ProRodeo Sports News - April 28, 2023

LOGANDALE, NEV.

Richardson overcomes adversity with win Rejuvenated CLARK C0UNTY FAIR & RODEO

BY BRADY RENCK, Special to ProRodeo Sports News B raden Richardson knows injuries. He was hurt in college. Hurt in the pros. But what the veteran bull rider experienced last summer proved different. Richardson went full Evel Knievel when bucked off in Moses Lake, Wash. He fractured five vertebras, four ribs, his scapula and punctured a lung. It not only ended his 2022 season short of his goal of reaching his second-straight National Finals Rodeo – he finished 37th in the PRCA | RAM World Standings – but doubt crept into his mind for the first time. “I had a mental block when coming back, asking myself, ‘Why do I do this? Why do I put myself in danger like this?’ I was getting lazy, losing that drive. I had to really focus and find my why,” Richardson explained. “The easy answer is I love it. It’s also the best way for me to make money. But what really pushed me is those kids out there competing without any support and without any sponsorship. I want to show them, and I am here to tell them you can do it. It’s tougher than anything you’ve ever done, but it can happen.” Richardson, 28, continues to live out this script. Healthy for the last three months, the Jasper, Texas, native is hitting his stride this season. He captured the title at the Clark County Fair & Rodeo in Logandale, Nev., with an 88-point trip on Sankey Pro Rodeo & Phenom Genetics’ Lapua. On the surface, it makes sense. Strong rider posts big score. So much more went into this, including heavy doses of uncertainty and poise. “It was my re-ride, and the first time out for that bull. I had a two-time NFR bull when I showed up and rode him to 7.9, and got a re-ride, and I had never even heard of this bull,” Richardson said. “I had to get my mind right and focus. He went around the right hard, was really gassy, had push back. So, it was a new bull, but he ended up being really good and it all worked out.” As Richardson gets knee-deep into this season, he brings lessons learned from his rehabilitation. Everything matters. Consistency is the key. “I had been hurt before, but this was tough, probably the toughest I have ever come back from. I had some bad ones, but this one was unique. I struggled,” said Richardson, who graduated with an associate’s degree in petroleum technology from Panola College in Carthage, Texas. “It took a lot of physical therapy and working out. And a lot of mental training. Being laid up, I was in a bad place. But the last three months, I have been healthy and in a good place mentally and physically, feeling really good. It’s all about sticking to my routines.” If all goes as planned, his schedule will include Las Vegas in the winter. It’s a dream that has once again begun to crystalize after some hard times. “After everything I went through,” Richardson said, “it would mean everything to get back there, battle and do well, not just in a round, but the entire event. Yeah, it would mean so much.”

TOP MONEY EARNER TOP SCORES

Riley Webb ($5,671, tie down roping) BAREBACK RIDING

Webb

1. Tim O’Connell..........................87 pts. 2. Clayton Biglow ............................85.5 3. Four tied at.....................................84 STEER WRESTLING 1. Jesse Brown...................8.1 sec. on 2 2. Ty Erickson....................................8.8 3. Olin Hannum..................................9.4 TEAM ROPING 1. D. Begay/C. Todd............8.8 sec. on 2 2. R. Richard/J. Buhler......................8.9 3. K. Driggers/J. Nogueira.................9.4 SADDLE BRONC RIDING 1. Stetson Wright........................89 pts. 2. Kade Bruno.....................................86 (Tie) Zachary Dallas........................86 TIE-DOWN ROPING 1. Cory Solomon...............17.5 sec. on 2 2. Ryan Thibodeaux.........................18.6 3. Dylan Hancock.............................19.0 BARREL RACING 1. Wenda Johnson..................17.09 sec. 2. Keyla Costa................................17.13 (Tie) Sue Smith..........................17.13 BULL RIDING 1. Braden Richardson..................88 pts. 2. Jordan Hansen............................86.5 (Tie) Parker McCown...................86.5

Complete results/Page 48

Hailey Rae photo

Bull rider Braden Richardson is battling back from an injury-riddled 2022 season and he got a big win in Logandale, Nev., with an 88-point ride on Sankey Pro Rodeo & Phenom Genetics’ Lapua.

ProRodeo Sports News 4/28/2023

ProRodeo Sports News 4/28/2023

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