COURTESY PHOTO/PBR
Muleshoe native and 2019 PBR Rookie of the Year Dalton Kasel is entering his fourth year of competition.
On Jan. 21, professional bull rider Dalton Kasel got on the back of Gangster Bones, who set out to teach the 2019 PBR Rookie of the Year just who was boss.
The bull took a flying leap, landed and stumbled, pitching into the dirt nose first at an angle that would have dumped most riders.
Kasel stays on for the full 8 seconds.
But Gangster Bones isn’t finished with him yet.
As Kasel comes off the bull, his hand is apparently tangled with the strap, and the Gangster Bones leads him around for a few seconds before he gets his hand free and the bullfighters take over.
Think that’s the end?
Gangster Bones runs around the ring and motions at Kasel as the rider climbs the fence rail. Kasel jumps a little to avoid the horns and laughs.
A CBS Sports announcer comments, “We just saw an 8-second microcosm of … how good this young man is.”
Another announcer says, “That would blow any bull rider’s mind to just give up, take off, get a re-ride … break the concentration, what have you. Dalton just sets right in the middle, rides him through it.”
“You just keep trying,” Kasel remarked in an interview following the ride.
The 23-year-old Muleshoe native has had more than bulls and ropes to tangle with over the past three years, battling injuries that kept him out for much of the 2021 season.
This year, he’s off to a brave start, according to PBR press releases. The ride on Gangster Bones in Indianapolis garnered a huge 90 points.
His next ride didn’t go so well. He managed to stay on Jive Turkey, the high-marked bull of the event, just 4.68 seconds, ending with a third-place finish.
At this time, Kasel holds a PBR World Ranking of Number 7. Gangster Bones ranks 31 in the bull standings while Jive Turkey ranks 6.
PBR schedules are readily available on the internet, including television and streaming schedules.
Kasel, the son of Tim and Kristin Kasel of Muleshoe and a Farwell High School graduate, is well worth watching.
