Kaique Pacheco Wins $2.1 Million

ARLINGTON, TEXAS – History was made. Champions emerged. Lives were changed.
   What separates The American Rodeo from the rest? Being the richest single-day event in all of western sports.
   Saving the best for last, The American Rodeo capped off a spectacular day of riding, roping and racing during its Finals Championship Round with Brazilian bull rider Kaique Pacheco winning the bull riding and the life-changing/historic $2 million bonus for eight seconds of work at AT&T Stadium on Sunday afternoon.
   “I can’t describe the moment,” said the 27-year-old Pacheco, who earned more than $2.1 million. “I always dreamed about winning The American Rodeo and I finally made that happen.”
   The day was filled with real-life cowboys and cowgirls giving Super Bowl caliber performances at the state-of-the-art home of the Dallas Cowboys.
   The American Rodeo paid out more than $3 million on its final day. Each of the event winners earned $100,000 while second place paid $25,000.
   Presented by Teton Ridge, The American Rodeo is a true open competition format, bringing together top professional rodeo champions and every day, hard-working cowboys and cowgirls in a winner-take-all showdown mean to crown the finest talent the world has to offer.
   Emphasis on WORLD.
   Champions from three different countries – United States, Canada and Brazil – were crowned. Sunday’s long round and short round included competitors from 24 different states and two Canadian provinces.
   Tilden Hooper repeated as bareback champion—aboard the same horse he won in in 2021 -- while Caleb Smidt won his second tie-down roping title.
   Other champions: Dawson Hay (saddle bronc); Jesse Brown (steer wrestling); Andrew Ward and Buddy Hawkins II (team roping); Jackie Crawford (breakaway roping) Shelley Morgan (barrel racing).
   All three rough stock events – bareback, saddle bronc and bull riding – were decided by a paper-thin half-point in scoring.
   “It was a good day to have a good day,” said Morgan, sharing the post-event press conference podium with, and speaking for, her fellow champions.
   Pacheco had the richest day of all. The humble Brazilian cowboy, who came to the United States in 2014 to take care of his family, got into the final four based on his buck off time.
   Pacheco went 89 points on his bovine opponent “County Jail” to best seven-time PRCA world champion Sage Kimzey by a half-point.
   “Before the event, I don’t think about it too much,” he said of riding for record-setting money. “I am really happy to ride my bulls and do my job. I just try to make a ride on every bull I get on. This means a lot.”
   Pacheco, the 2018 Professional Bull Riders (PBR) world champion, also won the Barretos Rodeo in 2015, the biggest rodeo in Brazil. He now holds titles on three of the biggest stages in rodeo.
   “I grew up with the sport,” he said. “My father rode bulls, my uncles were bull riders and bull fighters. I was determined to be a bull rider, too. I love the sport.”
BAREBACK
   After posting the top score of 89 points in the long round, Hooper had first choice among the Finals horses.
   The pick was easy. A familiar friend… “Gun Fire.”“Not at all,” Hooper said of any hesitation. And for good reason.
  A year ago, Hooper and “Gun Fire” won The American Rodeo bareback title.
   “That’s an awesome horse,” said Hooper, of Carthage, Texas who was wearing the buckle from his 2021 The American Rodeo title. “She gets up in the air and bucks hard. I knew if she did her thing and I did my job, we would be in the money.”
   The two combined for 91 points, a half-better than six-time PRCA world champion Kaycee Field. It was also a half-point improvement from Hooper’s 2021 score.
“The pressure isn’t quite as much,” said Hooper, an eight-time Wrangler National Finals qualifier. “This is what we dream about. I love riding the best bucking horses against the best guys in the world.”
BREAKAWAY ROPING
   Crawford has a lot of world championship buckles. Twenty of them in fact. And she’s got the perfect place for her new high-profile hardware.
“I missed last year because I was pregnant,” said Crawford, considered one of the leaders in women’s rodeo. “To come back this year and win it … this buckle is going right next to my first world championship buckle.”
   Crawford, of Stephenville, Texas advanced out of the long round with a throw of 2.44 seconds. She was even better in the Finals, winning in 2.26 seconds.
   Young teen Harley Pryor of Moore Haven, Florida was second in 3.31.
   Crawford remembers the days of roping for $200 first-place checks. “I was there before there was the pot of gold,” she said.’
   “We appreciate The American Rodeo including us in the performance and for equal money. This has changed it for us. It just shows, follow your passion.”
