In the sport of bull riding, the rider mounts a frenzied bull and tries to stay on top of the animal despite the bull’s best efforts to knock the rider off. Bull riding is risky because the animals have little compassion for the riders who fall. But, bull rider Rafael Henrique dos Santos recently overcame this fear during the 2023 PBR First Premier Bank/Premier Bankcard Invitational, presented by Cooper Tires.

PBR celebrated the three-time finalist’s accomplishment with a video released shared on their official Facebook page. There was a sizable attendance for the event in Sioux Falls, South Dakota. Rafael Henrique dos Santos, despite the strain, fought valiantly.

The moment when the bull riding star went all out

Several Unleash The Beast (UTB) shows include 15/15 Bucking Battles. In a competition like this, the best 15 bull riders take on the best 15 bulls. The random pairing adds drama for the spectators but increases the stakes for the bull rider, because no one wants to face the toughest bull in the arena. The official Professional Bull Riders (PBR) statistics show that Rafael Henrique dos Santos faced Manaba, which has an 89% buck-off rate. The bull is also a top-10 international performer, standing strong in the 8th position.

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dos Santos only cared about one thing, and that was coming out on top. He is rated number eighteen in the world by the PBR, and going up against the number eighteen bull in the world is no easy task. He, on the other hand, was ready to take home a title. As the bull was freed, the audience went ballistics as dos Santos managed to stay on the animal for longer than the typical three seconds it takes for riders to be bucked off by Manaba. His performance that evening exceeded everyone’s expectations. In the Facebook post’s caption, PBR congratulated the bull rider, saying, “Rafael Dos Santos used the bull power to his advantage. Dos Santos delivered a flawless 90.75-point ride aboard Manaba to earn the Wrangler 15/15 Bucking Battle winning ride.”

Even fans couldn’t take their eyes away from this big win

It takes a lot of effort to gain control of a bull. These monsters may weigh anywhere from 1,100 to 2,200 pounds, which is as frightening as it sounds. Today’s show, however, was orchestrated by Rafael Henrique dos Santos, who ensured his victory by delivering a faultless 90.75-point ride. It didn’t take long for the star’s legion of admirers to flood the comment area of PBR’s post with well wishes.

None of the bull riding fans could believe somebody wasn’t getting buck-off from a top bull in the arena, as one comment read, “Unbelievable ride FANTASTIC job.” Another comment read, “What a ride!”.

Surely, the rider also received some cheeky comments, as one read, “Ok…fenomenalll…Suerte Cowboy..” A lot of people were also too stunned to even express, “That is a bull ride.” Evidently, the focus necessary to excel in this entertaining sport was shown by Rafael Henrique which seemed to hit a chord with fans.

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