Kaique Pacheco Regular Season 2023 Recap
Kaique Pacheco’s first post-surgery appointment was last week with Dr. Tandy Freeman where it was determined that Kaique will not compete at the World Finals event. There is just too much trauma to manage this soon after surgery. It is not the decision he wanted, but it is the best one for Kaique at the moment. Too many things can go wrong; just getting out of the chutes, then having the strength to squeeze the bull with his legs, getting off the bull and hitting the dirt, then trying to “get away” from the bull on his hands and knees in the dirt are all concerns that could potentially put others in danger.
In Kaique’s own words, “please apologize to all of my sponsors for me. This is not what I wanted, I am very sad but it is the best option for me now, and I trust God’s plans”.
His first appointment with his surgeon Dr. Jones was today in Dallas, where they removed the bandages and took X – rays that revealed everything is good and healing as expected. He can start physiotherapy now using bands to start mobility exercises for his leg, knee and foot. His next appointment is 4 weeks from now in which they will take more X – Rays, and hopefully then he can start putting weight on his foot. He has been instructed to keep using crutches at all times for the next 4 weeks.
Kaique was officially ruled out of competition today, and he does so ranked first in the PBR UTB world finals standings with 980 points and he has qualified – injured for his 8th career PBR UTB World Finals. In 25 events (21 regular tour stops and 4 – 15/15 Bucking Battles) Kaique rode 30 (1st on tour) of 62 outs (1st on tour) for a 48.40 riding %, which is 3rd on tour. He spent the last 6 weeks of the season at the top of the standings, and has remained inside the top 4 of the standings for 16 consecutive weeks. He won two UTB Events (Duluth and Milwaukee) T – 2nd, won one 15 / 15 round (Indianapolis, IN), he leads the tour with 14 event championship round qualifications, leads with eight bulls ridden in those rounds, and leads with two of those round wins. His total of 6 round wins ranks 2nd, his 3 90+ point rides ranks 3rd, he rode to 9 top 5 finishes and 11 top 10’s.
Kaique was awarded The Mason Lowe Award for scoring the highest ride score of the UTB season. 93 points aboard Ricky Vaughn at the Indianapolis, IN 15 – 15 (1-28-2023) held up all season as the top score. In honor of fallen PBR rider Mason Lowe (1993 – 2019), PBR awards the rider with the highest score of the season with The Mason Lowe Award.