PRORODEO Sports News March 2026 Digital Edition

PASSINGS

Goods always gave cowboys a fair shot at a paycheck. “She just tried so hard to be the best every time,” Tim O’Connell said. “She wasn’t the strongest horse in the world. She wasn’t the flashiest horse in the world. But what she put out made her special. “She had a ton of timing. She’d curl her front feet and let the judges get that great moving picture. She had a ton of timing for contestants to really showcase their styles, and that’s why you knew that pretty much anytime you drew that horse, you were going to win a check.” Damaged Goods started her career as a saddle bronc horse but quickly became one of the most consistent bare back horses in PRORODEO. “A lot of horses are specific to one event. That didn’t matter to her, and it says a lot about her,” Will O’Connell said. “The cowboys at the end of the year were tugging back and forth for her to see who was going to get to get on her in Vegas. Whether it was a bareback rider or a bronc rider, she didn’t care. She was going to show up and let any of them win.” Tim O’Connell drew Damaged Goods for one of her first bareback riding trips at the 2023 Cinch Playoff Series Championship in Sioux Falls, S.D. He spurred the horse to an 86.5-point trip to win the opening round and secure a $10,000 payday. “She’d been to the NFR a bunch of times in the bronc riding at that point,” Tim O’Connell recalled. “I always told Will, ‘That is a freaking bareback horse if I’ve ever seen one. Give us a chance at her.’ And then he brought her to Sioux Falls. “I’d seen her go in the bareback riding a couple of times that year, and I was licking my chops. Sure enough, in the inaugural round of Sioux Falls, I had Damaged Goods … It was one of the most correct bareback rides I’ve ever made, fundamentally and stylistically.” Damaged Goods is the highest-marked horse Will O’Connell has had in his tenure at Championship Pro Rodeo. Brody Wells had a 92-point ride on her to win the first round of the Xtreme Broncs Finals on Aug. 17, 2025, in Rapid City, S.D. But to Will O’Connell, Damaged Goods was more than a horse. She was family. “Me and my family are closer to these horses than we are to a lot of my own living family,” Will O’Connell said. “It’s like losing a big member of your family. When you lose something like that, it takes a big piece away from you. It was pretty heartbreaking to put her on that truck, send her out, and know she’s never coming back on it.” J BAR J’S STAR HORSE STRAIGHT JACKET PASSES AWAY By Ted Harbin, Special to PRORODEO Sports News When J15 Straight Jacket was branded, the J Bar J Pro Rodeo horse showed everyone around that 2010 day a

NFR BUCKING HORSE DAMAGED GOODS PASSES AWAY By Alex Dodd

Championship Pro Rodeo’s Damaged Goods with saddle bronc rider Ben Andersen in Round 2 of the 2025 Wrangler National Finals Rodeo. (PRCA photo by Lara St Jacques)

Former National Finals Rodeo bareback and saddle bronc riding horse Damaged Goods of Championship Pro Rodeo died Feb. 6. She was 12 years old. Championship Pro Rodeo purchased the horse as a 5-year-old, and she appeared at the NFR six times for 12 outs. “She may not have been the best horse at every rodeo. But she was the best every time (she went out),” Champi onship Pro Rodeo General Manager Will O’Connell said. “It didn’t matter what day, what time, whether it was an afternoon perf or a night perf. If we were in Raleigh, N.C., or Salt Lake City, she showed up to give everybody a chance, every time they got on her.” Damaged Goods suffered colic from a twisted gut last week. She battled through surgeries before ultimately passing away. “It was no different than when she’s bucking. She never quit,” O’Connell said. “She never quit fighting, even when she was trying to fight for her life. She was still fighting this morning. I just had to make the decision to make it where it didn’t hurt so much for her to keep on fighting.” Damaged Goods was selected for the NFR this past year and went out in Round 2 and Round 7. In the second round, Ben Andersen matched the horse for an 82.5-point ride. In Round 7, Lefty Holman went for an 81.25-point trip. Will O’Connell’s brother, three-time PRCA Bareback Riding World Champion Tim O’Connell, said Damaged

MARCH 2026 PRORODEO SPORTS NEWS DIGITAL MAGAZINE 37