TIE-DOWN ROPING
   Smidt is starting to make this a habit. The 32-year-old Bellville, Texas cowboy posted a time of 6.87 seconds to win his second title at The American Rodeo. It was the only sub-seven second run of the day.
Tuf Cooper, of Decatur, Texas was second in 7.6 seconds. “It’s one of the biggest events in rodeo,” said Smidt who also won in 2019. “To be able to compete and able to the win is a blessing.”
   Smidt advanced with a time of 7.34 seconds in the long round, good enough for second.
   He is the reigning PRCA world champion and also won titles in 2015 and 2018. He won the WNFR average the same years.
   “I get up every day and work at roping,” Smidt said. “In our sport, if you don’t show up, you don’t get paid. “To win this, it’s a dream come true.”
STEER WRESTLING
   Jesse Brown made the right decision. And it has proved to be a profitable one.
   Coming out of high school, Brown was the player of the year for the state of Oregon and his league’s player of the year in basketball. He was preferred walk-on as a quarterback at Washington State University.
   He switched to rodeo and transferred to Montana State University to hone his bulldogging skills.
   “Reasons,” Brown said of changing sports. “It was definitely the right decision.”
   He put down his steer in 3.76 seconds – the only run less than four seconds in the Finals. He advanced with a time of 4.36 seconds in the long round.
Trell Etbauer, of Goodwell, Oklahoma, was second in 4.12 seconds. He is the son Robert Etbauer, two-time (1990-91) world saddle bronc champion.
   While Brown no longer plays football, he still credits his team for success.
   “I’ve got a great support system,” he said. “Curtis Cassidy let me borrow his horse Tyson and served as my hazer.  Brown was the 2017 PRCA rookie of the year. I never thought about rodeo growing up, let alone rodeoing in Cowboys Stadium for this money. I like this sport a lot more.”
TEAM ROPING
   Ward and Hawkins are more than friends and roping partners. They are also brothers-in-law. The two can also rope fast.
   They won the team roping with a time of 3.69 seconds, their second sub-four second run of the day. They were 3.61 in the hotly contested long round. It took a time of 3.86 or better to advance.
“This is a special group,” said Hawkins, turning toward the other winners in the media room. “I have the least accolades of the team ropers in the finals. Thousands deserve to be up here with us.”
Ward, the header, resides in Columbus, Kansas. Ward, the heeler, calls Edmond, Oklahoma home.
   Last December, the pair shattered the WNFR record for the team roping average. They were 54.7 seconds on 10 runs, easily besting the previous mar, of 59.1 set by Jake Barnes and Clay O’Brien Cooper.
Ward offered a simple reason for their success. “You get confidence being prepared,” he said.
SADDLE BRONC
   There have been many great saddle bronc riders who have come out of Canada. One of those is Rod Hay, a 20-time qualifier for the WNFR and eight-time Canadian champion. Now his son is building his riding resume to join the list.
   The younger Hay took the horse “All Or Nothing” for a 90.5-point ride to best Chase Brooks of Montana by a half-point.
   Former world champion Ryder Wright won The American Rodeo aboard the same horse a year ago.
   “It’s amazing,” said Hay, a two-time WNFR qualifier. “I don’t think it has sunk in yet. We’ll see in a little bit.”
    Hay also had the top ride in the long round with 89.5 points aboard Indian Burn. Riders needed to be 88 points or better to advance.
   “I grew up watching my dad at all the big events,” Hay said. “The lifestyle is hard to beat. You head up and down the road with all of your buddies.”
BARREL RACING
   Shelley Morgan is a former high school math teacher. Now she can use those skills counting the money won at The American Rodeo.
   “This is the most I’ve won. It’s exciting,” said the Eustace, Texas cowgirl.
   Morgan and her horse “Kiss” turned the pattern in 14.609 seconds in the Final Round. It edged reigning WPRA world champion Jordon Briggs, of Tolar Texas by just a scant three-hundredths of a second.
“We love her to death,” said Morgan of “Kiss,” an eight-year-old sorrel. “She can have whatever treats she wants.”
   Morgan had the third-fastest time in the long round at 13.944 seconds. But her most important move came Friday night, reaching out and putting back up the second barrel during her Contender Round run at the Cowtown Coliseum in Fort Worth, Texas.
   “Kiss doesn’t hit barrels very often,” Morgan said. “When she did, it was ‘Oh no, you’re going back up.’
   “Obviously that was big. That was like a $100,000 save.”