'The culture is huge': Brazilian riders find success at PBR Ty Murray Invitational

Keyshawn Whitehorse rides Twisted Steel for a score of 88.75 and a three-day total of 176.25 to take sixth place at the Ty Murray Invitational on Sunday at the Pit.

Mike Sandoval / For the Journal

Tristen Critchfield Tristen Critchfield Tristen Critchfield For the Journal

Published March 24, 2024 - 5:49 p.m. Modified April 29, 2025 - 2:00 a.m.

When it comes to sports in Brazil, there’s soccer — and then there’s everything else.

Those who elect to pursue professional bull riding as a career aren’t necessarily celebrated in the South American country. However, there’s a growing contingent of Brazilian bull riders finding success in the United States, and nowhere was that more evident than during the championship round of the Ty Murray Invitational at The Pit on Sunday afternoon.

Of the 12 competitors who reached the final round for the event, seven were officially listed as Brazil natives in their biographies on the Professional Bull Riders (PBR) website. That includes Eduardo Aparecido, who won the event with an aggregate score of 346.25 and clinched his victory with a successful ride of the bull named “Mike’s Motive” in the finals.

“I’ve been second two times in this event,” said Aparecido, a native of Gouvelandia, Brazil. “This year, I tried hard for a win.”

Aparecido, who received a $104,000 check and a bronze trophy for his victory, didn’t necessarily have an explanation for the Brazilian bull riding culture.

“I don’t know exactly, but some guys come to the USA,” he said. “I come just to ride bulls.”

As it turns out, Aparecido is far from alone in that regard. Paulo Crimber is a head coach for the Florida Freedom, a bull-riding team that competes in the PBR Camping World Team Series. Crimber also works in various roles for PBR, from translator to judge to chute boss.

“I do pretty much everything,” he said.

Crimber was part of the first wave of bull riders to come to the U.S. from Brazil in the 1990s. He made his first of many PBR finals at 18 and eventually settled in Decatur, Texas.

“The culture is huge. Soccer is No. 1. I think bull riding is No. 2,” he said. “But unfortunately our country doesn’t appreciate it like we get appreciated here.”

That results in a hungry group of bull riders arriving stateside. Currently, Brazil’s Cassio Dias is No. 1 in the overall “Unleash the Beast” standings for 2024, with four more of his countrymen in the Top 10. Crimber’s 18-year-old son, John, rides out of Texas, but his roots are the same as his father’s. He finished fifth on Sunday, closing out the weekend with a 91.50 score on the bull “Bamboozle” — the second-highest score of the final round behind Dias.

“When they come here, they mean business,” Crimber said of the Brazilian contingent. “They’re just going to give everything that they’ve got. That’s all they have. They don’t have an exact plan.”

Meanwhile, perhaps the most popular rider among New Mexican fans was Keyshawn Whitehorse, a Navajo athlete from McCracken Spring, Utah. Whitehorse finished sixth overall, but his last ride drew the loudest pop from the crowd.

With former UFC champion Holly Holm looking on from a front-row seat, Whitehorse rode “Twisted Steel” — a bull owned by UFC CEO Dana White — for the full eight seconds.

“Those are the moments that we live for,” Whitehorse said. “…I’m extremely thankful for the support I receive here in Albuquerque.”

As for besting a bull owned by the most prominent figure in the MMA world, well, that was pretty memorable, too.

“The task at hand is to ride whatever bull you choose,” Whitehorse said. “I’m ecstatic about it and I’m glad to be able to get the job done. I hope Dana is happy. If he’s not, whatever. Whatever it is, I can get on that bull again and hopefully capitalize on that again.”