PRORODEO Sports News - November 22, 2024

Above, J. Tom Fisher, the 2022 PRCA Steer Roping World Champion, left, and his father, Dan, herd cattle at the Fisher Ranch. Below, Vin Fisher Jr., a 21-time qualifier for the National Finals Steer Roping, makes a practice run at the ranch in Andrews, Texas, back in October.

J. Tom, Vin’s younger brother, has had a steer roping journey that almost never started. On Nov. 13, 2004, J. Tom was competing at an unsanctioned PRCA event in Graham, Texas, when disaster struck. “I roped the steer and got my trip and my horse’s back leg went over the rope and then my horse went to bucking and I got thrown off the right side of the horse,” J. Tom said. “When I hit the ground the way I fell, it just snapped my leg. My leg was turned backwards, and my toe was touching my knee. Then I got drug all over the arena, which felt like for an eternity, and it was probably for 30 to 40 seconds.” The damage was severe. Fisher wrecked his knee, tore his Achilles tendon, and broke his tibia and fibula, resulting in four surgeries over three years. He had 13 screws, two plates and two rods put in his leg, which are still there. “I was on crutches for 30 out of 36 months,” Fisher said. “I also had two years of physical therapy to be able to walk again. No one could explain how I didn’t lose my

1982 as a heeler for Rusty Tooley. As good as Dan was at team roping – it wasn’t his calling – steer roping was. Dan ditched team roping for steer roping and has never looked back. He traveled in the rig back in the day with none other than the legend Guy Allen and Dan was a legitimate world championship contender for years. The cool part about Dan is he is still chasing the steer roping dream at the age of 73 and winning money at PRCA rodeos. The respect Vin and J. Tom have for their father is obvious. They are a close-knit family with likeminded goals – especially about getting an education and most importantly a college degree. The greatest attribute about the Fishers is their generosity and their desire to help see the sport of steer continue to grow. The Fishers are a first-class family and PRORODEO is better because of it.

leg because of how bad the injuries were. It was kind of touch and go for a week, whether I was going to lose my leg. It came very close to them having to amputate my leg.” Fast-forward to Nov. 5, 2022, and J. Tom was celebrating with his first career PRCA Steer Roping World Championship at the Kansas Star in Mulvane, Kan. “I couldn’t believe it,” said an emotional Fisher recalling his gold buckle night. “Even weeks after I won, I thought they were going to call me and say they counted Cole (Patterson’s) rodeos wrong, and he won more money.” As for Dan, he looks like he just walked off the set of the smash TV show “Yellowstone.” He’s a cowboy’s cowboy. He was an accomplished team roper, qualifying for the National Finals Rodeo in 1981 – as a heeler for ProRodeo Hall of Famer Tee Wolman – and in

ProRodeo Sports News 11/22/2024

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