PRORODEO Sports News - October 4, 2024

feel like you have to keep going because you’re never safe and if you’re on the outside you’re trying to break into the (Top 15).” Young’s regular season ended abruptly when the three-time National Finals Rodeo qualifier sustained an injury on Sept. 7. Young broke his femur during his first ride during the Cinch Playoffs at the Puyallup (Wash.) Rodeo. He underwent surgery to repair the injury with a rod and screws in Washington and is rehabbing back home in Rogersville, Mo. Young suffered the injury during the matinee performance aboard Bridwell Pro Rodeos’ Louisiana Lightning. “I kind of felt it when it happened. It felt like he kind of stomped on me,” he recalled. “I feel like a lot of times when bulls step on a guy, they roll their foot off and don’t really want to step on that uneven surface. “He kind of stepped on me initially and slipped and had to catch himself by putting all of his weight there.” Recovery is anywhere between four to months – meaning even if he is in the Top 15, he might not be able to compete at the NFR Dec. 5-14 in Las Vegas. “It is a given that bull riding is a dangerous sport,” said veteran Josh Frost, who has finished second in the world standings three years in a row. Frost had his regular season end Sept. 9, when he was bucked off during the Pendleton Whisky Xtreme Bulls Finale in Pendleton, Ore. Frost tore his rotator cuff and labrum in his left shoulder. “I just have to get ready for Vegas,” Frost said. Veteran Jordan Spears explained that PRORODEO bull riders know the opportunities and money available the last 60 days of the regular season are too hard to pass up. “Bull riding pretty much the last two months is when it is gametime,” said Spears, who is headed to his fifth NFR and his first since 2019. “That’s when the most money is on the line. It is lifechanging money.” PRORODEO Films was able to do a more in-depth interview with Frost during the latest episode of the Highwaymen from his home in Randlett, Utah. Frost talks about how he followed in the footsteps of his relatives Clyde Frost and the late legend Lane Frost and his brother Joe. “I think the defining moment in my life when you talk getting into the sport I was probably might have been in sixth grade or seventh grade,” Frost said. “We just started getting on some smaller bulls and my dad (Shane) bought me this practice bull. It was a little bull that bucked me off pretty quick and rolled by me and just butted me. It didn’t hurt me and I’m bawling my eyes out. “My dad ran over there and grabbed me by the shirt collar and said if you’re going to be a bull rider you got have to think you’re Ironman,” Josh said. “These bulls are going to buck you off, run you over, break every bone in your body and you’re going to get up and walk out of the arena. And if you’re not OK with that you need to quit riding bulls today. That day I just flipped a switch in my mind, and I was like if I’m going to do this that’s the attitude you have to have. It doesn’t matter what they do to you it is not going to hurt and you’re going to get up and be excited and crave another bucker. I feel like my motivation is higher than ever,” Frost said. Josh’s desire to capture a coveted gold buckle is stronger than ever as he is supporting his wife Erika, a breakaway roper, and their newborn daughter, Mavie. “I have definitely seen my fair share of injuries, he has been in the hospital several weeks at a time and I have to fly out and be there for him and it’s just part of it,” Erika said. “You deal with it as it comes, and it is just part of the sport.” A sport where Frost wants to be at the top of the PRORODEO mountain. “I feel like motivation is higher than ever,” Frost said. “I see this new baby girl and know this is my chance to set up her up for a great future. You have a short period of time to ride bulls, so the next couple of years I have to be competitive at this level and take advantage of it. “That’s why we do it to be the world champion. I do it to be the best and they only give one of those gold buckles away a year, so I’m looking forward to coming out on top.”

Bull rider Creek Young takes a moment to pray before the third performance of the Cinch Playoffs at the Puyallup Rodeo.

Bullfighters are an integral piece of PRORODEO and the safety of the athletes and animals.

Bull rider Josh Frost acknowledges the crowd at the Thomas & Mack Center after winning the NFR Average title in 2021.

ProRodeo Sports News 10/4/2024

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