.
“My dad and my grandpa always showed us how to be honest and hard workers, and then my dad, to make sure he provided for me, my brother and my mom, he quit riding bulls to work for us and provide for us. And I know that’s his dream (was to come to the United States),” Adriano said. “Winning this (title) is just like we’re winning for him because that was his dream, to be a bull rider.”
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The father would often tell his boys to be warriors of faith and that “determination is what makes you never give up on your dreams.”
Now Adriano and Thiago will attempt to continue forward and contend for a World Finals event title come Sunday morning at T-Mobile Arena.
“It’s just another dream coming true, making the Finals, and that’s where we’re going to show everything we can do,” Adriano concluded. “That’s where we show how hard we worked to be here.”
Follow Justin Felisko on Twitter @jfelisko
Photo courtesy of Andre Silva/Bull Stock Media
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